Gaudi architecture

If Barcelona is known for anything, other than the ability to make "c" sound like "th," it is the distinctive architecture of Antoni Gaudi, who lived until 1926 and used stained glass, ceramics, wrought iron and just about anything else he could find it seems into some truly bizarre houses, churches, parks and other structures.

Parc Guell

The most famous of these may be La Sagrada Familia, a church that is, 85 years after his death, still under construction and will be for 30 years. This huge church, gothic in structure, has some of the Gaudi touches, but doesn't really work yet as either a church or a Gaudi structure. We'll have to see it when done. It is the single most dominant structure in the Barcelona skyline, however. Click here to see a picture of the completed project: http://www.tonypapard.info/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/sagrada-familia-barcelona-projection.jpg

La Sagrada Familia from ... the back?

From the side

A church like no other

 Parc Guell is a series of small buildings set in a park that Gaudi designed in the early 20th century on a hill north of the old part of town. Hard to really describe it, so here are the pictures.

Gaudi also designed a palace (under renovation) and lots of houses and museums throughout the rest of Barcelona. They are really a treat and definitely worth an entire day if you have time.

Casa Batllo

I forget what this one was called, but it is a music school now.