The Gothic Quarter is what used to be known ago as the ‘Cathedral Quarter’. The great gothic buildings which marked the high point of the city and its culture during the Middle Ages are to be found here. Here Likewise, are the remains of the ancient fortified walls and palaces built by the Romans on the ‘Mons Taber’ such as, the temple dedicatet to Augustus.
Our itinerary begins in the Plaça Nova.

1. Portal del Bisbe.
Flanked by two round towers from the ancient Roman wall and on one side of the present Bishop’s Palace.

2. Palace Episcopal (Bishop’s Palace).
Carrer del Bisbe Irurita. Built at the end of the 12th Century and the beginning of the 13th Century.

3. Plaça de Sant Felip Neri.
(Past the Bishop’s Palace and to the right). One of the most lyrical places of the city.

4. Casa del Arcediano o casa de l’Ardiaca.
Carrer de Santa Llùcia. Built on the Roman walls during the 15th Century as a residence for the Archdeacon of the Cathedral. The cloister- type patio with is gothic fountain is noteworthy.

5. Interior of the Cathedral.
Three cruciform aisles and twenty- nine lateral chapels in one of which Cristo de Lepanto is venerated. Noteworthy: The choirstall which features both medieval and rennaissance elements.

6. Cathedral cloisters.
Beautiful central garden with palm-trees and magnolias. Interesting wrought-iron work.

7. La Pietat door.
Entry to the Cathedral cloister. Pieta carved in wood, flamenco school.

8. Casa de los Canónigos o Casa dels Canonges.
Gothic Building from the 14 Century now restored.

9. Centre Excursionista de Catalunya.
Carrer Parad’s, 10. The Roman columns from the temple dedicated to Augustus are kept inside.

10. Palau de la Generalitat.
Gothic building from the 15th Century. Joined to the Casa dels Canonges by the aforementioned passageway. Orange grove. St. George Chapel.

11. Casa de la Ciutat or City Hall.
Next to the Neo-Classical facade (19th Century) there is a lateral gothic facade (14th Century) and some levely steps. ‘Saló de Cròniques’ with paintings by Josep Ma. Sert and the historical ‘Saló de Cent’.

12. Plaça del Rei.
This is the most handsome section of ancient Barcelona. It a square outlined by gothic buildings toped by the facade of the former main Royal Palace and its watchtower- a true skycraper for the 16th Century.

13. Casa Clariana-Padellas.
Houses the ‘Museu d’Història de la Ciutat’ (See Museums).

14. Palau de Lloctinent.
Ghotic building embellished with rennaissance elements. The craftmanship of the stairways in worth noting.

15. Casa de la Pia Almoina or de la Canonja.
Plaça de la Seu, beside the Cathedral. Forner seat of charitable foundation set up at the beginning of the 11th Century.

16. Plaça de Ramon Berenguer el Gran.
Equestrian statue in bronze representing Ramon Berenguer III.

GAUDÍ

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born i Reus in 1852. He studied architecture in Barcelona Provincial School of Architecture. Before finishing his studies he collaborated with Josep Fontser, architect, in the Citadella Park project. In 1878 he won a contest to carry out a street lights project for Barcelona’s Plaza Real. Those street ligths still exist. Between 1883 and 1926 Gaud’ left in Barcelona a sample of ten different and varied works.

Casa Vicens (1883-1888)
Carolines, 18-24
With a clear oriental influence, the most remarkable characteristic is the of colors in the facade tyles.

Pabellones de la Finca Güell (1886-1889)
Av. de Pedralbes, 7
Two pavilions with big fence which was the entrance to the old leisure time house property of Eusebio Güells family. Eusebio Güell was Gaudi’s proctetor.

Palau Güell
Nou de la Rambla, 3
Visiting hours: Monday-Sunday: 10-13.30h & 16-19.30h.
Count Güells residence in Barcelona. The interior of the palace is remarkably rich in details.

Col.legi de les Teresianes (1888-1890)
Ganduxer, 95-105
Tel. 93-212 33 54 Visiting hours: Saturday 11-13 h. (except. summer)
Building designed to be used as an educational centre.

Casa Calvet
Casp, 48
St. Althougt at first sight house does not seem one of Gaudi’s works, a visit to the entrance hall offers un common details.

Park Güell (1900-1904)
Olot, s/n.
Tel. 93-213 04 88
Visiting hours: November to Frebuary: 10 am. – 6 pm.
March and October: 10 am.- 7 pm.
April and September: 10 am. – 8 pm.
May to August : 10 am. – 9 pm.
This is Gaudi’s largest work in Barcelona. It is an area which main aim was to become a british style ‘garden-city’.

Casa Batlló
P. de Gràcia, 43 Tel. 93 216 03 06 Timetable: Mo-Sa: 9-14h. Su: 9-20h. Christmases, Easter and Summer: Mo-Su: 9-20h. See Museums.
With a tyled roof and mosaic façade. Gaudí undertook the total remodelling of this existing building. The result was an outside façade representing a party comparable to Carnival. The house is designed with shapes inspired from natural elements.
Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia (1883-1926)
Sagrada Familia Square
Tel. 93-455 02 47 Visiting hours: September – March: 9 am. and 7 pm. April – August: 9 am and 8 pm. In 1883 Gaudi accepted the asignment to continue building temple.

Casa Milà o ‘La Pedrera’
Espai Gaudí
Corner between Paseo de Gracia and Provenza.
Visiting hours: Monday-Sunday: 10-20h.
Informaciton: Tel. 93-484 59 95.
Metro: Linea 3 (Diagonal).
Bus: 7,16,17,18, 22, 24, 28
Considered to be the most representative work of Modernism, it has a breathtaking wavy fazade of stone and iron balconies.

From the point where the funicular is located, you can walk up the road/hill to a trail called “Paseo de las aguas”. To get there from MiraBlau, just go around the corner on the road and walk about 7 minutes (there is no sidewalk but you’ll eventually get there). It is a flat running, walking and biking trail that is truly amazing.

Gift shop, cafeteria, space hire, maritime documentation centre, centre with educational resources on the sea.
Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm.
General admission: €5.40; concessions: €2.70;
children under 7: free. The tour of the Vaixell Santa
Eulàlia: €2.40; concessions: €1.20. The Planetari
Sphaera: €1.80.

Museu Marítim
(+34) 93 342 99 20
Av. Drassanes, s/n
08001 Barcelona, Barcelonès,
www.diba.es/mmaritim
m.maritim@diba.es

In the afternoon it’s time for Gaudí’s world famous masterpieces. Firstly we will be making a photo-stop at “La Sagrada Família”, the impressive (though as yet unfi nished) cathedral which is arguably the most famous building in Spain. After that, we will continue the Catalan Modernist tour with a visit to “Parc Güell”, a park of quirkily original design set on a hillside within the city; nature blends in with genius here, the place where Gaudí was living when he died in 1926.

Open Hours
10am-nightfall Mon-Su

Charmingly old-fashioned in its geometrical layout, the Parc Ciutadella is leafy and restful, yet filled with surprises such as the flamboyant waterfall, the sculpture of the dainty Lady With the Umbrella by Roig i Sole, rare trees and a boating lake. Originally a citadel built in 1715 to keep Barcelona in line after the War of the Spanish Succession, this area was handed over to the city in 1869 and turned into a park. Barcelona started on its cosmopolitan journey when the park was chosen as the site for the Universal Exhibition of 1888, the gateway to which was the Arc de Triomf (Triumphal Arch). A cafe-restaurant built for the Exhibition is now the Zoology Museum. Still standing are the Hivernacle (conservatory) with a cafeteria, the shady Umbracle (tropical hothouse) and the geology museum. The southeast end of the park is taken up by the zoo. Daily 7:30 am-10 pm. Passeig Pujades and Passeig Picasso, Barri Gotic, Barcelona.

La Seu Cathedral (Plaça de la Seu; daily 7.45am-7.45pm; 4€), one of Spain’s most astonishing specimens of Gothic architecture. Dedicated to Santa Eulàlia – Barcelona’s patron saint whose tomb lies in the crypt – it features elaborate choir stalls in the interior, a beautiful cloister that overlooks a palm tree-filled garden and a terrace (daily 1-5pm) with superb views over the centuries’ old rooftops nearby. If you’re around on a weekend, stop by the cathedral square for the sardana (the Catalan national dance). Barelonans come to the cathedral square to dance the sardana, accompanied by musicians, at noon on Sundays, 6:30 pm on Saturdays and 7:00 pm on Wednesdays. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss.

Tuesdays to Saturdays 10.00 – 19.00
Sundays and public holidays 10.00 – 14.30

One of the largest collections (11,000 pieces) of work by Joan Miró anywhere in the world and an active contemporary art centre. A visit to view the permanent collection of work by this Catalan artist is complemented by adding other activities such as the Musical Evenings in summer, temporary exhibitions and an array of other possibilities that offer small children the opportunity to discover and enjoy art.

The Fundació Joan Miró, Centre d’Estudis d’Art Contemporani (Joan Miró Foundation) is a museum of modern art honoring Joan Miró and located on Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia.

The building housing the museum is itself a notable example of modern design drawing from regional traditions. It was completed in 1975 by architect Josep Lluís Sert, who conceived it like an open space, with big terraces and interior courtyards that allowed a correct circulation of the visitors. The building was broadened in 1986 to add the library and the auditorium.

The Foundation has also a space named “Espai 13″, dedicated especially to promote the work of young artists who experiment with the art. Also temporary exhibitions of works of other painters are carried out. Moreover, the foundation carries out itinerant exhibitions to introduce the work of the Spanish artist.

Palau de Pedralbes – Designed by Gaudí for one of his major patrons, Eusebi Güell, this Italianate-style palace was officially opened by King Alfonso XIII in 1926.
It now belongs to Barcelona’s Town Hall who rent it out for special social or business functions. You can visit the beautifully landscaped formal gardens and two museums that take up one wing of the palace: 

• Museu de Ceràmica – Palau Reial de Pedralbes, Avinguda, 686, has one of the most impressive collections of medieval ceramics in Europe, plus contemporary pieces by Miró and Picasso.
• Museu d’Arts Decoratives – Features Spanish blown glass, period furniture and pocket watches from the 16th century.

Individual admission: 8 €

Opening hours
October to March, 9am to 6pm.
April to September, 9am to 8pm.
 
The museum is the repository of the history of the construction of the church in the form of plans, photographs, fragments of models, iconography and pieces of wrought-ironwork, woodwork and metalwork designed by Gaudí. The museum displays photographs and an audiovisual on other buildings by the same architect. The exhibition also includes models of the central nave and of the Nativity Facade and the Passion Facade.

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (official Catalan name; Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; “Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family”), often simply called the Sagrada Família, is a massive Roman Catholic church under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Construction began in 1882 and continues to this day.

Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852 – 1926), who worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to the endeavor, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, “My client is not in a hurry.” After Gaudí’s death in 1926, work continued under the direction of Domènech Sugranyes until interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

Parts of the unfinished church and Gaudí’s models and workshop were destroyed during the war by Catalan anarchists. The design, as now being constructed, is based both on reconstructed versions of the lost plans and on modern adaptations. Since 1940 the architects Francesc Quintana, Isidre Puig Boada, Lluís Bonet i Gari and Francesc Cardoner have carried on the work. The current director and son of Lluís Bonet, Jordi Bonet i Armengol, has been introducing computers into the design and construction process since the 1980s. Mark Burry of New Zealand serves as Executive Architect and Researcher. Sculptures by J. Busquets, Etsuro Sotoo and the controversial Josep Subirachs decorate the fantastical façades.

Over 2 million people visited the partially built church in 2004, making it one of the most popular attractions in Spain. The central nave vaulting was completed in 2000 and the main tasks since then have been the construction of the transept vaults and apse. Current work (2008) concentrates on the crossing and supporting structure for the main tower of Jesus Christ as well as the southern enclosure of the central nave which will become the Glory façade.