A Tour of Barcelona

Casa Mila (La Pedrera de Gaudi)

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Attraction | "La Pedrera - expensive but worth a visit"

La Pedrera Barcelona Photo - Casa Mila (La Pedrera de Gaudi), Barcelona, Spain

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My favourite Gaudi site of all remains Park Guell for its sheer impressive space and for the fact it is free, but for a close up view the rooftop of La Pedrera is hard to beat although in my opinion the 15 Euros entrance fee means it has just about priced itself out of the "repeat visit" market. That said, as it had been at least a decade since my last visit, and armed with a new camera I thought it was time to bite the bullet let those fingers slip into the wallet and pay another visit. The best spot of La Pedrera is the roof although if it happens to be raining in Barcelona then it is closed for safety purposes. Rather amusingly you aren't allowed to jump on the roof either, which gives ...Read More

My favourite Gaudi site of all remains Park Guell for its sheer impressive space and for the fact it is free, but for a close up view the rooftop of La Pedrera is hard to beat although in my opinion the 15 Euros entrance fee means it has just about priced itself out of the "repeat visit" market. That said, as it had been at least a decade since my last visit, and armed with a new camera I thought it was time to bite the bullet let those fingers slip into the wallet and pay another visit.

The best spot of La Pedrera is the roof although if it happens to be raining in Barcelona then it is closed for safety purposes. Rather amusingly you aren't allowed to jump on the roof either, which gives a rather scary thought that you might go though it by stomping around on top.

It has long been said that the hats of Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers of Star Wars; I understand one of the set designers used to work at La Pedrera so I can well believe it. I like getting photos of the chimney with nothing but clear sky around; the apparent peace in the photos tells a lie to the tourists tripping over each other on the ground. That said, it doesn't seem too busy - our friend who is terrified of heights was absolutely fascinated by the chimney pots and rounded sculptural edge of the building and was too excited to notice that she was 9 stories above Barcelona.

Most people seem to rush through the exhibits in what was originally attic space. At 15 Euros a piece I'm going to examine every ceiling tile, joist and carpet tile. Actually, the attic reminds me of being in the gut of a long fish, with a very bendy and articulated rib cage. I enjoyed sitting a while just looking at the form of the building, and one of the displays shows a model of the attic space to show just how intricately designed it is.

Also on this floor are some images of some of the buildings Gaudi designed outside Barcelona. I’ve seen some of his work in Majorca, but have never treated myself to the full Gaudi tour.

The other main aspect to the tour of La Pedrera is the floor below, an existing apartment, laid out from the time it was designed by Gaudi. Despite the ornate ceiling roses, and carving around the window, the apartment could almost be any period piece, and as it is near the top of the building, I think is flattered by the light provided by the inner courtyards. It still looks pretty dark at the base of the building.

All in all, La Pedrera offers a good display of the attention to detail Gaudi had and gives an insight into his building style, and Gaudi’s observation that nature's shapes and forms were solid and worth copying.

Although I am horrified by the admission fee (have I mentioned it yet?), a visit to La Pedrera seems better value than a visit to the other "major" Gaudi house, Casa Batllo with its famous dragon skin roof, where the attractions seem even more "external" (and hence free to view).
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 19, 2012

Casa Mila (La Pedrera de Gaudi)
Passeig De Gracia, 92
Barcelona, Spain 08007
34644 291 481

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Park Guell (Parc Güell)

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Attraction | "A Park Full of Art"

Park Guell Barcelona Photo - Park Guell (Parc Güell), Barcelona, Spain

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I know it isn't original in the slightest, but my all time favourite place to visit is Park Guell on the edge of Barcelona city centre. We always find the simplest way to get to the Park is to travel to Lesseps Metro Station (not perhaps the closest, but easiest to get to) and then walk for about 15 minutes along the main road, and then up the hill to the entrance. As the park is both free to enter and a magical place to visit you will not get the place to yourself. The entrance way with its fantastic sweeping staircase and vivid brightly tiled lizard are the main attractions, and I'm guessing that some people stagger out of a taxi, take a look up the steps and depart again hap...Read More

I know it isn't original in the slightest, but my all time favourite place to visit is Park Guell on the edge of Barcelona city centre.

We always find the simplest way to get to the Park is to travel to Lesseps Metro Station (not perhaps the closest, but easiest to get to) and then walk for about 15 minutes along the main road, and then up the hill to the entrance.

As the park is both free to enter and a magical place to visit you will not get the place to yourself. The entrance way with its fantastic sweeping staircase and vivid brightly tiled lizard are the main attractions, and I'm guessing that some people stagger out of a taxi, take a look up the steps and depart again happy.

I always like to walk right to the top of the park and the groovy cross on the top of the hill (it isn't that far to walk) to catch the view and perhaps just a few fleeting moments of solitude, although there are fewer obvious Gaudi designed attractions up here. There are quite often classical music buskers dotted around the upper reaches of the park, and it is quite something to wander around with the gentle strains of a string quartet to accompany you.

In usual Gaudi style, the steps up to the final peak have some steep sides; given the place seems popular for people to play "I'm the king of the castle" height haters may feel a little nervous about getting too close to the edge. I've done it quite a few times so usually leave that final little bit to those that haven't visited before.

My other favourite spot which is slightly less popular are the "pebble columns" that are a little further back from the main plaza with the long waving line of brightly coloured tile seating. Again, you can sometimes steal yourself a little private space away from the crowds here, and I love the jaunty angles of the columns.

Although the spot is much busier, another must visit place is the white tiled columned area. This was what Gaudi originally thought would be a market area, although in practical terms those huge columns make it difficult to see everything that is going on in the space.

Gaudi designed the park originally to become an upscale housing development, although in the end only two or three houses were ever built, including one for his patron Mr Guell. I reflected that Gaudi was a little too "out there" for anyone to risk buying a Gaudi designed home at that time. I think too that I might have bought a grand town house in the centre of Barcelona, as the site of Park Guell was a little out of the way.

Gaudi was a very clever chap as he simply aped the shapes produced by natural this his columns often look like forests, and his arches although not traditionally shaped are actually very strongly built – Gaudi used gravity to make his structures work.

There is a little bar and cafe in the place, but we usually arrive early in the day to beat the worst of the crowds and are away from the place by lunchtime; still it would be a nice place to take a picnic if you want to linger a while. Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 5, 2012

Park Guell (Parc Güell)
Montana Pelada, Gracia District
Barcelona, Catalonia

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La Sagrada Familia

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Attraction | "La Sagrada Familia - I'm not paying that!"

La Sagrada Familia Photo - La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

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I've visited what is perhaps Barcelona's most famous landmark, Gaudi's massive and unfinished cathedral 3 or 4 times, and each time am fascinated by Gaudi's mind and eye for design, and yet horrified at the entrance price (it was 16 Euros to see inside the Cathedral and to go up the towers), the crowds and the indecent haste in which the building is being thrown up to achieve completion. This time around, for each of these reasons we simply enjoyed the cathedral from the outside rather than visit the innards. I'm not too sure what the famously humble and pious Gaudi would make of the huge charges made to visit his cathedral creation. I'm guessing he would not be too impressed. ...Read More

I've visited what is perhaps Barcelona's most famous landmark, Gaudi's massive and unfinished cathedral 3 or 4 times, and each time am fascinated by Gaudi's mind and eye for design, and yet horrified at the entrance price (it was 16 Euros to see inside the Cathedral and to go up the towers), the crowds and the indecent haste in which the building is being thrown up to achieve completion.

This time around, for each of these reasons we simply enjoyed the cathedral from the outside rather than visit the innards. I'm not too sure what the famously humble and pious Gaudi would make of the huge charges made to visit his cathedral creation. I'm guessing he would not be too impressed.

In Gaudi's day each block of the cathedral was lovingly carved from stone and placed according to his plans. After his death in 1926, and the partial destruction of the cathedral during the Spanish Civil War, I suspect many thought his Cathedral would never be built. Indeed I remember my student house mate (an architect student) visiting the site in 1986, musing that he would never see the building completed in his lifetime.

Since those days, donations (largely from the Israel and Japanese community) saw a revitalisation of effort to complete the La Sagrada Familia. Of course, the days of cheap labour in the western world has largely disappeared, and in replacement of the original carved blocks, a fair bit of the building is now constructed with concrete; cheaper and easier to work with. The age of the original work, together with changes in pollution control and the materials used means that the different constructions viewed from the outside of the Cathedral looks quite different – new bits are concrete, older bits are blackened stone.

The main carving of the entrance ways are also interesting in their contrast – the softer statues produced by Gaudi, contrast hugely with the angular and gaunt style of the architect roped in to construct this later entrance, Josep Maria Subirachs. While it is a controversial choice, I actually prefer the work of the incomer. I'm not religious in the slightest, but it clearly shows the suffering of Christ on the cross. I don't want to see a happy, well fed Christ there. You can get a good view of both ends of the cathedral without paying the entrance fee.

Inside, the church now has a roof, and last time I visited some three years ago, I could appreciate for the first time, the tall forest feel that Gaudi was looking to achieve with the columns he built moving ever more slender and divided as they progress upwards. A few of the windows also had bold stained glass windows installed, and I'm sure that more of the interior is now closed from the elements.

The highlight inside is to climb up the towers, to get a closer view of the ornate carving (or moulding) of those fanciful spires. The climb is not for the fainthearted, as Gaudi designed holes at the outer edges of the circular stairwells, meaning that as you descend you can see to the floor. Likewise, there are a couple of arched bridges taking you from spire to spire; I remember crawling on my knees across a particularly high but low walled one in the past.

Unfortunately, each time I visit, it seems I see less of the architecture and more of the Cathedral the building is destined to become. While I appreciate others of a religious persuasion will be more excited by the progression to fully functioning place of worship, I cannot but regret those more incomplete days where you could more easily wander around the structure.

From the outside, you can cross the road to a park area with a lake to get a good view of the cathedral. Quite a few folks linger here a while with a picnic or an ice cream. As with the rest of Barcelona, keep an eye on your belongings as you wander around looking for that perfect shot.

I will no doubt pay to enter the interior at some point in future as the development progresses further; not least, I am interested to see how the interior is dressed as time goes on. However for now I got a reasonable impression of how the Cathedral has progressed since my last visit and I regret that those innocent days when the place really was nothing more than a huge building site are gone forever.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 4, 2012

La Sagrada Familia
Carrer de Mallorca, 401
Barcelona, Spain 08013
+34 93 2073031

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Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso)

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Attraction | "Appreciating Picasso at the Mueseu Picasso "

Museu Picasso Photo - Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso), Barcelona, Spain

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Although I'm quite into modern art, appreciation of the work of Picasso generally passed me by until I visited the Museu Picasso in the heart of old town Barcelona a few years ago. I recently revisited the museum as we were visiting Barcelona with a friend, a first time visitor to the city. The Museu Picasso costs 11 Euros to enter and probably takes just over an hour to have a reasonable rootle through the exhibitions. Unfortunately, the real top draw paintings are not at the Museu Picasso although you get a good feel for the early development of the artist, and through a later series of paintings, both donated to the city of Barcelona personally by the artist and by an ardent admirer and...Read More

Although I'm quite into modern art, appreciation of the work of Picasso generally passed me by until I visited the Museu Picasso in the heart of old town Barcelona a few years ago. I recently revisited the museum as we were visiting Barcelona with a friend, a first time visitor to the city.

The Museu Picasso costs 11 Euros to enter and probably takes just over an hour to have a reasonable rootle through the exhibitions. Unfortunately, the real top draw paintings are not at the Museu Picasso although you get a good feel for the early development of the artist, and through a later series of paintings, both donated to the city of Barcelona personally by the artist and by an ardent admirer and close friend, Jaume Sabartes.

The first rooms show Picasso to be a very accomplished and competent artist at a young age; at 15 he was already painting high quality portraits and landscapes. I was particularly impressed with Picasso’s attention to detail, particularly with drawing the wrinkles and shapes of old people. He completed a nude of a middle aged man from behind, and captured that sagging muscle tone around the old man's naked rear end perfectly. It is rather sad to reflect that the older man would probably be subject to a police interview at the very least if he posed naked in front of a gifted teen artist today.

As Picasso moved into his late teens and early 20s he continued to study and develop his style; a view through the rooms sees his artist style becoming looser, and eventually you can see that it is less the strict image of the person or landscape that Picasso wants to convey, but more some aspect or facet of their personality or mood. Consequently, faces become much less distinct or important. I can imagine that because Picasso could paint so well it became a boring chore for him; much more challenging is to capture the spirit.

From the early 1900s, the museum takes a quantum leap in time to a series of 58 paintings Picasso donated to the museum, dating from 1957, when he was in his late 70s. The series, Las Meninas are his interpretation of a classic painting of the same name by Velázquez. Again these images show a little insight into how Picasso's artist mind worked – reinterpreting and changing the aspect, angle and atmosphere of the original works. While many viewers don't recognise "people" in Picasso's work, it is clear he has picked out some aspect of their personality which follows through the different images he produced.

As you wander through the paintings, take a little time to note the grand palace the museum is homed in. While Picasso and his dear friend donated the paintings, the city donated the exhibit space, and they could hardly have chosen grander, as the building as very fine stone work throughout.

The final rooms provide my personal favourite part of the museum, a series of pottery produced by Picasso, and donated to the museum after his death by his grief stricken wife (she would commit suicide 13 years after Picasso died, in 1986). I love the bold colours, and it seems to me that Picasso's bold art is perfect for pottery.

The museum has a good gift shop, with a good range of cheap and pricey Picasso themed artwork to purchase if you wish.
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on March 4, 2012

Picasso Museum (Museu Picasso)
Montcada, 15-19
Barcelona, Spain 08003
+34 93 3196310

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Resort Town of Sitges

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Attraction | "A day trip from Barcelona: Sitges "

Sitges Photo - Resort Town of Sitges, Barcelona, Spain

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We always look to take some time out from any city break, and our most recent trip to Barcelona was no exception. This time we decided to visit the nearby seaside resort of Sitges, just 30 minutes and 6 Euros or so, on the train. Trains leave every 30 minutes from the main Barcelona Sants train station, and tickets can be bought from the ticket machines on the platform. You need the main line trains rather than the underground.Sitges itself is a pretty little place, and in winter mid week at least, very quiet and relaxed. I had heard there was a large gay community in Sitges, but apart from a few same sex couples strolling along the beach front, there appeared to be little indication. I gu...Read More

We always look to take some time out from any city break, and our most recent trip to Barcelona was no exception. This time we decided to visit the nearby seaside resort of Sitges, just 30 minutes and 6 Euros or so, on the train. Trains leave every 30 minutes from the main Barcelona Sants train station, and tickets can be bought from the ticket machines on the platform. You need the main line trains rather than the underground.

Sitges itself is a pretty little place, and in winter mid week at least, very quiet and relaxed. I had heard there was a large gay community in Sitges, but apart from a few same sex couples strolling along the beach front, there appeared to be little indication. I guess you need to know where to go, and the summer party evenings might look a little more cosmopolitan.

We first visited the tourist information office located handily right outside the Sitges train station – I don't think there is any specific "must see" places in the town, it is just a delight to wander through the town and down to the pretty coast to watch the energetic folks playing volley ball, or promenading up and down with their designer sun glasses and toy dogs.

The old town is worth a stroll for its pretty whitewashed buildings, and the town itself appeared to be a string of sandy coves interrupted by rocky headlands. Castles and churches seem to be prominent on each of the headlands. Of course, as a popular seaside resort, there are plenty of choices to dine and drink, even in winter when a good proportion of places have decided to close its doors.

We lingered a while outside the main history museum (the Museu Maricel del Mar) and noted the cannon pointing out to sea with the inscription confirming it was used as a protection against the British – it’s just a shame for the Spanish that it didn't point to the airport!

Overall, we would visit Sitges again, although there seems to be more to do in the larger town of Tarragona further down the coast, with its pretty cathedral and roman remains. Still Sitges is a pretty and relaxing kind of place and has its own charms as a result.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on March 4, 2012

Resort Town of Sitges
35 Km SW of Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain

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Brunells

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Attraction | "Get your chocolate fix at Brunells"

Shop Window at Brunells Photo - Brunells, Barcelona, Spain

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One special thing about the shops in Barcelona is that they haven't completely been taken over by the multiple chain stores, and you will find plenty of individual shops to browse. This is particularly true for the older part of the city centre, the Barri Gotic part of town around the original cathedral. Brunells looks like it has been around for a few generations, and I'm sure in the dark days of austerity and the Catholic values of Franco that a little treat from the bakery and sweet shop Brunells would have gone down well. Today, the little shop is very near to the Picasso museum and makes for a good place to pick up an inexpensive, different and unique gift for the folks ba...Read More

One special thing about the shops in Barcelona is that they haven't completely been taken over by the multiple chain stores, and you will find plenty of individual shops to browse. This is particularly true for the older part of the city centre, the Barri Gotic part of town around the original cathedral.

Brunells looks like it has been around for a few generations, and I'm sure in the dark days of austerity and the Catholic values of Franco that a little treat from the bakery and sweet shop Brunells would have gone down well.

Today, the little shop is very near to the Picasso museum and makes for a good place to pick up an inexpensive, different and unique gift for the folks back home. It is probably most famed for its nougat, and there are plenty of different sorts, packed in handy sized bars to take away if you are partial. I particularly like chocolate, so always go for the very chunky sized chocolate bars. I particularly like the exceptionally strong and rich 75% dark chocolate bar, which comes in at around 3 Euros and keeps my chocolate addiction to manageable levels as a small chunk is all that is required.

For my work friends, I tend to buy a couple of bars of the milk and white chocolate bars as they are much less of an acquired taste, although in true Spanish style, they are a little too sweet for my personal preference. The bars are wrapped in a rather nice patisserie grease proof paper and then double layered in a very Spanish looking brown paper label. The recipients of these gifts can be in no doubt they are authentic.

Brunells also sells more portable cakes and flans on its front counter, and again in true Spanish style these are beautifully made grand affairs of bright fruity colours and sweet tastes. Unfortunately, of course these cakes don't travel well (not that they would last long in my company in any case!).

Service is always very friendly and don't be afraid to point and smile at items you don't know the name of; the Spanish speaking server will be pleased to try to ensure you get just what you want.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on February 29, 2012

Brunells
Princesa 22, Montcada
Barcelona, Spain
933 196 825

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