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Tour 1 - Plaça Catalunya to Sagrada Familia
Tour between Plaça Catalunya and Sagrada Familia, visiting 10 points of interest. Some of them can be visited and the duration of the tour will depend on that. You can buy the tickets using the follow button.
The non-stop walk lasts 47 minutes and is 3.3 km long.
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Stop #1 - Plaça de Catalunya
This square is the heart of Barcelona. It is full of life. A meeting point, it is also the geographical space that separates the districts of Ciutat Vella and Eixample. Full of history, Plaça de Catalunya is the nerve centre of the Catalan capital.
Guarded by the large buildings of the shopping centres, Plaça Catalunya is a constant bustle of people coming and going. The most central place in Barcelona and a meeting point for locals and foreigners, it is also the link between the Eixample and the old part of the city. The square was inaugurated by King Alfons XIII in 1927 and covers an area of 5 hectares. Formerly this space was a large esplanade outside, in front of some of the entrance gates to the walled city. The architects Pere Falqués, Puig i Cadafalch and Francesc de Paula Nebot were involved in its development, and sculptures by such well-known artists as Clarà and Llimona were placed there. In addition, six sculptural groups surround the square: they represent the four Catalan capitals, wisdom and work. At one end of the square there is also a monument to the President of the Generalitat Francesc Macià, the work of Josep Maria Subirachs. When the city was being decorated for the 1929 International Exhibition, some of the most luxurious hotels, bars and theatres of the new Barcelona were located in the new square. Almost none of those old places remain, despite the memory of names such as the Maison Dorée, the Colón or the Suís. After the history we will explain a little more about the buildings that are in plaza Catalunya. If we look at the El Corte Inglés building, we can see to its right the Telefonica building in white, to the right of it, we see the majestic building of the Bank of Spain. Continuing in the same direction we find the building where Primark is located, it is one of the most beautiful buildings in the square, and it used to be the old Corte Ingles. Between Primark and Fnac, we find a building occupied by the Hotel Monegal with a very impressive façade. Next to the modern fnac building we see the BBVA bank building and on the other side of the road the majestic Iberostar building. Finally, to the left of the Corte Ingles we see a beautiful building with two towers and impressive barbicans. On this walk I highly recommend that you look upwards as you will see some very nice residential buildings.
Stop #2 - Teatre Coliseum
Located on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, the imposing building of the Teatre Coliseum has been offering Barcelona's most famous and innovative theatrical performances since 2006. Its history, however, dates back to much earlier, when the architect Francesc de Paula Nebot created it in 1923 as a cinema on behalf of Josep Solà i Guardiola, Victorià Saludes and the Marquis of l'Argentera.
Inspired by the Paris Opera House, the building was created in a style similar to the French beaux-arts, with a monumental façade and two neo-baroque columns. In addition, it was crowned with a dome designed by Valeri Corberó, which has been used by various cultural organisations over the years. The Coliseum is probably the theatre with the most imposing façade in Barcelona, adorned with the now characteristic light bulb letters that illuminate Gran Via when the sun goes down. It was inaugurated in October 1923 (it is already a centenary theatre!) and at that time it alternated cinema screenings with live shows. Grup Balañá acquired it in the 1950s, programming major film premieres that have included the presence of George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Pedro Almodóvar, Hilary Swank and Hugh Grant, among others. During this period there were some exceptions in its film programme with Yerma with Núria Espert and concerts by Joan Manuel Serrat. In 2007 it became a permanent theatre, with ‘Cómeme el Coco, Negro’ by La Cubana, hosting from then onwards, large companies and live shows, both national and international, musicals, music concerts, stand-up comedy and private events. The Coliseum has 1,500 seats divided into 3 floors, stalls, 1st floor and 2nd floor. On the first floor, behind the letters announcing each artist, is one of the most charming (and still quite unknown) bars in the city. Above it is ‘La Cúpula’, one of the most well-kept spaces in Barcelona, which we will soon be opening to add a new venue to the city's entertainment scene. The walls and seats of this historic theatre have a deep blue colour that will welcome you in any show you come to see.
Stop #3 - Casa Lleó i Morera
The Lleó i Morera house was not a new construction, but the renovation of an existing house. In 1902, the then owner, Francesca Morera Ortiz, commissioned the great modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner to carry out a complete renovation of the building. The refurbishment lasted until early 1906.
The existing house, before Domènech i Montaner's intervention, was known as Casa Rocamora, owned by the couple Joan Mumbrú Bordas and Lluïsa Sagristà Figueres, who, in 1864, bought a plot of land from the Sociedad de Fomento del Ensanche, at the height of the urban development of the new Eixample, and commissioned the master builder Joaquim Sitjas to build a house. The house consisted of a semi-basement, a ground floor and two upper floors. A few years later, in 1884, the sons requested permission from the Town Hall to build an additional storey and to construct galleries on the rear façade of the building. In 1894, the Mumbrú Sitjà brothers sold the building to Antoni Morera Busó for 285,000 pesetas. Antoni Morera, who lived in Sant Gervasi, was the son of a family from Sant Feliu de Guíxols who, during the first half of the 19th century, emigrated to Puerto Rico, where they lived for a few years in the sugar cane trade. We could say that this was a family of Indianos who returned to Catalonia enriched and settled in Barcelona, investing part of their fortune in the purchase of the building on Passeig de Gràcia, on the corner of Consell de Cent. Promoters of the refurbishment: Antoni Morera died a widower in 1901, leaving a legacy to his niece, Francesca Morera Ortiz, who became the owner of the building on Passeig de Gràcia. She was the promoter of the refurbishment carried out by Montaner, giving absolute freedom to the architect to radically transform both the façade and the interior of the dwellings in the new style that was beginning to take hold in the Eixample, Modernisme. The sudden death of Francesca Morera on 10 December 1904 meant that the work had to be continued by her son, Dr. Albert Lleó i Morera, who had complete confidence in the architect and, together with him, decided to decorate each and every one of the flats with the intention that he, his wife Olinta Puiguriguer and their two children, Albert and Francesca, would live on the main floor, and that the rest of the flats would be rented out. This is why the building is still known today as the Lleó i Morera house (the son's surname), and not with the surname of the mother, Morera Ortiz, who, unfortunately, was unable to see the work completed and was unable to live in the main flat as she would have liked. The refurbishment of the building and the new decoration of all the interiors were completed at the end of 1905, and on 6 February 1906 Albert Lleó i Morera applied to Barcelona City Council for permission to rent the flats. This refurbishment and, in particular, the explosive decoration of the façade with sculptural reliefs, ceramics and wrought ironwork meant that the architect Domènech i Montaner won the Prize for the best building in 1906, awarded by Barcelona City Council. This recognition also gave him a great deal of prestige. The Lleó i Morera house remained in the hands of the Lleó Puiguriguer family until 1943. Changes of ownership: The Lleó i Morera house remained in the hands of the Lleó Puiguriguer family until 1943, when the doctor's widow and his two sons decided to sell the building to the insurance company Sociedad Mercantil Bilbao for three million pesetas. Forty years later, the Mutualidad General de Previsión Social de la Abogacía de Madrid bought the building, which it subsequently sold to the Grupo Planeta. The fact that the Lleó i Morera family retained ownership for three generations favoured the maintenance of the building's interiors, as well as the delicate ornamental elements that had been made by master craftsmen using the most diverse materials. However, following the austere precepts of Noucentisme, which did not support the Art Nouveau style, several elements of the Lleó i Morera house were mutilated or radically destroyed. The latter is the case of the sculptures by Eusebi Arnau, some of which Salvador Dalí acquired to decorate the courtyard of his Theatre-Museum in Figueres. The pavilion: On the roof of the building is a small temple with a dome supported by a set of columns that has no specific function. In 1937, at the height of the Civil War, it was used as a machine-gun nest and was hit by crossfire, forcing its subsequent reconstruction. Later life and uses: As we have already mentioned, the Lleó Puiguriguer family lived in the main flat until 1943. The rest of the flats were rented accommodation. The commercial premises, on the mezzanine floor of the building, was rented to the famous photographer Pau Audouard Deglaire, known as the photographer of the 1888 Barcelona Universal Exhibition, who had his magnificent photographic studio on the mezzanine floor from 1905 to 1910. The mezzanine had the same layout as the upper floors of the building: an entrance from the neighbours' staircase and two lounges overlooking the Passeig de Gràcia, separated by a beautiful fireplace. However, the studio also had its own entrance from Passeig de Gràcia. It thus consisted of the mezzanine, a semi-basement and a storage room at the back, with an entrance hall, a large waiting room overlooking Passeig de Gràcia, a gallery where the portraits were taken and the studio office. The interior decoration followed the same aesthetic guidelines established in the rest of the building, under the artistic direction of Montaner and with the help of Adrià Gual (playwright, set designer and theatre director). The furniture was provided by Casa Busquets (Audouard, in addition to being a friend of the Busquets family, was their official photographer). The sculptures were by Eusebi Arnau. In 1943, the premises were rented by the Loewe leather goods trading company. After being the headquarters of the Círculo Artístico for a few years, we know that, in 1943, the premises were rented by the Loewe leather goods trading company. Its owner, Pau Loewe, asked the town council for permission to refurbish the premises. The architect who carried it out was Ramon Duran y Reynals, following the stylistic precepts of eliminating all modernist elements in favour of simplism. The history of the destruction of the ground floor has been severely criticised up to the present day.
Stop #4 - Casa Batlló
Gaudí's fantasy took shape in Casa Batlló, which stands out in the heart of Passeig de Gràcia with its drac-shaped roof.
A burgundian dream: Casa Batlló, a modernist fantasy par excellence, is the work of the architect Antoni Gaudí and the symbol of a very specific time and social class: bourgeois Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century. At that time, with the development of the Pla Cerdà, which began in the late 19th century, many bourgeois families moved their homes to Passeig de Gràcia and set up their businesses there. One of them was the merchant Josep Batlló i Casanovas, who in 1903 bought the original building on this site and in 1904 hired Antoni Gaudí, already very famous in those years, to remodel the building. Artistic approach: The architect's work marked a turning point in modern architecture and left an artistic legacy for posterity. The application of his naturalistic inspiration, with undulating and organic forms, and the creation of a new façade made entirely of glass and stone, inspired by maritime coral, gave the building a completely new and original appearance. On the other hand, Gaudí's main objective was always functionality, and the attention he paid to lighting and ventilation is worthy of note. For this reason, there was a large central courtyard to which the service rooms overlooked, while the living rooms and bedrooms overlooked the façade. Even today, the Casa Batlló is an original and precious work of art, which is why it has been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Stop #5 - Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
In Barcelona's central Passeig de Gràcia, we find the Casa Milà or La Pedrera, a combination of fantasy and functionality that makes this architectural work a must-see. It is here that Antoni Gaudí culminated his career, conceiving a modernist building adapted to new social needs, without ever forgetting his main source of inspiration: nature and organic forms.
Barcelona 1900: In 1900 Passeig de Gràcia was the most important avenue in the city, where emblematic buildings began to be built, the best theatres and cinemas were installed and the most exclusive shops, restaurants and cafés were set up. It was also the place where the wealthiest and most powerful bourgeoisie decided to build their own houses and, in a course of gaudiness and exhibitionism, commissioned the projects to the most prestigious architects of the time. A house for Mr. and Mrs. Milà-Segimon: In 1905 Pere Milà and Roser Segimon married. Attracted by the fame of Passeig de Gràcia, they bought a tower with a garden covering an area of 1,835 m2 and commissioned the architect Antoni Gaudí to build their new home with the intention of occupying the main floor and renting out the rest of the rooms: Casa Milà. The construction (1906-1912): The construction of the Casa Milà aroused a great deal of interest and various reports were written about it, such as the one in the magazine ‘L'Edificació Moderna’, a publication of the employers' association of builders. He explains that Gaudí was concerned with satisfying the needs of modern life ‘without the naturalness of the materials or their conditions of resistance being an obstacle limiting his freedom of action’, and describes the structure of columns as a novelty for achieving large and very luminous spaces. The construction of the building was complex, with financial and legal problems, and was not without controversy. Gaudí was constantly changing his projects in order to shape the appearance and structure of the building. He went far beyond the planned budget estimate and did not respect the City Council's regulations: the building was illegal in terms of the volume built. The part of the galleries and the land exceeded the maximum allowed and one of the pillars of the façade occupied part of the Passeig de Gràcia sidewalk. When Gaudí learned that an inspector had passed by to alert the builder, Mr. Bayó, of these illegalities, he left very precise instructions. If he happened again and the column needed to be cut down, he would put up a plaque: ‘the missing section of the column has been cut down by order of the City Council’. The Satires: The unique structure of La Pedrera and the relationship between Antoni Gaudí and Pere Milà were the object of public mockery and ridicule, caricatured in numerous satirical publications of the time. First tenants: In the early years, advertisements were published in La Vanguardia offering rooms to rent at the Casa Milà, requesting service for some of the tenants and even offering English classes with a teacher, Miss Dick. Among the tenants, the Pensió Hispano-Americana (1912-1918); Alberto I. Gache (Buenos Aires, 1854-Montevideo, 1933), consul of the Argentine Republic in Barcelona, who lived in the 1st 2nd floor from 5 August 1911 to the end of 1919; the Abadal family, who moved into the 3rd 1st floor and lived there from 1912 to the end of 1930. The Egyptian prince Ibrahim Hassan (El Caire, 1879 - Barcelona, 1918) who died at his home in Passeig de Gràcia 92. And the Baladia family, textile industrialists, who had the 2nd floor of Carrer Provença as a pied a terre, that is to say, a central, practical and ‘small’ place to stay the nights they left late from the Liceu, the Palau de la Música, the theatre or a party in Barcelona. From 1929 onwards, shops were set up on the ground floor of the building, such as the famous Sastreria Mosella tailor's shop, which was there for over 80 years. In 1947 Roser Segimon, who had lived there for 7 years, sold the building to Immobiliària Provença, but continued to live on the main floor until her death in 1964. Recent history: After many years of abandonment, the Casa Milà ‘La Pedrera’ - declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 - was restored and opened to the public as a cultural centre in 1996. Today, since January 2013, the building has been the headquarters of the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation and is an important cultural centre of reference in the city of Barcelona for the range of activities it organises and for the different museum and public spaces it includes.
Stop #6 - Palau Robert
On the corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Avinguda Diagonal, the neoclassical Palau Robert is an emblematic cultural centre that hides a beautiful garden open to everyone.
Neoclassical architecture and hidden gardens At the end of the 19th century, Robert Robert i Surís, Marquis de Robert, an aristocrat from Girona who was very influential at the time, had his main residence built in one of the most privileged locations in Barcelona at the time: the corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Diagonal. Built between 1898 and 1903, the Palau Robert was designed by the French architect Henri Grandpierre and built with Montgrí mountain stone by the Catalan architect Joan Martorell, and is notable for its neoclassical architecture, which was not very closely related to the Modernisme of the time that was spreading throughout L'Eixample. The garden of the Palau Robert was designed by the municipal gardener Ramon Oliva, who would later go on to design the gardens of Plaça de Catalunya. History over time The death of the Marquis in 1929 led the Robert family to try to sell the palace. After the Civil War, a company was set up to transform it into a hotel with a theatre, but it was never built. Finally, in the 1980s it became the property of the Generalitat de Catalunya. After passing through different functions throughout its history, at the end of the 1990s it opened its doors as the cultural centre we know today. The building also houses a tourist information centre. Its well-tended garden is open to the public and receives numerous visits every day, both from tourists and residents.
Stop #7 - Casa Comalat
The legacy of Gaudí's universe Salvador Valeri conceived this building as an organic whole where the straight line seems to have no place. On the Diagonal side, stone ennobles the main façade, monochromatic and elegantly decorated with garlands and other sculpted elements. The top finish stands out, with a tower covered in green glazed ceramic scales, which is the only touch of colour on this façade. Losing the forms On Carrer de Còrsega, on the other hand, the Casa Comalat takes on a completely different appearance: the bulging façade seems to have swollen up and barely fits between the outbuildings. It is decorated with multicoloured ceramic mosaics, the work of the artist Lluís Bru i Salelles, and modulated by wooden galleries that draw irregular lines and give it a bizarre appearance. On the ground floor, the parabolic arches and the organic treatment of the stone once again recall Gaudí's work.
Stop #8 - Casa de les Punxes
Dominating one of the corners of the Diagonal, the Casa de les Punxes stands out among the buildings created during the golden age of Modernista Barcelona at the beginning of the 20th century. Designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, this house, named after the spires that crown the six towers that crown the building, is a unique artistic and architectural legacy for the city.
Gothic inspiration: Located in the heart of Avinguda Diagonal, Casa de les Punxes is named after the six towers crowned with six spikes that give it a Gothic and medieval look.It was declared a National Historical Monument in 1976,and is one of the Modernista buildings in the Eixample that makes up the vast outdoor museum that can be observed by walking through what is one of the most emblematic parts of Barcelona. Created by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch in 1905, Casa de les Punxes was commissioned by the Terrades sisters, an important bourgeois family of the early 20th century in Barcelona who wanted to join three properties they owned. The architect designed a medieval building with elements inspired in European Gothic architecture. Catalan decoration: Apart from the magnificent towers, another feature to highlight is the highly decorated brickwork facade with decorative rosettes. In one of these, and typical of Modernista buildings of that time,there is the famous image of Sant Jordi with the legend in writing, which says: “Sant Patró de Catalunya Torneu-nos la llibertat” (Patron Saint of Catalonia. Give us back our freedom).
Stop #9 - Palau Macaya
Like so many other modernist houses, Casa Macaya was a project commissioned by the industrialist and merchant Roman Macaya Gibert to build a family residence. The Macaya family lived in the house until 1914 and, after passing through different owners, La Caixa bought the building in 1947.
Traces of Modernism: Declared a cultural asset of national interest in 1973, Casa Macaya, with its imposing white stucco façade and stone sculpture, draws the attention of pedestrians on the Paseo de Sant Joan. Designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, its modernist style with influences from civil Gothic is unmistakable even today, one hundred years after its construction. Commissioned by the industrialist Roman Macaya Gibert, Casa Macaya stands out for its architectural beauty and the contrast between the apparent simplicity of the white façade and the profusely decorated windows in stone. This sculptural work in stone belongs to Puig i Cadafalch's regular collaborators, Eusebi Arnau and Alfons Juyol. The evolution of a space: The building is notable for its large stone arches and the staircase decorated with floral motifs that once provided access to the main house, which the Macaya family inhabited until 1914. Today, the building, also known as Palau Macaya, operates as a social and sustainability entity for La Caixa, which acquired it in 1947.
Stop #10 - Sagrada Familia
Rising towards the sky, the Sagrada Família is Barcelona's most famous silhouette, and each of its forms is a symbol conscientiously created by the genius of Gaudí.
A Modernista marvel: La Sagrada Família (Temple of the Holy Family) occupies an entire block between Carrer Mallorca and Carrer Provença, and it is one of the most visited sights in Barcelona. Building work started in 1883 and continues today, following the plans that Gaudí, aware he would not see the completion of the temple, left for his successors. The Modernista architect devoted 40 years of his life to it, the last 15 exclusively, and he is buried under the nave. This architectural genius left the city one of the most original basilicas in the world. It is of great architectural interest and has been declared a World Heritage site. The symbolism of its three main facades, dedicated to the birth (the only one Gaudí was able to finish), the passion and resurrection of Christ, is so detailed and so profuse that just admiring this can take hours. Every year it astounds millions of visitors. The forest that reaches for the sky: For the interior Gaudí took his inspiration from nature and designed enormous columns shaped like tree trunks that turn it into an exuberant stone forest. So far, eight towers have been built of the 18 he planned: 12 for the apostles, four for the evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. Gaudí only managed one in his lifetime and even today no one knows how many years it will take before this enormous project is completed. In the meantime it will continue to be one of the most emblematic icons of Barcelona and Modernisme.
