Barcelona is a vibrant city which sits on the beach. Similar to NYC but with palm trees, colorful and confident people who walk along a few very historic neighborhoods. While strolling by the elegant and old world buildings you might stumble across a very decadent building that pops out with visuals you can barely understand.
Enter Antoni Gaudí.
Spanish Architect.
Casa Batlló
Man of detail, man of vision, man made it happen.
It is from his last name that today we use the term gaudy to describes overly done, extravagant, very flashy styles on either people or homes usually. (Gaudí actually pronounced Ghow-dee)
His buildings were so avant garde that they are still mind blowing today! He designed every inch of interior and exterior. Advocate of mosaics since he wanted only curved buildings (curved tile I believe was not invented yet) which meant he had to crack tiles in order to cover the entire area as he wished. Examples above.
Most travelers visit Barcelona to see the view from Park Güell alone. What was at one time a private estate for Count Güell is now a public park. But other *musts sees are the Temple of the Sagrada Familia (which Gaudí worked on for 40 years until his death) and Casa Batlló (once home to a very wealthy family).
To dig even deeper, here are his top 10 most iconic buildings.
