Melilla instead of Barcelona for Modernista, or how to love Barcelona?

In your case pay a little more to get a professional local guide in Barcelona for a 1 on 1 tour (avoid tour groups like the plague) focused on Modernista architecture. That person should know how to circumvent the unpleasantness of crowds and grifters that come with a visit to Barcelona. Otherwise just get a coffee table type book on Modernista architecture, so you can see the detail better than any photo you could take yourself.
There is no minimum time for the Sagrada Familia but if there is special tour early in the morning before it opens like there is for the Vatican go with something like that.

Jazz&Travels..both good ideas😆
I don't typically use guides but this may be the time. Any recommendations?

Prague is essential for Art Nouveau. I just got back from there. However because of the beer culture it is a destination for groups of young men and boisterous stag parties on the street.

MariaF, La Sagrada Familia is my favorite church any where. I am not a huge fan of Barcelona but I will return just to visit this church and it’s amazing architecture.

I love Barcelona! It’s on my top 3 cities list. Just wandering the streets, seeing the fun architecture details entertains me. It’s got such a lovely waterfront area, charming small alleys and streets, endless outdoor cafes. I’m not sure where your disinterest stems from - just a dislike of major cities? Well, of course you might want to just skip it based on personal preference, but you asked us to help you get enthusiastic so…

The Modernista architecture is absolutely amazing. I would go and give it a few days. See Sagrada Familia, definitely see Parc Guell. Casa Batllo and La Pedrera are nice and very popular…but I prefer the Palau de la Musica Catalana for over-the-top Modernista detail. It’s way less crowded there than Casa Batllo. I also love Casa Vincennes https://casavicens.org/ - and hardly anyone tours that place.

In addition, you could head over to Hospital San Pau https://santpaubarcelona.org/en/. It’s got gorgeous Modernista buildings and some great stained glass. It’s also not crowded at all. It pairs well with Sagrada Familia because after you see the Sagrada, you just walk one km down Anton Gaudi street and you end up at the Hospital San Pau.

Even the much-maligned Las Ramblas is fine - sure, it gets crowded, but we just don’t walk down it. There’s tons of parallel streets that promenade down to the water area.

Barcelona is absolutely fantastic!

I don't typically use guides but this may be the time. Any recommendations?

I am looking at it from an architecture buff perspective who does not want to be hounded by professional grifters who have been there since my first trip in 2002 & can spot a solo tourist a mile away. Ask the concierge in the process of booking.

I second what Valerie said about things to see. I really enjoyed Barcelona.

Park Guell was included in the RS tour and had local guide. The local guide pointed out and explained many unique features that I wouldn't have known if done on my own. It was very interesting from an architecture and design perspective. I highly recommend a guide or detailed research ahead of time.

Melilla may be interesting as a side trip from Malaga as a novelty (99.99% of Americans probably don't know there are Spanish cities in mainland Africa).

However it does not hold a candle to Barcelona in terms of Modernista sightseeing, notwithstanding the current issues with overtourism. In Barcelona the highlights are Park Güell, Palau Güell, Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Casa Vicens, Colonia Güell, Palau de la Musica Catalana, and Hospital de Sant Pau.

La Sagrada Familia in particular is amazing. I grew up in an apartment overlooking la Sagrada Familia and I'm still in awe each time I come back to visit, especially now they are building the larger tower. The interior is a magical experience with all the colors.

If that is not enough Modernista architecture for you can day trip down to the city of Reus, the birthplace of Gaudi, which has even more excellent Modernista buildings.

Thanks all for the pep talk. I think it is the overtourism, masses of concrete, big city size, its reputation that has me hesitant. I will work on the positivity, but knowing there is Reus as a day trip means if I really hate it I can get a break....or just leave the city totally. I don't like to waste accommodation money, but life is too short for a miserable visit and as I am typicallu frugal, I can make it up elsewhere.
When I was planning for 2017, I borrowed a book from someone that was published by the (then) Modernista Society (or some such name). I made notes and could have wandered for 3 days seeing the 100+ buildings listed....but then I didn't go and with post retirement Swedish Death Cleaning (Canada had a really long Covid slow down time) I got rid of the notes. I don't think the Society still exists, but if you know that it does, please direct me. They may also have some guide recommendations.
I wanted to go at the start thinking that perhaps there would be a few less tourists in late January than early March. It is also easier to get to Barcelona than Malaga from Canada.
Nick, I actually stayed in Valencia instead of Barcelona as I still needed to use BCN airport and there was a handy bus from Valencia. Loved the Market building there.
So, 4 nights? Day one is an early arrival but jetlag and day 5 can be an early or late train to Zaragoza.
Acraven has also shown me that Tereul also has a good selection of buildings from that time as well. That would be a long day trip from Zaragoza.

I am nuts for Art Nouveau architecture, the wackier the better, so I love Barcelona. It's true that some of the Gaudi buildings are massively overcrowded (and the Picasso Museum was worse at the time of my 2016 visit), but the city has many other modernista buildings, a lot of which are just walk-bys. You could spend days there, never going inside a packed Gaudi site. There's also the modernism collection at the MNAC and the small privately-run modernism museum; I had 15 minutes at the latter as part of the tourist office's modernism tour, which was almost sufficient time.

The Ruta del Modernisme organization still exists: https://rutadelmodernisme.com/en/. Its book/map/discount-coupon package is a great deal if you're into modernista architecture. Unless procedures have changed (you used to have to take the coupon to each sight's ticket office, meaning a long wait in line), you wouldn't be able to take advantage of a discount at La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Casa Mila or Casa Batllo, but you could cover the modest cost of the package with the discounts for other places, like Colonia Guell

Reus is worth the side trip. There's also some modernista architecture in Palma de Mallorca, but I haven't gotten there yet. There are one or two modernista buildings in Comillas, Astorga and Leon, but those are much farther west than Barcelona.

I considered going to Melilla in 2016 but ended up cutting it from my itinerary for logistical reasons. That trip covered most regions of Spain, at least lightly, but did not extend to Andalucia, so Melilla was going to be a major time commitment. I have the impression it's sort of rough around the edges; I'll be interested in your impression if you do get there. I would in no way consider it an alternative to Barcelona, though.

Off the top of my head, these are other European towns and cities known for Art Nouveau: Riga, Helsinki, Stockholm, Sundsvall (Sweden), Alesund (Norway), Nancy, Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Milan, Turin and Brussels; I haven't taken an architecture-centric to any of the last four, so I'm basing my comment on lists of Art Nouveau buildings I've found online; from the pictures, some of those building don't reach my expectations for wackiness. There is, in any case, nowhere like Barcelona. The over-the-topness of it all is just astounding.

MariaF, please do give us at least a small report of you end up in Malilla—I’ve long been curious about the exclaves.

My boyfriend is about to be sent to Ceuta for a month of work. I wish I could join him.

@Scudder, I'll try to do that if I head over.
@acraven, I am less a Gaudi fan and more a fan of Lluís Domènech i Muntaner, so maybe a little more subdued? I'll check out the Ruta info and see what the tourist bureau offers.

In that case, you need to get to Reus at some point. Although Gaudi was born there, the two major buildings open to the public are by Domenech i Montaner.

We loved our 3 days in Barcelona in late May 2019. I would expect February to be less crowded. We got our tickets for La Sagrada Familia for the earliest available time and got there about 40 minutes before it opened. Our first 30-45 minutes were not that crowded. I think Park Guell was the most crowded of the sights we visited. We focused on Modernista architecture and the RS walks except for Las Ramblas. After our crowded morning in Parc Guell we went to Montjuïc and walked around and visited the Catalan Art Museum, which was not at all crowded.

Best of luck making a decision that works for you.