Barcelona Modernism Private tour

If you want to learn 5 key things of la Casa Batlló before you visit the building, keep reading. Most probably you will understand why this is one of the most breakthrough buildings during the early XX century that impacted the modern times. 1. La Casa Batlló was designed by Antoni Gaudí, a Catalan architect known for his unique, organic style that incorporated elements of nature into his buildings. This was not only in the exterior but also in all elements inside the house (main hall, stairs, rooms and rooftop). The elements were not just an imitation of the nature itself, but a way to optimize the structure and reach more colors, better air conditioning and natural light to the whole building. 2. The building was commissioned by textile industrialist Josep Batlló and was constructed between 1904 and 1906. Once the building was completed, other wealthy businessmen wanted to have a big and beautiful house and wanted to commission their own buildings. The area (Passeig de Gracia) became the main street to show their economic power to the society. 3. The facade of La Casa Batlló is adorned with intricate mosaics made from broken ceramic tiles, known as "trencadis", and features a number of sculptural elements such as the dragon-shaped roof and the pillars that resemble bones. The whole structure gets often decorated during national fests and relevant dates, and it is one of the most iconic images of the Art Nouveau arround the world. 4. Inside, the building has a number of unusual features such as a roof terrace with undulating walls, a central atrium with a skylight in the shape of a star, and a hall of mirrors with walls made of stained-glass. These innovations that are extremely beautiful were completely unique at the beginning of 1900. No other architect had innovated before with the amount of success and attention that Gaudí had. 5. La Casa Batlló is now a museum and cultural center that is open to the public, and it is considered one of the most important works of Gaudí's career. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005. La casa Batlló has an average of more than 1 million visits every year coming from all countries around the world. These are just 5 highlights of one of the greatest masterpieces from Antoni Gaudí. In case you want to get immersed in the full athmosphere of the genius architect, you can enroll to the Gaudí day tour , so you can discover all the key elements of his universe. To get more information about the entrance tickets, you can visit https://www.casabatllo.es/

Did you know you can find the most exclusive and remarkable modernist houses in Barcelona just in the same block? it is called the "Block of discord" (illa de la discordia) and they were built by different architects who were rivals and were competing to see who was able to create the most beautiful building. Spending one morning visiting this incredible area of the city is an unforgettable experience. Unfortunately, not all houses are open to the public, but certainly, the details and the views are spectacular. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illa_de_la_Disc%C3%B2rdia

On the rooftop of Casa Milà you can find these ventilation ducts and chimneys, some of which are decorated with the famous "trencadís" technique (from the Catalan word "trencar", which means "to break"). This technique consists in use of broken tiles and reused material to create beautiful shapes.
In other places like the Park Güell, Trencadís was used for the undulating bench, and was done mostly with the leftovers of glass and ceramics. Gaudí wanted to reuse the things that were left behind by other people, so he could create beautiful colors. This might be considered as one of the first ecological art creation.
Today, this mosaic technique has become mainstream, and it can be found in any corner around the world. However, 150 years ago this was not the case and this was completely a revolution of decoration for the following reasons: - It was so simple, it could be built by any operator in the construction site. - It was very affordable since it did not require any high quality material - It could get adapted to the curve shapes that Gaudí used to build - The outcome was very beautiful
From this rooftop of Casa Milà you can enjoy some of the most beautiful views of the Passeig de Gràcia street, one of the most beautiful ones in Barcelona

This is not a famous building from the outside, but is definitely worth a visit if you want to discover a super elegant modernist building in la Diagonal avenue (close to Passeig de Gràcia). Full of decorations using many materials (stone, iron, glass) this small palace was built in 1906 by Puig i Catafalch, one of the most relevant architects of the 19th century together with Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domenech i Montaner. Indeed, the building is very close to other masterpieces like Casa de les Punxes, Casa Calvet, Casa Batlló or La Pedrera. The building is considered a National Historical Monument of Artistic Interest. Most of the elements remember the ones in the casa Amatller since the author used to work with similar materials and both buildings were done in the same decade. A masterpiece of wood, stone and glass that is unknown even to the locals.
If you are more interested, you can find more pictures and information here: https://www.llull.cat/monografics/palaubaroquadras/english/index.cfm
This building is not open to be visited as other key attractions of the city. However, t ickets can be purchased here for ad-hoc tours: https://www.tiqets.com/en/barcelona-attractions-c66342/tickets-for-palau-baro-de-quadras-guided-tour-p974807/

Casa Fuster is one of the most beautiful buildings that was built at the beginning of the 20th century by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
Just few blocks away from la Pedrera or Casa Batlló, today this building is a luxury hotel that can be visited. In its extraordinary hall it is frequent to enjoy nice Jazz evenings concerts and upstairs, at the rooftop the views over the city are quite impressive as well (they are normally opened in summer time for anyone who wants to enjoy a cocktail with nice views of the city. As a curiosity, some scenes of the film "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" from Woody Allen were filmed here. https://www.hotelcasafuster.com/en/history/

La Pedrera (house of the Milà family) is a very well-known building in the center of Barcelona. Its white stone façade is pretty famous around the world. However, in contrast with the white façade, the vestibules are a celebration of colors, and of course the light plays a prominent role. In the vestibules there are the main stairs, connection with the main floor (where the Milà family lived), and the service stairs and elevator to reach the other floors and apartments. The main gate, an impressive combination of glass and iron, is characterized by the side entrances, for pedestrians, and the central one used for cars. The Casa Milà was one of the first houses in Barcelona in having a garage. Gaudí already at the beginning of the 20th century envisioned the need of having a private garage for cars when still carriages were the main transport. Everything was conceived as a fully equipped building ready for modern times.

Every 23rd of April is the national fest of Catalonia: Sant Jordi (Saint George) The festival is considered the "Catalan Valentine's Day." On this day, it is traditional for men to give women a rose and for women to give men a book. The day is also celebrated with parades, traditional dancing, and other cultural events. The festival honors Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, who is said to have saved the city of Barcelona from a dragon. The fairy tale mentions that, from the dragon's blood, grew many red roses. That is the reason why every town or city in Catalonia is full of roses every April 23rd. Even la Casa Batlló was full of roses back in 2016 as in the picture below. Although it gets a bit crowded, this is the most special day of the year for locals. Definitely a day full of magic and very romantic. If you want to visit the city during this period of the year, you won't regret the special atmosphere you can feel all over the city.

The pavement of the whole Passeig de Gràcia street is full of a singular symbology made by Antoni Guadí. Beyond the beautiful design of the tiles, there are still many curiosities that most locals of Barcelona are not aware: The architect planned this design not for the Passeig de Gracia but for la Pedrera. Years after his death, finally the city council decided to apply the design to the whole entire street as a tribute to Gaudí. Currently, the original tile model is exposed in MoMa (New York). Inspired by the nature, the shape follows the same structure as a bee panel. Every tail is gets a part of an image that gets complemented with the tails around it repeating similar shape: a starfish, a seashell spiral and seaweed. The purpose of these 3 elements is to keep having the movement of the sea and the feeling of the nature under our feet. Since the original model was designed for a building (la Pedrera), the dimensions and the thickness of the pavement that were built originally had to be adjusted to the street. Each tile weights 6kg. This singular pavement is not only present in Barcelona, but also in other cities around Spain like Granada, Cáceres or Jaen.

After months of works, finally the Casa Batlló facade is visible again!
The restoration analysis started more than two years ago. Today is over and the workers are removing the scaffolding that was covering the most famous and photographed facade of Passeig de Gràcia.
More than 30 professionals have been working on this challengint project. The intervention was not that easy, as they had to restore 5 different materials: ceramic, glass, iron, wood and stone.
But they made it! And they did an amazing job!
Thank you for preserving the treasures of Barcelona. For more details, feel free to check the official website details:
https://www.casabatllo.es/en/restoration/