We're in Bar-r-r-thelona (that's how Spaniards pronounce it) sipping chilled cava (Catalan sparking wine) at the Grand Hotel Central, a palatial 1926 mansion owned by an old Catalan family that has been beautifully converted into a contemporary hotel with a spectacular rooftop infinity pool.
Barcelona is an enchanting seaside city with boundless culture, fabled architecture, and a world-class drinking and dining scene.
There's a lot to see here so let's get to it. Two things come to mind when we think of master architect Antoni Gaudí: 1. Genius! and 2. What was this guy smoking?
“Play the violin,” the visionary architect Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852-1926) once told a client who was distressed to find no place for his piano in the unorthodox form of his La Pedrera apartment (above photo). Gaudí remains best known for his unfinished magnum opus, La Sagrada Familia (see below in this post), which continues to baffle and amaze visitors more than 125 years later. Yet few fans realize that the architect's life was as eccentric as his signature works. A pious Catholic and ardent Catalan nationalist who became a religious zealot in his later years, Gaudí had a devil of an imagination but lived an ascetic life. After 1910, he devoted himself entirely to the Sagrada Familia, abandoning almost all secular works, and he lived the last years of his life in the workshop of the church to which he dedicated 44 years. He died ignominiously, run over by a street trolley; taxis refused to take him—destitute, dressed like a pauper, and unrecognizable—to a hospital.
The centerpiece of the so-called “Block of Discord”, Casa Batlló owes its extraordinary façade to Gaudí, who completed a remodeling in 1906. Thought to represent the legend of Saint George (patron saint of Catalunya) and his dragon, the house glimmers with fragments of colourful ceramics, while the roof curves like the blue-green scales of a dragon's back, and balconies evoke Carnaval-esque masks or menacing monster jaws.
The sinuous interior, full of custom Gaudí-designed furniture, is similarly stunning. There are spiny wood stairs and reptilian-like scales painted on the walls.
It's like looking through the jaws of a giant leviathan.
A detail of the intricate glass and ceramic-work on the back patio.
Gaudí used natural light to illuminate the house during the day. At the center of the house is an elevator to access all the floors. The blue tiles at the top of the shaft are dark and become lighter as they descend. This technique balances out the bright sunlight coming from the top. Brilliant.
In certain places you feel like you're underwater as you look through warped glass at walls covered with blue and turquoise tiles.
When you reach the top floor everything becomes white, resembling the inside of a whale. The walls were made to look like gills and are used for ventilation. More brilliance. Now we know what Jonah must have felt like!
The Batlló dragon's spine creeps up on the roof of the house.
Beautiful views of Barcelona can be seen from the roof of Casa Batlló.
A friendly, little dragon jumps out at Tim in the gift shop so we're taking him along on the rest of our trip.
Puig i Cadafalch, a Gaudí contemporary, created Casa Amatller—the first building on the Mazana de la Discòrdia block of Passeig de Gràcia—in 1900. It has a medieval-looking, ceramics-covered façade, topped by a distinctive Flemish-inspired roof and beautiful carved stone and ironwork of themes related to the chocolate business and hobbies of the original owners.
The final member of the “Block of Discord” triumvirate, the gorgeously ornate corner house Casa Lleó Morera built in 1905, is now the home to the upscale leather purveyor Loewe, which lamentably destroyed a good part of the lower façade and sumptuous interior ground floor.
The Metro's here and there's lots more to see! Let's go!
Antoni Gaudí's unfinished legacy, the soaring “Holy Family” church, La Sagrada Familia, is a testament to his singular vision: the art of the impossible. This mind-altering creation—the best-known, if not necessarily the best example, of modernism—has become Barcelona's calling card.
Begun in 1882, its eight bejeweled spires drip like melting candlesticks, and virtually every square inch of the surface explodes with intricate spiritual symbols. Gaudí died long before it could be finished, although it is now consecrated and functions as a house of worship. A private foundation works furiously to finish the building—now projected for 2026, the centennial of Gaudí's death. For the foreseeable future, the church will remain under a forest of cranes.
The nativity façade on the east side, dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ, was completed before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct Gaudí influence. He surrounds the celebration of Christ's birth with symbols of nature and scenes associated with the nativity story.
The door is covered in metal ivy and an eclectic mix of insects.
La Sagrada's interior opens to a kaleidoscope of colours. The stained glass windows allow the sun's light to flood in the entire colour spectrum.
See what we mean? Wow.
Believing he could never improve on what had been created by God, Gaudí synthesized neo-Gothic, art-nouveau and Middle Eastern elements in his work, and made recurring use of organic forms to suggest muscles, sinew and bones, flowers, trees and seashells, and echo the gentle geography and hues of Catalonia.
Its great doors, which serve as the main entrance, are printed in words from the Bible in various languages including Catalan; the word JESUS and select others are painted to stand out.
The passion façade on the west side begun in 1952, dedicated to the suffering and death of Christ, is decorated with striking, angular images.
Being a ‘professional’ tourist is hard work, tiring and requires a lot of concentration folks. Time for a cerveza break before we continue our tour.
Espadrilles for mama and teeny, tiny ones for baby!
The walkway above the lovely Carrer del Bisbe in the Gothic Quarter was added in 1928.
It's hard to pass by Santa María del Mar without taking at least a quick, inspiring spin through this extraordinarily graceful 14th century Catalan Gothic church built by the merchant class. It's the kind of contemplative place that should clear your head before you continue your explorations through the bustling neighbourhood of La Ribera.
E&A Gispert, one of the oldest continuously running shops in Barcelona (since 1851), sells coffee and teas, dried fruits and nuts, honey and jams, and traditional Catalan torrón (nougat) desserts, as well as gift baskets and other artisanal and organic products. It retains the original one-piece counter and wood shelves and still uses a spectacular 150-year old, wood burning nut roaster—the only one of its kind in Europe. We opt for the hand-made chocolates which are so delicious we regret not getting bagfuls more.
A street scene in La Ribera.
The Cathedral of Barcelona, the focal point of the Old City and a splendid example of Gothic architecture, was begun in 1298 but largely completed in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Its surprisingly lush cloisters are a welcome oasis in the midst of the medieval Gothic quarter, with its pond, magnolias, orange and palm trees and white geese.
The Mesón del Café, a tiny, charming café that dates back to 1909, is the kind of good-vibes spot where some neighbourhood folks stop by every day for some of the city's best coffee. We add on some greasy tapas and resolve it's best to stick with the coffee.
A rubber ducky to suit everyone's taste.
The angelic sounds of opera being carried through the narrow, cobbled streets of the Old City lead us to this lady, soprano Maryna Krasnova. We are captivated and stay for the duration of her performance. Thank you Maryna for sharing your incredible gift with us. Here is a small sampling for your, our readers, enjoyment:
American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein created this piece of abstract art for the city of Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics. It is one of his last completed pieces before his death in 1997.
Although the monument to Christopher Columbus (Mirador de Colom) built in 1888, has him pointing in the wrong direction to the New World, it's a focal and meeting point, dividing the lower end of the Rambla from the waterfront.
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