The glittering jewel tones of the beach, the hustle and bustle of La Ramblas, the bistros serving wine and tapas, and criss-crossing rows of small streets lined with shops and bars fill the gaps between the delightful lines, shapes, and colourful tiled mosaics of Barcelona. Gaudi’s city.
With more than a dozen architectural masterpieces, including the unfinished La Sagrada Familia that started construction in 1882, Spain’s foremost architect Antoni Gaudi, scattered love letters in the form of modern design across his city. Projected to be complete by 2026, La Sagrada Familia is one of the greatest artworks of all time with towering Gothic facades and spires, columns that resemble tree canopies, and a surreal art nouveau crucifix suspended mid-air. Casa Batllo (House of Bones), like all of Gaudi’s work, was inspired by nature. Doorframes resemble eddies of water, bone-shaped columns have flowers growing out of them, and stained glass windows fracture sunlight off the blue and turquoise stone walls.
Barcelona is a modern city that will delight you with stories of facades (and facades with stories), a celebrated food scene, a mild Mediterranean climate, flamenco, and, of course, football. Barcelona is the city that has everything.