Where is the most unknown Gaudí hiding? Five places to rediscover his life and work

Restrooms for workers at a textile factory. A summer house with walls covered in French marigolds. A stately tower built upon the ruins of the castle of the last king of the Catalan dynasty. At first glance, these are three very different places, but they all share the same father: Antoni Gaudí. These are some of the lesser-known works of an architect who left his mark in many corners of Catalonia. Because, beyond the towers of the Sagrada Família, the undulating forms of La Pedrera, and the colorful mosaics of Park Güell, there is an entire Gaudinian universe that still goes unnoticed by a large part of the visitors.

This year 2026, marking one hundred years since the architect's death, is a good excuse to rediscover him. The Gaudí Year has filled the calendar with exhibitions, guided tours, and activities that invite you to look at his life and work with fresh eyes. And it is not necessary to just queue up in front of the most famous monuments in Barcelona to delve into his universe. From Reus to Mataró, passing through the Colònia Güell and some less traveled corners of the Catalan capital, we propose five stops to learn about Gaudí's origins, discover where he began to experiment with his ideas, and visit some of the settings that marked his career.

Reus: the origins of Gaudí

The Mercadal square in Reus, Antoni Gaudí's hometown

To discover the origins of Antoni Gaudí, one must travel to Reus, in the Baix Camp region. It is the city where he was born, on June 25, 1852, and where he spent a large part of his childhood and adolescence before moving to Barcelona to study architecture. Curiously, however, Reus does not preserve any building constructed by the architect. His legacy is explained there in another way: through the streets he walked as a child, the spaces linked to his family, and the documents that allow one to discover what he was like before becoming a universal figure.

A good way to start the visit is to approach the Gaudí Centre, in the Plaça del Mercadal, an interpretation space that allows you to delve into his life and understand some of the keys to his architecture through models, audiovisuals and interactive resources. This year, moreover, the Year of Gaudí has added new attractions to the getaway. The Reus Museum is hosting until January 10, 2027, an exhibition that brings together original documents of the architect, among which are five drawings, a photograph, a notebook and a credential from the Barcelona Universal Exposition of 1888.

Colònia Güell: the laboratory of the Sagrada Família

In Santa Coloma de Cervelló, in the Baix Llobregat, there is a church that was never finished being built. Only the lower part was raised, but it is one of the most important works to understand how Antoni Gaudí worked. It is the Crypt of the Colònia Güell, which the industrialist Eusebi Güell commissioned him to provide religious service to the workers of his textile colony. Gaudí began working there in 1898 and, for years, took advantage of the project to experiment with forms and construction techniques that he later applied to the Sagrada Família. Inclined columns, arches of unusual shapes, and materials such as brick, stone, and ceramic make this small temple one of the most unique spaces in his career. The works were interrupted in 1914 and the church remained unfinished.

Today the Crypt is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and can be visited, but the getaway allows you to discover much more than just the building. The Colònia Güell preserves much of the urban planning and constructions that shaped this former industrial community, with workers' housing, facilities, and modernist buildings. The interpretation center helps to understand how the colony worked and allows you to learn about one of Gaudí's most curious experiments.

Casa Vicens: the cradle of Gaudí's style

Before the undulating facades of La Pedrera and the balconies that look like masks of Casa Batlló, Gaudí had already begun to experiment with colors, shapes, and materials. One of the first places where he did so was at Casa Vicens, in the Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona. In 1883, when he was only 31 years old, he received the commission to build a summer house for Manuel Vicens, a tile manufacturer. The result was a building that broke with the architecture of the time: a facade full of green and white ceramics, oriental influences, and floral motifs. Among the latter, the French marigolds stand out, flowers that Gaudí turned into one of the most characteristic decorative elements of the house.

Today Casa Vicens is a UNESCO World Heritage site and can be visited from the inside, an opportunity to discover a Gaudí very different from that of his best-known works. The tour allows you to walk through the rooms of the former residence, observe the ceilings decorated with natural motifs, and go out into the garden, which helps to understand the relationship the architect wanted to establish between the building and the vegetation. Furthermore, this November the house celebrates the ninth anniversary of its opening to the public.

Bellesguard Tower: the Gaudí who looked towards the Middle Ages

The Bellesguard Tower, in Barcelona.

At the foot of the Collserola mountain range, in the Sant Gervasi neighborhood of Barcelona, one of Gaudí's most surprising constructions is hidden. It is Torre Bellesguard, a private house that looks like a medieval castle, with stone walls, elongated windows, and a tower crowned by a four-armed cross. The architect built it between 1900 and 1909 on the land where, five centuries earlier, Martin the Humane, the last king of the Catalan dynasty, had had a residence. Gaudí took advantage of that past to imagine a building very different from those we usually associate with his name. Instead of facades full of curves and colors, he opted for an architecture of straight lines, inspired by the Gothic style and loaded with references to the history of Catalonia. The result is one of his least-known works, but also one of his most unique.

The Bellesguard Tower can be visited and allows for the discovery of both the interior spaces of the house and the gardens, as well as the views over Barcelona. Furthermore, the Gaudí Year has brought a very curious initiative: the creation of a collective trencadís artwork that recreates the cross crowning the building. The project, open to public participation until February 2027, invites visitors to contribute to a piece inspired by one of the architect's most characteristic decorative techniques.

Mataró: the Gaudí who worked for a workers' cooperative

Before building grand houses for the Barcelona bourgeoisie, Antoni Gaudí also worked for a workers' cooperative. To discover this lesser-known facet of the architect, you must go to Mataró, in the Maresme region, where one of his first works is still preserved: the Nau Gaudí. At the end of the 19th century, the textile cooperative L'Obrera Mataronense commissioned him to design several buildings for their industrial and residential project. Most were never built or have disappeared, but the cotton bleaching shed, erected between 1882 and 1883, remains standing.

Inside, a succession of wooden parabolic arches supports the roof and anticipates some of the architectural solutions that Gaudí would later develop. It is a work removed from the luxury and ornamentation of his most famous buildings, but fundamental to understanding his early construction experiments.

Today the old industrial warehouse has become a cultural space that hosts exhibitions and activities, and it is one of the main gateways to the modernist heritage of Mataró. This November, in addition, the Gaudí Year offers a special reason to visit it. On the 20th, 21st and 22nd, and also on the 27th and 28th of November, the building will host Gaudí's Reflections, a light installation by the artist Xevi Bayona that is part of the project In Gaudí's light. The initiative will transform five heritage spaces in the city with artistic interventions inspired by the architect's universe.