Located at number 43 Paseo de Gracia, Casa Batllo is a true masterpiece and one of the most important places to visit in Barcelona. Considered one of the most important creations of the architect Antonio Gaudí, this building has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Casa Batlló is located in the heart of the city and is one of the most visited places in Barcelona. Discover the original Casa Batllo on your visit to the city and be amazed and surprised along the way!
History of Casa Batllo
Casa Batlló is at number 43 Paseo de Gracia, a street that formerly connected the city to the Villa de Gracia, which is now a district of the city. It ceased to belong to the Batlló family in the 1950s. After housing various companies and private individuals, the building has been in the hands of the current owners since the 1990s, the Bernat family, who have completely restored the house.
In 1995 the family opened the house to the public and presented this architectural jewel to the world, offering the space for events. In 2002, coinciding with the International Gaudí Year, Casa Batlló also hosted cultural visits. You can attend events today, as they constantly innovate their offer and content.
Today, Casa Batlló is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an symbol of Barcelona. It is an essential stop to get to know Gaudí’s work and modernism at its best. It is also one of the most highly rated cultural and tourist attractions, welcoming 1 million visitors a year.
Construction of Casa Batlló
D. Josep Batlló gave Antoni Gaudí total creative freedom and commissioned him to carry out work that initially consisted of demolishing the building. However, thanks to Gaudí’s boldness, the demolition of the Casa Batlló was ruled out and a complete renovation was carried out between 1904 and 1906. The architect completely changed the façade, redistributing the interior partitions, enlarging the courtyard and making the interior a true work of art. In addition to its artistic value, the building has an enormous functionality, more typical of today than of the past. Some even see it as a precursor of the architectural avant-garde of the late 20th century.
Travel Tip: To organize your trip we recommend using Passporter totally free. You can be inspired by the experiences of other travelers, choose the places that interest you most, create the travel route with a geolocated map, upload all important documents such as reservations and invite your friends so that everyone can participate in the organization of the trip.
The Facade
Casa Batlló is a representation of happiness, a marine-inspired canvas, a dreamlike world that evokes nature and fantasy. Its façade is the gateway to this symbolic universe, and admiring it evokes strong feelings. The background creates continuous and harmonious dialogue with light and colour. Its spectacular nature leaves no one indifferent and makes passers-by stop to look at it at all times of day.
Gaudí gave Casa Batlló an original and imaginative façade, lust like a free and happy painter. He created an exuberant, marine façade, adding unintentional sculptures, recycled materials and decontextualised objects that he turned into art.
The effect of an undulating surface made of stone, glass and ceramic truly stands out. Light and colour come together to invite you on a journey through the sea, beauty and joy. The building is crowned by a spectacular roof made of large scales that simulate the back of an animal. Its upper part consists of large spherical pieces that change colours from one end to the other. The other main feature is a tower with a cross pointing to the cardinal directions protruding out of it.
The Interior
The interior of Casa Batlló is a prodigy of design, as Gaudí collaborated with the best craftsmen of the time, working with wrought iron, wood, stained glass, ceramic tiles and stone ornaments.
Walking through the house, the details don’t cease to amaze. The doors to each floor are identified with modernist lettering. The glass panes on each landing distort the tiles in the courtyard, transforming them into beautiful watery waves.
It is a total work of art, where the artist’s intention is clear in everything: design, colour, form, space and light. All this exuberance is overwhelming, but the most striking thing is that it is always second to functionality. Beauty and function come together in every part of the building, from the lobby to the rooftop.
What to see in the area around Casa Batllo
La Pedrera – Casa Milá
Views of Barcelona @nazcarraga Casa Milà @eattravella
The Casa Milà, known as La Pedrera because of its rustic stone appearance, is a striking modernist building created by Gaudí between 1906 and 1912. The peculiar building, located in the central Paseo de Gracia, reflects Gaudí’s artistic plenitude at a time when he was working on different projects in Barcelona.
Paseo de Gracia
A showcase for Barcelona’s bourgeoisie at the end of the 19th century, this elegant and stately avenue links Plaça Catalunya with the district of Gràcia, hence its name. Home to Barcelona’s finest Modernista buildings, this avenue a veritable open-air museum.
Plaza Cataluña
@vforesio @miche.ve
Plaça de Catalunya is the centre of the city and one of the most important places in Barcelona. With a surface area of 30,000 square metres, it is one of the largest squares in Spain, as well as the meeting point between the old part of the city and the Eixample.
A must-see in Barcelona, Plaça de Catalunya is the starting point for some of the city’s main thoroughfares and a meeting spot for visitors and locals alike.
Where to eat near Casa Batllo?
Being one of the most central areas of the city, Passeig de Gràcia has a wide range of high quality gastronomy. Here is a selection of our top 5 favourite restaurants near Casa Batllo, so you can choose your favourite!
- Babula Bar 1937
- La Rita
- Vinitus
- Cafè de la Pedrera
- Ristorante Margherita
How to organise your trip to Barcelona?
- Get inspiration from the experiences of other travellers.
- Create your own itinerary and add the app’s suggestions to it.
- Add the spots you are most interested in, as well as the restaurants and bars where you want to eat (you can use the points of interest listed in this post as a reference).
- Organise your itinerary by days and according to their location (you can take inspiration from the routes presented in the post).
- Check the travel budget that the app calculates for you based on your travel stops, restaurants, and leisure activities.
- Make the necessary modifications and you are ready for your trip.
- Finally, share your experience. Upload photos of each of the places you have visited to the app so you can inspire other users.
If you have any doubts about how to plan your itinerary, you can read our post: How to create your travel itinerary with Passporter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Opening hours are from 9:00 to 18:30, although the last entrance is at 17:30.
Adults: €35
Students, young people between 13 and 17 years old: €19.
Youth card and over 60s: €32.
Children under 12: free admission.
Casa Batllo is located at number 43 Paseo de Gracia and can be reached by bus: H10, V15, 7, 22 and 24 and by metro: L2, L3 and L4.
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