After Amsterdam, Belgium and France, I am now in Spain. Four countries into my European adventure, and the scenery, language and atmosphere have changed once again. I leave Paris from Gare de Lyon, settle into my train and watch France slip away through the window. I rather like arriving in a country this way. No airport queues, no security trays, no wondering whether my suitcase has decided to travel independently. Just a comfortable seat, a window and the anticipation of what lies ahead.
Almost 7 hours later covering 830kms, I arrive in Barcelona, and suddenly everything feels different. The light is warmer; the pace seems livelier and there is a distinct Mediterranean buzz in the air. My home for the next few days is Hotel Lloret Ramblas, right on La Rambla. The location is almost ridiculously convenient. I step out of the hotel and Barcelona is already happening around me—people everywhere, cafés and shops, street performers, music and that wonderful sense that the city has absolutely no intention of going to sleep anytime soon.
Bags dropped, camera ready and walking shoes on, I set off to meet Barcelona. And it doesn’t take long for the city to reveal its biggest obsession. Architecture.
Barcelona doesn’t simply have beautiful buildings. It has buildings that demand your attention. You walk along minding your own business, look up—and suddenly you’re staring at a turret, a balcony, a sculpture or an entire façade that looks as though it has escaped from an artist’s imagination.
My first encounter is the unmistakable Passion Façade of the Sagrada Família. It tells a very different story from Gaudí’s more exuberant designs. The angular figures, stark lines and almost skeletal forms represent the suffering and death of Jesus. Construction of this extraordinary basilica began in 1882, and more than a century later, Gaudí’s masterpiece is still being completed.
I’ve seen the Sagrada Família in photographs countless times, but nothing quite prepares you for standing in front of it. It doesn’t look like a conventional church. It looks as though someone gave an architect permission to ignore every architectural rule ever written. The Passion Façade is deliberately stark and dramatic, almost haunting in places. Gaudí died in 1926, long before his masterpiece could be completed, yet his extraordinary vision continues to evolve. I can’t help wondering what he would make of the building today.
From the Sagrada Família, I continue towards another masterpiece of Catalan Modernisme, Hospital de Sant Pau. A hospital but make it spectacular! Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, this former hospital brings together colour, intricate craftsmanship, sculpture, ceramics, gardens and beautiful pavilions. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now, most hospitals are places we visit because we have to. This one makes you want to visit because you want to! I find myself wandering around admiring the architecture and thinking that Barcelona has somehow managed to turn healthcare into an art form. The complex was designed with patients’ wellbeing in mind, incorporating light, fresh air, gardens and attractive surroundings. Perhaps every hospital should take a leaf out of Barcelona’s book.
And then, because Barcelona clearly doesn’t believe in allowing its visitors to become bored, another beauty catches my eye. La Rotonda, or Torre Andreu stands at the corner of Passeig de Sant Gervasi and Avinguda del Tibidabo. Its yellow Modernisme façade, graceful balconies and distinctive green-tiled turret make it almost impossible to walk past without stopping for a photograph.
I am beginning to understand one of the unwritten rules of Barcelona: keep looking up. Looking straight ahead is simply not enough.
As I move further into the Tibidabo area, another architectural treasure appears, the Casa Roviralta, affectionately known as El Frare Blanc, or “The White Friar”. Designed by Joan Rubió i Bellver, a collaborator of Antoni Gaudí, this impressive Modernista residence was created between 1903 and 1913 by transforming an existing Catalan farmhouse. Today, rather wonderfully, the building has an entirely different life as a restaurant.
I love discoveries like this. Historic buildings don’t always have to become museums and sit quietly behind ropes. Sometimes they get another life. Imagine having dinner inside a piece of Barcelona’s architectural history. Here, that is simply part of the city’s personality.
Nearby, I come across Torre Miralluny, or Can Potosí (5), dating from 1899 and originally built as a hunting pavilion and lookout tower. Compared with the monumental Sagrada Família, it is almost modest, but perhaps that’s what makes it so charming. These unexpected architectural gems are often the places I enjoy discovering most and the ones that aren’t necessarily on every postcard but suddenly make me stop and reach for the camera.
And then I head even higher, to Mount Tibidabo, where the magnificent Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor dominates the summit. The Expiatory Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was designed by Catalan architect Enric Sagnier, blending Gothic and Romanesque Revival elements and crowned by a magnificent bronze statue of Christ with outstretched arms. Construction began in 1902 and was completed by Sagnier’s son in 1961.
The church is impressive, but for me, the real showstopper is the view. Barcelona spreads out below towards the Mediterranean, and from this height the city suddenly makes sense as a whole. After seeing it at street level, I can finally appreciate its enormous scale. I stand there taking it all in and naturally, taking photographs.
Back towards the city, I encounter another of Gaudí’s famous creations, Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera. Built between 1906 and 1912, its undulating stone façade and extraordinary wrought-iron balconies challenged conventional ideas about architecture and helped define Catalan Modernisme.
There isn’t a straight line in sight. The façade appears to ripple like waves, while the balconies look as though they have been sculpted rather than constructed. Gaudí clearly wasn’t interested in making buildings behave themselves. Standing outside La Pedrera, I can’t help wondering what Barcelona’s residents thought when this strange, unconventional building first appeared. Today it is considered a masterpiece. I suspect the neighbours may have needed a little convincing.
From Gaudí’s world of curves and imagination, I move towards the magnificent Arc de Triomf, standing at the end of the broad Passeig de Lluís Companys. Designed by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair, it served as the main entrance to the exhibition. Unlike many triumphal arches, it wasn’t built to celebrate a military victory.
Coming here after Paris, I can’t resist the comparison. Paris has its mighty Arc de Triomphe, celebrating military glory. Barcelona’s essentially says, “Welcome to the fair!”
I rather like Barcelona’s version.
Its striking Neo-Mudéjar style, combining exposed brick with intricate stone decoration, also gives it a character all its own. The broad promenade leading towards it is lively and full of people, making it feel less like a monument and more like a natural part of everyday Barcelona.
Eventually, my wandering brings me down towards the southern end of La Rambla, where the imposing Columbus Monument rises about 60 metres above Plaça Portal de la Pau. A bronze Christopher Columbus stands on top of the tall column, his arm extended towards the sea. Built for the 1888 Barcelona World’s Fair, it has become one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks.
And there is something rather satisfying about arriving here after staying on La Rambla. My hotel is on this famous boulevard, and now I’ve followed it all the way down towards the Mediterranean. Barcelona seems to be leading me by the hand.
At Port Vell, I get a glimpse of another side of the city. The former Port Authority building dates from the early 1900s, when it served as a passenger terminal. Today the waterfront is a lively mix of promenades, restaurants, boats and visitors enjoying the Mediterranean. Yet reminders of the old port remain, tucked among all the modern activity.
I like cities that don’t erase their past when they modernise. Barcelona simply adds another layer.
And then, because apparently Barcelona feels that one more surprise is required, I come across El Cap de Barcelona – a giant colourful face by the sea designed by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Covered in colourful ceramic mosaics and standing around 15 metres high, it is impossible to miss.
This is Barcelona, after all. One minute I’m admiring centuries-old architecture and the next I’m photographing a huge Roy Lichtenstein sculpture. Somehow, the city makes the combination work.
My day then takes me towards Montjuïc Hill, where the magnificent Palau Nacional dominates the skyline. Built as the main pavilion for the 1929 International Exhibition, it is one of Barcelona’s most imposing landmarks, with a grand façade, sweeping stairways and magnificent domes. Today it houses the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, or MNAC, one of Catalonia’s most important art museums.
And yes, I take another photograph. Because some buildings simply deserve more than one. From this angle, the Palau Nacional looks even more dramatic, and after a day of Gaudí’s curves, Modernisme details and colourful street art, its grandeur provides a rather magnificent finale.
Finally, from the steps of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona opens up before me. Below lies Plaça d’Espanya, with the grand avenue stretching into the city and the distinctive Four Columns standing proudly along the way.
From up here, I can take in the scale of the city I’ve spent the day discovering. It is quite a feeling. After Amsterdam, Belgium and Paris, I have arrived in another European city with its own unmistakable personality—and Barcelona is certainly not shy about expressing it.
It is artistic, colourful, historic, exuberant and just a little bit eccentric. Actually, perhaps more than a little.
Barcelona doesn’t quietly ask for your attention. It grabs you by the shoulders and says, “Look at this!” And before you’ve finished looking, there is something else.
My first day has taken me from Gaudí’s extraordinary Sagrada Família through the architectural treasures of Modernisme, up into the hills of Tibidabo, back into the city, down to the Mediterranean waterfront and finally up Montjuïc for this magnificent panorama.
That’s a lot of Barcelona for one day. And time for a few more sangrias!
1 good vibe