Modernisme Houses in Barcelona

Barcelona has several dozen Modernist houses that can be visited and a variety of companies managing them. There is no single "ticket" to visit them all, in fact, each one has its own. Your best bet is to make a bucket list and then visit each website. Some do offer pre-booking while others don't.

Have a look at this website, which explains the Ruta del Modernisme.

Do be sure to try to see a variety, and to avoid both architecture overload and financial ruin, don't plan to see "everything."

All too often, I see posters here who, on a short visit, intend to see Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Park Güell, and the Sagrada Familia. Not only is that a lot to take in in a short time, but they're all by Antoni Gaudí, and he's only one of the many Modernista architects. Two of the other main ones are Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch - I like to say that Gaudi is the famous one because he's the only one that English-speakers have a prayer of pronouncing. However, they all have worthwhile things to see, as do architects I hadn't heard of before going. For instance, the Casa Comalat by Salvador Valeri i Pupurull has almost as impressive a facade as the more famous Gaudi houses (actually, it has two facades as it goes through a block): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Modernista_buildings_in_Barcelona#/media/File:Salvador.Valeri.i.Pupurull.Casa_Comalat.Back.Barcelona.JPG

In addition to seeing multiple architects, I think it's important to see different kinds of structures. So, don't just think of houses like Casa Mila or Casa Lleó Morera. See the Palace of Catalan Music (stupendous), the Arc de Triomf, the CaixaForum (a former factory), etc. The latter two have the advantage of being free!

Thanks Harold for mentioning... indeed there are over +500 Modernista buildings worth seeing in Barcelona alone designed by over sixty famous Catalan architects --albeit many can only be admired from the street as they are private residences and offices. Apart from those mentioned above, the list would include Enric Sagnier, Amat i Jover, Josep Maria Jujol, Sayrach i Carreras, Rafael Masó, Cèsar Martinell, Francesc Berenguer, Coll i Bacardí, Antoni de Facerias... and quite a few more. Yet I can understand that for those visiting for short periods of time, the "most" famous are the ones sought after as one would need at least three months to see them all! :))

If anything, I'd like to convey the idea to those visiting that if you like architecture the 'houses' mentioned in most travel guides are just a fraction of what Barcelona has to offer. Know that you won't be able to see but just a few during your stay, so I concur with Harold in advising exploring the works of others besides Gaudí to have a broader view of what this movement, el Modernisme, that appeared in Catalonia in the late 1800s was all about and why 10 of these works have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage.

Enjoy!

Fun fact: as in many Mediterranean cultures, one's name in Catalonia is always composed of the first name (given name) and the surname of the father and the surname of the mother. Furthemore in Catalan, the "i" coordinate conjunction (corresponding to the English "and") is inserted between the father's surname and the mother's surname (ie. Josep Puig i Cadafalch). While, for legal purposes, that's the full name of a person here in Catalonia, sometimes a famous person is better known by his name+father surname only (ie. Antoni Gaudí) while sometimes the name is skipped and is referred to with both his/her surnames (ie. Puig i Cadafalch). This second variation is often used when the first surname is very common (Puig is like Smith here in Catalonia). So, whenever you see an "i" it's bound to be two surnames. Now you know!

Btw, Gaudí's full name was: Antoni Gaudí i Cornet

Enric - Ah, that's why Arantxa "changed" her name - but she didn't use the "i", just Sanchez Vicario.

Raymond - Do take the TI's Moderisme walking tour early in your visit. You'll learn to look for and see it everywhere.

Yes indeed Chani... although the use of "i" is no that typical among those that came to Catalonia only a few generations ago. Many have a Spanish background and their customs do not include this one.

Yet these days, due to modern "limitations" of technology -not a lot of software out there procures for this 'oddity' to be considered- and also the lack of the willingness of the Spanish government to adapt to this Catalan peculiarity, the use of "i" between the surnames has decreased. Most Spanish government IT systems don't cater for this and if you insert it then it would mistakenly consider your second surname as "i Cornet" (in the case of the example above) which causes a whole lot of problems as anyone that has dealt with government bureaucracy knows.