An essential guide to Barcelona's most beautiful architecture

Famed for its architectural treasures, Barcelona is dotted with striking Gothic cathedrals, fantastical residences and avant-garde towers.

Building first boomed in the late Middle Ages, when Barcelona was the seat of the Catalan empire. In the late 19th century, the city broke its medieval confines and was transformed through a whimsical architectural movement called Modernisme, personified by the visionary work of Antoni Gaudí, a giant in the world of architecture. Imaginative creations by Gaudí and his contemporaries filled Barcelona with dozens of masterpieces. The third notable period of design began in the late 1980s and continues today.

Not sure where to begin your Barcelona architecture odyssey? Start with our favorites across the city's architectural eras.

1. La Sagrada Família

Best overall

If you have time for only one of Barcelona's top sights, make it La Sagrada Família. Gaudí's unparalleled, UNESCO-listed cathedral inspires awe in its sheer verticality, and in the manner of the medieval cathedrals it emulates, it’s still under construction a century after the architect's death. Unfinished as it may be, the cathedral attracts nearly 5 million visitors a year and is among the most visited monuments in Spain.

Planning tip: The official 50-minute guided tour is a great introduction to the building and is fully wheelchair accessible; tours are led by engaging guides in many languages (book tickets and tours online). Keep in mind that La Sagrada Família is an active site for worship, and visitors are asked to dress respectfully.

2. Torre Glòries

Best for contemporary architecture

Barcelona’s famously cucumber-shaped tower, Jean Nouvel’s luminous Torre Glòries is among the most daring additions to the city's skyline since the first towers of La Sagrada Família went up. The 38-story structure opened in 2005, and every night since it has shimmered in shades of midnight blue and lipstick red.

Planning tip: Unless you work in the building, you'll need to buy a ticket to the observation deck to get inside.

3. Basílica de Santa Maria del Mar

Best for Gothic architecture

At the southwestern end of Passeig del Born stands Barcelona’s finest Catalan Gothic church, Santa Maria del Mar. Begun in 1329 under the watch of architects Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig, the church is remarkable for its architectural harmony and simplicity. Parishioners famously donated their time to help construct the church, particularly longshoremen from the nearby port.

Planning tip: Tickets are available online or at the visitors desk; no reservations are required, though you may have to wait in line. Guided tours that run several days a week explain the building’s history and curiosities, such as why the FC Barcelona shield is represented in stained glass. 

4. Palau de la Música Catalana and Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau

Best Modernisme duo

The joint UNESCO-listed Palau de la Música Catalana and Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau are architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner’s most renowned creations. One of the leading forces of the Modernisme movement, Domènech i Montaner was also a politician, professor, illustrator and writer. His buildings typically take inspiration from Spain’s Islamic history and are elaborately decorated with ceramics and stained glass.

The 2146-seat Palau de la Música Catalana, built between 1905 and 1908, is a symphony in tile, brick, sculpted stone and stained glass. The showstopper is the richly colorful auditorium, with its ceiling of blue-and-gold stained glass and a shimmering skylight. Above a bust of Beethoven on the stage towers a wind-blown sculpture of Wagner’s Valkyries accompanied by 18 Greek mythological muses. Tilted chandeliers look toward the skylight, like flowers curling into the sun.

Built between 1902 and 1930, Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau was long considered one of Barcelona’s most important hospitals. It was repurposed into cultural centers, offices and a monument in 2009. The 27-building complex, including 16 pavilions, is lavishly decorated.

Getting there: Despite their UNESCO pairing, the Palau de la Música Catalana and Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau are about 4km apart. Metro line 4 runs between the two from Guinardó to Hospital de Sant Pau.

5. Mercat de Santa Caterina

Best update of a historic building

Come shopping for your tomatoes or pop in for lunch at Mercat de Santa Caterina, an extraordinary-looking produce market designed by forward-thinking architects Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue to replace its 19th-century predecessor. Completed in 2005, it's distinguished by its undulating roof, suspended above twisting slender branches that resemble gray steel trees. The roof's kaleidoscopic ceramic pattern recalls the Modernisme tradition of trencadís (a type of mosaic made from tile shards), and the brightly colored design is in fact derived from a photo of a fruit and vegetable stall, blown up to huge scale.

Planning tip: The market opens at 730am Monday through Saturday, and closes at 3:30pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and at 830pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. After a stroll around the stalls, take a break at locally loved market kitchen Bar Joan, where you can sit at the counter with a vermouth and dig into Catalan classics or the menú del dia (a daily set menu).

6. La Pedrera

Best balconies

In the top tier of Gaudí's achievements is the madcap La Pedrera, built between 1905 and 1910 as a combined apartment and office block. Previously called Casa Milà after the business owner who commissioned it, it is now better known as La Pedrera (the Quarry) because of the uneven gray stone facade, which ripples around the corner of Carrer de Provença. Gaudí's approach to space and light as well as the blurring of the dividing line between decoration and functionality are astounding.

The natural world was one of the most enduring influences on Gaudí’s work, and the building's undulating facade evokes a cliff face sculpted by waves and wind, an effect emphasized by the 33 elaborate wrought iron balconies that bring to mind seaweed washed up on the shore. The lasting impression is of a building on the verge of motion.

Planning tip: It might seem impossible, but a handful of people do still live at La Pedrera, so be respectful if faced with a crowd. Book online to skip the worst queues. Standard tickets include an excellent video guide, and the early-entry Sunrise tour commences at 8am for early risers who want the best chance of a peaceful visit.

7. Casa Batlló

Best exterior decoration

When Gaudí was commissioned to refashion Casa Batlló, he went to town inside and out. From its playful facade and marine-world inspiration to its revolutionary experiments in light and architectural form (straight lines are few and far between), this apartment block is one of the most beautiful buildings in a city where the architectural stakes soar sky-high.

The internal light wells shimmer with tiles of deep blue. Gaudí eschewed the straight line, so the staircase wafts you up to the 2nd floor, where the main salon looks on to Passeig de Gràcia. Everything swirls: the ceiling is twisted into a vortex around its sunlike chandelier; the doors, windows and skylights are dreamy waves of wood and colored glass. The same themes continue in the other rooms and covered terrace. The attic is characterized by Gaudí's trademark hyperboloid arches. Tiled chimney pots add a surreal touch to the roof, while the back terrace feels like a fantasy garden in miniature, with flowerpots taking on strange shapes and more than 300 pieces of trencadís.

Planning tip: In addition to general tours, Casa Batlló hosts enhanced visits, including nighttime installations, performances on the dazzling rooftop and other special events. Check the schedule for the latest selection.

8. Casa Amatller

Best foyer

One of Josep Puig i Cadafalch’s most striking flights of Modernisme fantasy, Casa Amatller combines Gothic window frames and Romanesque flourishes with a stepped gable borrowed from urban Dutch architecture. But the busts and reliefs of dragons, knights and other characters dripping off the main facade are pure caprice. The beautifully tiled pillared foyer and staircase lit by stained glass feel like the interior of some romantic castle.

Planning tip: Next door to Casa Batlló in the elegant L’Eixample neighborhood, Casa Amatller is one of three architectural attractions on a single block of the Passeig de Gràcia (Casa Lleó Morera is the third). Another distinctive feature of the street: its 32 Modernisme benches, which ingeniously double as lampposts. Designed by Pere Falqués i Urpí in 1906, the benches are made of white trencadís, with curving wrought iron lamps extending above in half-moons. 

9. Pavelló Mies van der Rohe

Best for the International style 

Designed in glass, steel and various marbles by modern architectural titan Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Pavelló Mies van der Rohe has inspired generations of designers, even though the original was removed after the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. The current structure was reconstructed in Montjuïc in the 1980s, only after being consistently referred to as one of the key works of modern architecture.

Getting there: The quickest and most scenic way to reach Montjuïc is via funicular. The Telefèric del Port runs between the Torre de Sant Sebastiá in Barceloneta and the Jardins de Miramar on Montjuïc, whisking visitors over the old Barcelona port. On the hill itself, the Telefèric de Montjuïc runs from the Parc Montjuïc station up to the Castell de Montjuïc.

10. Park Güell

Best for landscape architecture

At the UNESCO-listed Park Güell, Gaudí turned his imagination to the interplay between architecture and the natural world, creating two gatehouses, an undulating plaza and monumental steps linked by 3km of pathways. The result is a surreal, enchanting place where the artificial almost seems more normal than the natural. For the best views, walk up to the Turó de les Tres Creus in the southwest corner; resting 182m high, this was originally planned as the location for the area’s chapel.

Planning tip: Park Güell has a limited visitor capacity. Book tickets and guided tours ahead of time. There are two recommended accessible routes for wheelchairs users and visitors with limited mobility.