Top Iconic Barcelona Landmarks You Cannot Miss

Barcelona, with its rich cultural heritage, is the largest city and capital of Catalonia in Spain. This bustling, lively, historic city has an excellent range of  inspirational architecture and historic monuments. In no particular order, here are our top famous landmarks in Barcelona to visit:

1. The magnificent La Sagrada Familia Basilica designed by Antonio Gaudí has been under construction since 1882 but has only recently (June 2019) been issued the works license by the Council of Barcelona that will allow the Construction Board of the Sagrada Familia to continue building the masterpiece project of Antoni Gaudí.

2. Casa Batlló, is a modernist building designed by Antoni Gaudí and is considered one of his masterpieces. There are not many straight lines and most of the façade is decorated with colourful mosaic broken ceramic tiles.

3. The magnificent Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall designed in the Catalan modernist by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. As well as admiring the wonderful architecture you can attend a musical performance which range from flamenco to symphonic.

4. Casa Mila-La Pedrera was the last apartment house built by Antoni Gaudi, the Casa-Mila (or “stone quarry” as it is affectionately known) is considered the epitome of Modernism with its impressive façade of undulating stone and iron balconies.

5. Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau with its colourful tiles and mosaics is the largest Art Nouveau complex in the world. The old hospital buildings date back to the 15th century and are now a museum.

6. Located in the impressive Palau Nacional, the museum of National Art of Catalunya contains the world’s most important collection of Romanesque art as well as the gothic art section and the Cambo collection. The museum aims to give a vision of art in Catalonia throughout history.

7. The Palacio de Berenguer d’Aguilar, an old city palace from the 15th century, was converted into a museum to house the Picasso collection. The Picasso Museum reveals the genius of the young artist through more than 3,500 works that make up the permanent collection.

8. The Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Mies van der Rohe, was built as the German pavilion for the World Exhibition 1929. Following the exhibition, the pavilion was deconstructed in 1930 and rebuilt between 1983 and 1986. The rebuild is a striking demonstrator of rationalist architecture and The Bauhaus style can clearly be recognised.

Inspired? Our range of college and school trips to Barcelona are suitable for many subjects including Art & Design, Fashion, Sport, Travel & Tourism, Spanish Language as well as a general Cultural & Enrichment tour.

Give us a call and discover Barcelona's top landmarks with European Study Tours today.