Best Gaudi Walking Tours

I love Gaudi and Modernista architecture beyond words. Barcelona is just a magical place to see.

I have been twice and have spent a ton of time looking at and planning Modernista site visits.

I have never ended up taking a tour because they seem to all just take you to the two most popular sites - Casa Batllo and La Pedrera. If you’re set on a tour, look for someone who will take you to some other Gaudi/Modernista houses as well.

Both of those two popular sites are so crowded that the touring experience is compromised - especially in September, which is crowded. I was in Casa Batllo again this past May and it was wall-to-wall packed.

If you’re really crazy about Gaudi - without knowing how long you have in Barcelona - I would map out all of these sites and walk/cab between them, depending on your walking stamina. You could see all of this in two full days but it would be nice to have three - as you really need to see Sagrada Familia too, of course.

These first two are lesser known Gaudi houses and they are totally worth a visit:

https://casavicens.org/
https://inici.palauguell.cat/en/

Here is Casa Batllo - popular but worth a visit
https://www.casabatllo.es/en/

Park Guell - a cab ride away and super capacity- controlled but worth it
https://parkguell.barcelona/en

Here are two non-Gaudi Modernista sites that you should see:

One is the music house. It’s worth it to do the shortish tour vs. using the audio guide. You’ll get a nice history and then you’ll also get a brief organ concert and get a chance to hear the acoustics while sitting in the gorgeous auditorium.
https://www.palaumusica.cat/en/the-art-nouveau-building_23602

The other is a hospital complex out past Sagrada Familia - it’s 1km further, once you’re at Sagrada Familia. We had a nice morning at Sagrada Familia, then walked the 1km straight to Hospital San Pau. You could pair those two with Parc Guell - 1.8km from Hospital San Pau - a full day but rewarding.

https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en

That would leave you with the close in places - Palau Musica, Casa Batllo, Casa Vicens, Palau Guell.

They’re all within a few kilometers of each other. If you’re up for walking, it actually makes for a nice day.

The tourist office used to offer a modernisme tour. It didn't go inside any of the sites. The accessible ones all have substantial entry fees, most of them at least as high as the cost of the tour. On the day I took the tour we were given about 15 minutes inside the small-but-packed modernisme museum. Although I would have liked more time there, I got a good enough look that I didn't feel I needed to return and pay the entry fee.

This website is pure gold for folks who love modernista architecture:

https://rutadelmodernisme.com/en/

It's worth exploring the entire website, but start with the "Proposed Visits" section. It identifies the key modernista sites in Barcelona. These folks publish a good softbound (but heavy) descriptive book about modenista sites. The accompanying discount coupons might not pay off for you because (unless something has changed) you have to take the coupon booklet to the ticket office at each site and buy your tickets there, which simply doesn't work for the high-traffic sites. But the book itself is useful, as is the map with sites marked. That 12-euro package is perhaps the best bargain in Barcelona.

You can buy the book between 9 AM and 2 PM on weekdays at the office on the 21st floor at Av. Drassanes 6-8, which isn't far from the port. At the time of my visit the fellow in the office didn't speak English but we managed to communicate. If you speak no Spanish at all and plan to visit the office, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take along a page printed from the website alluding to fhe book.

Here's a link with info about fhe guidebook; you'll probably need to scroll up to find the key information:

https://rutadelmodernisme.com/en/modernisme-route/#laguia

There are many buildings in Barcelona with nice modernista facades you can walk past but not visit. They should all be marked on fhe Ruta del Modernisme map, but as of 2016 I found many marked--though not specifically identified--on the upgraded 1-euro (at that time) map sold by the tourist office. Either map would be very handy as you walk around the city, because you will often be within a couple blocks of an interesting building.

I found the exterior of Casa Vicens more interesting than the interior, but it's possible they've done further restoration since my 2019 visit. I don't remember whether you can get a good look at the exterior without paying the entry fee.

We took a day tour with Barcelona Day Tours that included most of the Gaudi sites. As I remember, they are spread out over the city.

I'd be careful about a tour that goes inside a bunch of the key sights. It may not allow as much time as you want at each one, and buying tickets for revisits would be very expensive. I think all the Gaudi sites, with the possible exception of Parc Guell, rent audio guides.

This is all great, everyone. Thank you for the thoughtful replies.