Gaudí and Modernism
Barcelona`s landmark
►The evident and hidden meaning of Gaudí`s works
►World-famous Barcelonan Modernist architecture
►Atmosphere of the early 20th century
Combine this tour with our Barcelona`s Old Town and Barcelona by bike!
Here there are the KEY STOPS and the MAIN TOPICS of the Modernism tour: Barcelona`s landmarks!
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Palace of Catalan Music (Palau de la Música Catalana)
• Appreciate this anthem in stone in honor of Catalonia, the only UNESCO World Heritage Site modernist concert hall, a precious example of Catalan modernism. • How was the concert hall involved in a great corruption scandal a few years ago? |
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The legendary “Four Cats” café (“Els Quatre Gats”)
• A story about how a gym turned into a bar. • What three meanings does the witty word-play name of the café have? • Here young Pablo Picasso organized his first exhibition! |
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Passeig de Grácia Avenue (Passeig de Grácia)
• We are going to see various examples of modernist (Art Nouveau) architecture, literally all around! • Some curiosities about the orientation of this street. |
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“Block of discord”
• A short piece of Gracia Avenue where the most famous architects of the time competed in their creativity, and the richest families – in their spending power. • The name of this quarter is a cute pun in Spanish – we will translate it for you. • Why a photo camera, a telephone, dragons, dancing bears, animals with some tools, and many other cute details can be found on the façades and inside of these and other modernist buildings? |
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Batlló`s house (Casa Batlló)
• We will look for a dragon that hides all over the facade and inside of the building… • …and see how Gaudí combined creativity with utility. • What do this house and the neighbouring one have to do with sweets and dainties? |
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Modernist streetlights
• Which two functions combine the streetlights of Gracia Avenue? • What little animals sit on top of them and why? • How family relations aggravated criticism against the architect of these streetlights? |
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Floor tiles of Grácia Avenue
• Even the floor tiles are special on Gracia Avenue! • Where should they have been according to original plan of their creator? |
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Milà`s House, “la Pedrera”
• Why is this house popularly called “la Pedrera” – “the quarry”? • What makes this house so special and different from others? • Where is the “favorite” Gaudí`s number, that can be observed in many his works, concealed in this building? |
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Diagonal Avenue (Avinguda Diagonal)
• It is the longest avenue in Barcelona that crosses the city from one side to the other. Don`t worry, we are not going to walk down it all! We are just going to see some modernist buildings on it. • An important part of the “Eixample” plan. • Learn on what day and why one can see the sun rising or declining just above the avenue. |
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Terrades` house (Casa de les Punxes)
• A family house, built for the three sisters to be always together. • Why is this house more austere that others bourgeois houses of that time? • What signs of independence movement adorn the façade of the building? |
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The “expansion” (Eixample)
• How and why was formed this district, where modernist buildings are concentrated? • What humanist and usage-centred ideology the engineer of the district wanted to realize, and why the quarters have such a neat and particular shape? • Why certain groups of Barcelonians were against such an idealistic plan? |
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Temple of the Holy Family (Basílica de la Sagrada Familia)
• Don`t miss the most visited attraction in Barcelona and one of the most visited in Europe! • When the construction is going to be completed and why will it have taken so much time? • Where on the façade of the temple a “magic square”, the portraits of the architects, masonic and Christian symbols and other curiosities are? |
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OPTIONAL VISIT: Tour to the interior of Sagrada Familia
Enjoy the cheerful and light-filled interior of the temple, which is, frankly speaking, even more beautiful that its facades. See more mysterious details of the temple in its interior with an official guide of the museum. -Duration of the visit: 55 minutes. -According to the museum’s rules, guided tours can only be led as part of a group by one of the museum’s guides at pre-arranged entry times. -Price: € 24 per person. -Children under 11 years of age: € 8 per child. IMPORTANT NOTICE: to guarantee your visit, it is necessary to pay the price of the entrance 3 days in advance via the Internet. In case of cancellation of the tour, this payment IS NOT REFUNDED. This is necessary to ensure the availability of the entrance tickets. |
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Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul (L`Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau)
• When looking at the image, do you think we have mistaken with the photo? This hospital was such magnificent and innovative of the time, that I bet you would like to fall sick (a little bit) just to have a chance to rest in it for a couple of days! • How did the benefactor of the hospital immortalize his name? |
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OPTIONAL VISIT: Guided tour to the enclosure of the hospital.
Seeing the tangerine trees in the windows and the colorful walls of the hospital instead of the white ones, who would not get well from any illness? Option one: a private tour with a guide of the museum. Duration of the visit: approximately 60 min. Price: € 160 per tour. Option two: a guided tour as part of group. Duration of the visit: approximately 60 min. Price: € 16 per person. Children under 16 years of age: free of charge. The young between 16 and 29 years of age and over 65 years of age: € 11 IMPORTANT NOTICE: to guarantee your visit, it is necessary to pay the price of the entrance 3 days in advance via the Internet. In case of cancellation of the tour, this payment IS NOT REFUNDED. This is necessary to ensure the availability of the entrance tickets. |
☆ The sequence of the visit to the sights listed above can change depending on the opening hours of the museums, public activities in the city, start time and place and other reasons.
☆ In addition to the sites above we will certainly show you more curious things and tell more stories.
☆ Optional visits are available on the work days of the museums.
Characteristics of the tour
• Duration: approximately 4 hours without optional entrances, up to 8 hours with all optional entrances.
• If you need food during the tour, the guide will recommend you a restaurant or a café to suit your preference.
• Availability: daily from 9 am to 9 pm local time. It`s advisable to start your tour in the morning. The schedule of the optional entrances depends on the museums` opening hours.
• It is a walking tour that may include one or two 10 minutes metro rides on your request. Contact us if you are going to need a car.
• Price: Ask the price
• Recommended for the guests who would like to see emblematic modernist architecture of Barcelona, and learn about a relatively short but extremely important period of its history. Combine this tour with Secrets of the Old Town and the Bike tour.
• Observations: this tour is normally undertaken on foot. Please take into account that on this tour you will have to be on your feet for about 4 to 8 hours during the day, unless you book a vehicle. Nevertheless, it is possible to make coffee/snack breaks and stop for a while during the tour.
PRICES OF THE OPTIONAL VISITS
Visits to museums are optional. It means that they will be realized on your request. Prices, schedule and other conditions of the visits are stipulated by museums.
Price of entrance tickets for children can vary in different museums and normally depend on child`s age. Please consult the section corresponding to the museum that you would like to visit in the description of the tour.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: to guarantee your visit, it is necessary to pay the price of the entrance 3 days in advance via the Internet. In case of cancellation of the tour, this payment IS NOT REFUNDED. This is necessary to ensure the availability of the entrance tickets.
Enjoy the tour!