Casa Batlló UNESCO Art Nouveau Gaudí House

About Casa Batlló UNESCO Art Nouveau Gaudí House

Casa Batlló, Barcelona, is one two grand houses designed by Antoni Gaudí on Passeig de Grácia which is barcelona's premier street. (green on the Barcelona Monopoly Board). The other Gaudí house in Passeig de Grácia is La Pedrera/Casa Milá.

The façade of Casa Batlló locally has the nickname casa de ossos, House of Bones, because, from a certain angle, it looks like it has been made from skulls and bones. The skulls are the balconies and the bones are spindle supporting pillars.

Gaudí's theme when designing this house was colours and shapes found in marine life with the colours of the façade taking inspiration from natural coral. At least that is one theory.

Casa Batlló was awarded UNESCO world heritage status in 2005.

Casa Batlló History

Gaudí did not build the house but directed the extensive remodelling of it from 1904 to 1906. He was assisted by Domènec Sugrañes i Gras, José Canaleta Cuadras, Juan de la Cruz Rubió y Bellver and Jaume Bayó.

The house was actually built in 1877 by architect Emilio Sala Cortés and the house was aquired by the textile industrialist Josep Batlló in 1903. Gaudí was commissioned to remodel it.

Casa Batlló is built in the style of Catalan Modernism or Art Nouveau. Typical techniques used are irregular window shapes, curved walls, façade, and ceilings based on shapes seen in nature. Brightly coloured tiles including trencadís pattern (broken colourful tile pieces arranged in a mosaic).

Another common theme is Saint George (Sant Jordi) the patron saint of Catalunya so dragons feature heavily in Gaudí's works. It is said that the turret seen from the front of the building is representative of the lance used by Sant Jordi to kill the dragon. Also the roof represents the dragons back with scales. On the inside of the attic the white arches are said to represent the ribs of the dragon. You can decide for yourself when you visit the roof terrace of casa Batlló as part of the tour.

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Visiting Casa Batlló UNESCO Art Nouveau Gaudí House

There is one luxury flat per floor of the building all of which are privately owned except for the second floor which is the Nobel floor and is the main floor of the Casa Batlló museum.

To the rear of casa Batlló, accessed from the main floor is a large patio that Gaudí lavishly decorated with wrought iron railings and trencadís colourful tiling covering the natural curves of the walls.

Noteworthy is the interior atrium and light well that is tiled in shades of blue tiles starting at darkest tiles at the top and transitioning down to lightest blue at the bottom. This is to ensure the light is reflected evenly down the atrium.

The attic was designed as working space for the servants and has large catenary curved arches as well as slats in the roof that allow airflow for drying laundry. These are the ribs of the dragon.

All of Gaudí exhibits in Barcelona are very busy to the point of being oversubscribed and tickets should be bought in advance. Book at least a week in advance, especially in summer to avoid disappointment. Arrive a little before the stated start time of the visit.

Allow about 1 to 2 hours inside the museum and roof terrace to complete the visit.

Casa Batlló Opening Hours

Every day
• 09:00 to 20:30h
• Last Entry 19:15h

Other Gaudí Works

The House that Gaudí Lived in, is located in Parc Güell but not included in the Sagrada Família ticket. I recommend buying a combined Parc Guell + Gaudí House Museum ticket. Details on the Parc Güell Page.

My recommendation is to combine a visit to Casa Batlló with La Perdera/Casa Milá because it is only a 500 metre walk from casa Batlló, higher up in Passeig de Grácia.

For The grandest of Gaudí's works in Barcelona, visit La Sagrada Família.

You will also find Gaudí's Palau Güell Near to the bottom of Las Ramblas.

Casa Vinçens in the Gracia Neighbourhood and Torre Bellesguard in the Sant Gervasi Neighbourhood.

Each of these Gaudí wonders are visually distinct and each one its own masterpiece.

Getting to Casa Batlló UNESCO Art Nouveau Gaudí House

Address: Passeig de Grácia 43, Barcelona. 08007

Nearest TMB METRO is Passeig de Grácia on the Green (l3) Yellow (L4), or Purple (l2) lines. The metro interconnects with Renfe Rodalies, AVE and Regional express train lines. Use a T-Casual or Hola-Barcelona travel card.

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Where to stay overnight in the Casa Batllo Gaudi House