Gaudi in Barcelona

Not exactly what you're looking for, but we took a Gaudi tour with Debbie from Runner Bean Tours that was excellent. We didn't actually go in any of the sights, but the tour guide provided pictures of the interiors of some of them. (Some of them aren't even open to the public) Later we were able to go back inside - on our own- the ones we wanted to visit.

How much time do you have to do this? I suggest that you can't really see them all and see the insides one day. For us, the most important would be the Sagrado Familia. With lines, walking around and possibly taking the lift up to the top of one of the spires, you're in there for 2-3 hours. The Casa Batllo will take about 90 minutes to walk around inside and to especially spend time on the roof. Same with the Palau Guell mansion in the lower La Rambla area. Roofs seem to be a specialty with Gaudi. Another must see is the Parc Guell up in the hills. You can really do all of this yourself. You just can't do it all in one day. It took us the better part of 2.5 days. The Parc itself with transporation, walking around and having lunch will take at least half of the day. As I recall, the houses have audio tours so you don't need a guide.

I agree with Larry, those 4 sites are the main Gaudi attractions and are all open to the public. Although I think he mis-named one of them, the four are: La Sagrada Familia Casa Batllo Casa Mila
Parc Guell The first three are within walking distance of each other and charge admission (not cheap). The two apartment houses are similar but offer different experiences. Batllo has an amazing Gaudi apartment interior but simpler roof. Mila has an amazing roof, excellent museum on Gaudi but a more standard apartment interior. All three offer audio tours. Parc Guell is free and more remote. But it's easy to just walk around to see the landscapes and a few of the buildings. Great views too. I recommend an early morning or early evening visit. There are other Gaudi sites, but few are open to the public.

Suzy, If you will be in Barcelona on a Friday, the city Tourist Office (at Placa Catalunya) offers an excellent (I can't remember exactly, but about 12 euro) small group guided tour for the Modernime sites in the city. This tour is conducted in English. Since it only goes out on Fridays, a reservation would be a good idea.

Thanks for all of your replies and suggestions.

Not a Gaudi site but well worth the visit is Palau de la Musica Catalana. This beautiful concert hall is centrally located and has a tour beginning every hour. It is sometimes full so you
may want to arrive early and enjoy some tapas in the restaurant before the tour. The decor is amazing.

You can also use the map on this page to plot out a Modernisme tour on your own http://www.rutadelmodernisme.com/default.aspx?idioma=en&contenido=body_mapaen.htm Though Gaudi was one of the main architects, there were others that produced some great architecture.

The Palau is definitely worth a visit if you have time. We were in Barcelona in June and revisited Sagrada Familia having seen it four years ago. Wow-the progress is amazing-looks almost finished with many stained glass windows in place and large gift shop. The crypt is not to be missed.

The Palau is definitely worth a visit if you have time. We were in Barcelona in June and revisited Sagrada Familia having seen it four years ago. Wow-the progress is amazing-looks almost finished with many stained glass windows in place and large gift shop. The crypt is not to be missed.

I agree with others about the Palau de Musica. I saw this building on my first visit to Barcelona about 7 years ago because I first learnt about it from reading James Michener's "Iberia". In it he devotes a whole chapter to Barcelona. The architect is Lluis Domenech i Montaner and there is a lot you can learn about him on the web. In April, on my second trip to Barcelona, I visited another of his sites, the Hospital San Pau and Santa Cruz. I discovered that the hospital is just two blocks away from La Sagrada Familia, which I visited first. The hospital complex was completed in the early 1900's and one can see La Sagrada Familia from the door of one of the hospital buildings. I happened to luck out arriving ten minutes before the last tour in English. The tour guide told me that Domenech i Montaner was Gaudi's teacher being 10 years older than Gaudi. She jokingly said the building was designed so he could keep track of the of his pupil's progress on La Sagrada Familia. Even though the hospital is no longer operating as a medical facility many of the buildings are under restoration for use by NGO's. You can also see much of this complex on the web. Factoid when the hospital was in use all the buildings were connected to each other by underground tunnels. Here is the Wikipedia article on Hospital de San Pau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hospital_de_Sant_Pau

We were in Barcelona about 2 weeks ago. We took the modernisme tour offered by the tourist office that someone else here recommended. It was on Friday from 6 to 8pm and was really fantastic. It covers the outsides of Casa Battlo and a bunch of other buildings. We were able to go inside Casa Mila briefly, but not in the apartment portion. It was a great walking tour and I didn't care much about seeing the inside of either building, so it wasn't a problem. If you buy skip the line tickets to La Sagrada Familia, for 18 euros, it comes with the audio guide. The self guided tour takes 30-60 minutes depending on how much time you want to spend on the detour tracks. I can't see spending more time in there and the audio guide is really well done (I am not generally a fan of those either). Park Guell is amazing and while I went on my own and enjoyed wandering around, Julia Tours organizes a 2 hour tour of the park. Have a great time!

Hi Suzy, Just got back from Barcelona on Sunday. Sagrada Familia is absolutely AMAZING but if you don't take a tour, depending on when you go, line can be VERY long. You can reserve a spot online for your desired time and avoid all that.
WELL worth it! It was truly one of the most incredible things I have ever seen :)!

Do not waste time standing in line for Sagrada Familia, make a reservation in advance. They will ask when you go through the entrance portal if you want to take the elevator and assign you a time for that too.