A summer to discover Gaudí's architecture

La Pedrera: night and day

Besides the Sagrada Família, Casa Milà is, possibly, Gaudí's most emblematic work. In this building, the architect explored the limits of architecture to create a unique residential building. It was the last house Gaudí built and, therefore, it is probably the most unique and personal, as it brings together all the research he did around architecture and art over the years. If you want to escape the heat, you can visit it by taking advantage of the La Pedrera Night Experience, an opportunity to tour the most emblematic spaces of the building with a guided tour that reveals Gaudí's most intimate essence. The visit culminates on the rooftop, with a videomapping show in which images, light, and sound merge with the building's shapes. A very special visit that you will end by having a glass of cava under the stars. And if you're more of an early riser, you can sign up for the La Pedrera Sunrise experience, an opportunity to enjoy the house in peace, just before it opens its doors to the public.

Casa Vicens: the sweetest visit

Built between 1883 and 1885 as a summer residence for the Vicens family, it is Gaudí's first masterpiece and the prelude to his later work. It is probably one of the lesser-known buildings by the architect to the general public, so if you want to discover it, you can take advantage of an evening this summer. A house where nature is breathed, with its facades dotted with flowers and its interior ceilings and walls full of vegetation. A summer house where there is a lot of synchrony with the exterior, with windows designed to be open and offer the sensation that the garden enters the house. You can visit it freely or guided; or enjoy the Sweet Gaudí proposal, a free visit with an audioguide that you can round off by having an artisanal ice cream in the house's courtyard.

Water Museum: a refreshing proposal

If your visit to Casa Vicens has convinced you, you can complement it with an offer they provide every Sunday from the Museum of Waters in Cornellà de Llobregat. During the celebration of the Gaudí Year, you can visit the waterfall that the architect designed for the garden of Casa Vicens and which was rebuilt at the museum in 2019. Beyond its formal beauty, the waterfall represents a meeting point between art and water management, and invites you to rediscover Gaudí's work from a new perspective. A further example of his ability to harmonize nature, architecture, and symbolism.

Torre Bellesguard: space of power

An opportunity to discover one of Gaudí's most architecturally complex works. You can take a self-guided tour with an audio guide or sign up for one of the guided tours that will allow you to discover the history and secrets hidden in Bellesguard. A good alternative is to sign up for the guided tour "Spaces of Power", as five centuries before Gaudí, Bellesguard was already a powerful place in the comtal city. The entire area was frequented and inhabited by kings, queens, and great personalities of politics and culture of that era, such as Elisenda de Montcada, Martí I the Human, Margarida de Prades, Violant de Bar, Bernat Metge, Benedict XIII (better known as Pope Luna) or Cecília d'Urgell. This route connects Bellesguard with the monastery of Pedralbes, two monuments with shared geography and history.

Crypt of Colònia Güell: testing laboratory

In Colònia Güell, located within the industrial colony of Santa Coloma de Cervelló, Gaudí designed a church that remained unfinished, but which served as a pilot project for the construction of the Sagrada Família. We recommend taking the full tour of this modernist industrial colony, which still stands out today for its charm and the tranquility of its surroundings, preserving the atmosphere of the 19th century and where you can admire unique buildings such as the Cooperativa, the Fonda, Ca l'Espinal, or Ca l'Ordal. You can visit freely with an audio guide or also on guided tours. All this in a tour that culminates at the Crypt, a spectacular building that, as Gaudí himself said, if it had been finished, would have been "a monumental model of the Sagrada Família".

Artigas i Catllaràs Gardens: climate refuges in La Pobla de Lillet

In the early 20th century, Eusebi Güell founded the first Portland cement factory in Catalonia at Clot del Moro. Coal extracted from the Catllaràs mines was used to fuel its furnaces; the distance between the town of La Pobla de Lillet and the mining operation led Güell to commission Gaudí to design the Xalet del Catllaràs as housing for the mine workers and engineers. During his stay in the area, Gaudí lodged at the home of the Artigas family. In gratitude for the hospitality received, he gifted them the design for a garden on a plot of land the family owned right in front of their house and textile factory. This is how the Artigas Gardens were born, which you can visit by following an itinerary where you will see fountains, benches, railings, and bridges. Regarding the Xalet del Catllaràs, only the exterior can currently be visited, as the interior is undergoing restoration.