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The Sagrada Familia is pretty well known, but I just want to put a plug here for some other buildings by Gaudi you can go see: https://www.barcelona-life.com/ba

The Sagrada Familia is pretty well known, but I just want to put a plug here for some other buildings by Gaudi you can go see: https://www.barcelona-life.com/barcelona/gaudi https://www.barcelona-life.com/barcelona/gaudi That said, if on limited time, definitely see the Sagrada Familia. It was one of my favourite tourist sites in Spain, even beyond just Barcelona.

oliyoung 1y ago
Yes! Parc Guell https://parkguell.barcelona/ https://parkguell.barcelona/ and La Padera https://www.lapedrera.com/en https://www.lapedrera.com/en are must sees for Gaudi
- loloquwowndueo 1y ago
  Don't forget casa Batlló - visits are by appointment only (I think) but even just seeing the building’s exterior is pretty awesome.
  - wkat4242 1y ago
    No you can just book a ticket like with all the others. Always buy a ticket online. Otherwise you'll be stuck in a queue. The Sagrada stopped doing on the spot visits because the queue was getting too long and Battló did as well. Only at la pedrera (or casa Milà as it's really called) can you still buy a ticket on site. But I wouldn't. You're just wasting your time waiting while all the prebooks go ahead of you. Battló is the best one for me by far. I love the organic shapes and the light well and the soft wood etc. Wow
    - goshx 1y ago
      They also do some cool projections on the façade in December.
    - ghaff 1y ago
      This business about having to book tickets online in Europe is pretty much new to me. I never used to have to do this with rare exceptions.
      - fpoling 1y ago
        We almost missed Louvre on a recent visit to Paris. You need to book online and depending on the season weeks in advance.
        ghaff 1y ago
        I didn't even try the Louvre last time I was in Paris--which was OK. But, although I had timed tickets to the Musee D'Orsay, it was really sort of too crowded to be enjoyable. You couldn't get near the cafe behind the clock.
      - ido 1y ago
        There are a lot more tourists then there used to be in the past. When I moved to Vienna in 2005 I used to take weekend trips to nearby cities (anything up to a couple hours by train, like Budapest or Brno). I would just go on a train and when I’d arrive I’d find some hostel and get a room on the spot. Today you really have to reserve, sometimes months in advance if it’s during the high season.
      - distances 1y ago
        20 years ago I could just walk up to the Eiffel tower ticket office, buy a ticket, and go up after a couple of minutes. On a beautiful summer weekend. Today I wouldn't even dream of that. You really have to plan ahead for all the major sights that include an entrance.
- stavros 1y ago
  Casa Batllo is pretty nice as well.
  - eszed 1y ago
    Strongly recommend Casa Batllo - it's magnificent. It pulls off this trick of being slightly surreal, but yet completely cozy. There's not a single inch of it that isn't unique and interesting to look at, and yet far from being visually overwhelming, it's immensely restful. I'd move into it tomorrow. All that said, if they still have the LED-installation at the exit - and if you're like me, and a little sensitive to visual stimuli - avoid that at all costs. It is 360° (or more? I think it's the floor and ceiling, too) of flashing lights and sound, which reduced me to a catatonic state, squatting in the corner with my eyes tight shut and my hands pressed over my ears. It was almost, but not quite (which says something for how good the house itself is), enough to ruin the experience.
WinstonSmith84 1y ago
Gaudi makes Barcelona interesting to see but Barcelona itself is overhyped with little to see beyond Gaudi's works. In the whole of Spain, the south has a significant history with a lot of historical buildings and very old city centers. Sevilla especially, but Granada or Cordoba are gems too - and I'm skipping lots of smaller cities or villages like Ronda, Setenil or Toledo more in the north, each more interesting than Barcelona. Unless of course the goal is to party, then none of the previous villages are very appealing :-)
- pjerem 1y ago
  Barcelona is interesting for its modernity and city design. It's maybe the most heavily planned and designed European capital. Maybe it's hard to see that coming from the US where all the cities have been planned in the last centuries and you are used to see blocks everywhere, but in Europe it's the exception, and the way it have been done in Barcelona is, I think, unique in the world. If you don't know the concept of superblocks, there you go : https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcelona-a-city-redefined/ https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcel... but to summarize, Barcelona have been divided in superblocks containing blocks. Inside those superblocks, there are less cars and inside the blocks, there are barely any car at all. What that means is that each superblock is like a little city and each block is like a peaceful village. Hundreds of peaceful places inside of a busy european capital.
  - mpeg 1y ago
    Superblocks are often mentioned in the context of Barcelona, and while a good idea in theory, in practice a lot of locals are against it. It would be fantastic if the whole city was implemented using superblocks, but the reality of it is that the areas where superblocks have been planned go up in price, pushing out low earning locals and bringing in foreigners who can afford it. This might have been ok for a while in areas like Poblenou which were extremely underdeveloped 20 years ago (mostly industrial buildings) but even the new incarnation of superblocks (green axes) which are mostly about pedestrianization of streets and squares always results in rent increases. There's no good solution, I would like to see a modern city built with pedestrians in mind from the get-go though.
mpeg 1y ago
La Seu, the cathedral of Palma, also had a big Gaudi influence as he led the restoration in the early 20th century. I'm biased, but for me it's one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in the world, the lights inside are spectacular.

oliyoung 1y ago

Yes! Parc Guell https://parkguell.barcelona/ https://parkguell.barcelona/ and La Padera https://www.lapedrera.com/en https://www.lapedrera.com/en are must sees for Gaudi

loloquwowndueo 1y ago
Don't forget casa Batlló - visits are by appointment only (I think) but even just seeing the building’s exterior is pretty awesome.
- wkat4242 1y ago
  No you can just book a ticket like with all the others. Always buy a ticket online. Otherwise you'll be stuck in a queue. The Sagrada stopped doing on the spot visits because the queue was getting too long and Battló did as well. Only at la pedrera (or casa Milà as it's really called) can you still buy a ticket on site. But I wouldn't. You're just wasting your time waiting while all the prebooks go ahead of you. Battló is the best one for me by far. I love the organic shapes and the light well and the soft wood etc. Wow
  - goshx 1y ago
    They also do some cool projections on the façade in December.
  - ghaff 1y ago
    This business about having to book tickets online in Europe is pretty much new to me. I never used to have to do this with rare exceptions.
    - fpoling 1y ago
      We almost missed Louvre on a recent visit to Paris. You need to book online and depending on the season weeks in advance.
      - ghaff 1y ago
        I didn't even try the Louvre last time I was in Paris--which was OK. But, although I had timed tickets to the Musee D'Orsay, it was really sort of too crowded to be enjoyable. You couldn't get near the cafe behind the clock.
    - ido 1y ago
      There are a lot more tourists then there used to be in the past. When I moved to Vienna in 2005 I used to take weekend trips to nearby cities (anything up to a couple hours by train, like Budapest or Brno). I would just go on a train and when I’d arrive I’d find some hostel and get a room on the spot. Today you really have to reserve, sometimes months in advance if it’s during the high season.
    - distances 1y ago
      20 years ago I could just walk up to the Eiffel tower ticket office, buy a ticket, and go up after a couple of minutes. On a beautiful summer weekend. Today I wouldn't even dream of that. You really have to plan ahead for all the major sights that include an entrance.
stavros 1y ago
Casa Batllo is pretty nice as well.
- eszed 1y ago
  Strongly recommend Casa Batllo - it's magnificent. It pulls off this trick of being slightly surreal, but yet completely cozy. There's not a single inch of it that isn't unique and interesting to look at, and yet far from being visually overwhelming, it's immensely restful. I'd move into it tomorrow. All that said, if they still have the LED-installation at the exit - and if you're like me, and a little sensitive to visual stimuli - avoid that at all costs. It is 360° (or more? I think it's the floor and ceiling, too) of flashing lights and sound, which reduced me to a catatonic state, squatting in the corner with my eyes tight shut and my hands pressed over my ears. It was almost, but not quite (which says something for how good the house itself is), enough to ruin the experience.

WinstonSmith84 1y ago

Gaudi makes Barcelona interesting to see but Barcelona itself is overhyped with little to see beyond Gaudi's works. In the whole of Spain, the south has a significant history with a lot of historical buildings and very old city centers. Sevilla especially, but Granada or Cordoba are gems too - and I'm skipping lots of smaller cities or villages like Ronda, Setenil or Toledo more in the north, each more interesting than Barcelona. Unless of course the goal is to party, then none of the previous villages are very appealing :-)

pjerem 1y ago
Barcelona is interesting for its modernity and city design. It's maybe the most heavily planned and designed European capital. Maybe it's hard to see that coming from the US where all the cities have been planned in the last centuries and you are used to see blocks everywhere, but in Europe it's the exception, and the way it have been done in Barcelona is, I think, unique in the world. If you don't know the concept of superblocks, there you go : https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcelona-a-city-redefined/ https://www.citiesforum.org/news/superblock-superilla-barcel... but to summarize, Barcelona have been divided in superblocks containing blocks. Inside those superblocks, there are less cars and inside the blocks, there are barely any car at all. What that means is that each superblock is like a little city and each block is like a peaceful village. Hundreds of peaceful places inside of a busy european capital.
- mpeg 1y ago
  Superblocks are often mentioned in the context of Barcelona, and while a good idea in theory, in practice a lot of locals are against it. It would be fantastic if the whole city was implemented using superblocks, but the reality of it is that the areas where superblocks have been planned go up in price, pushing out low earning locals and bringing in foreigners who can afford it. This might have been ok for a while in areas like Poblenou which were extremely underdeveloped 20 years ago (mostly industrial buildings) but even the new incarnation of superblocks (green axes) which are mostly about pedestrianization of streets and squares always results in rent increases. There's no good solution, I would like to see a modern city built with pedestrians in mind from the get-go though.

mpeg 1y ago

La Seu, the cathedral of Palma, also had a big Gaudi influence as he led the restoration in the early 20th century. I'm biased, but for me it's one of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals in the world, the lights inside are spectacular.