Best Gaudi Buildings In Barcelona

The city landscape of Barcelona is without a doubt shaped by Antoni Gaudi’s work. It might even be the main reason to visit the city. I know it was for me, to see the famous Sagrada Familia in real life, to wander around Park Güell with its colourful tile works. And those are just two examples of the best Gaudi buildings in Barcelona.

Most of the time you can marvel at the best Gaudi buildings in Barcelona from the outside for free. Only at Park Güell, you have to actually be inside to see anything. I went inside the five best Gaudi buildings in the city of Barcelona, which was quite expensive. The entrance fee ranges from €10 to €49. So you don’t have to go into everyone, just read this article to find out which one was most worth it. Note that in high season you have to book the tickets days in advance to be safe, I went in October and was fine buying tickets on the same day.

If you visit in high season I recommend doing a Gaudi tour to get the most out of your time in Barcelona.

Sagrada Familia

Without a doubt, Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s masterpiece, it’s the best of the best Gaudi buildings in Barcelona. It is his life’s work and he is even buried inside it. The construction started in 1882 and it’s still under construction. They planned to finish it by 2026, the centenary of Gaudi’s death, but because of the Covid-19 construction stop, this seems unrealistic now. Once the cathedral is finished it will be the highest church in the world at 172,5 meters.

Sagrada Familia is one of the most unusual churches I’ve ever seen, from the outside and inside. The inside is inspired by a forest, so you have many columns spread out like trees. Everything is almost glowing with colours from the stained-glass windows. It’s truly a sight to behold… with your eyes, my camera could not behold it that well.

The Sagrada Familia is such a central part of Barcelona that it is possible to see the church from every viewpoint in Barcelona.

Price: €26

Audio Guide: You have to download the app on your phone, Wi-Fi is available. Don’t forget to bring your own headphones. 

Time: about 1 hour

Park Güell

Obviously, a park is not a building, but there are quite a few buildings inside Park Güell by Gaudi. So it can not be missing from any “Best Gaudi Buildings in Barcelona” list. Besides, it was originally planned as a residential living area and not as a park. But to be honest the houses were not the highlight of the park for me. You can go inside some, but I don’t think queuing up for it is worth it. The park itself is magnificent though and it’s massive.

Price: €10

Audio Guide: No

Time: depends entirely on how much you want to walk around, it’s a big park, I spent almost 3 hours there

Casa Milà 

Here you can see what the apartments in one of Gaudi’s residential houses looked like with the original furniture.

The attic is structurally very impressive, you can really see how he was inspired by a spine. While you wander around the attic you can look at miniatures of Gaudi‘s work and see his inspiration in nature. 

The rooftop houses the so-called guardians of the house, chimneys shaped like guards. 

Price: €25 if you buy it online, otherwise it’s €3 more expensive

Audio Guide: Yes, you get an audio guide with headphones after you enter the building. The audio guide is triggered by location, so you can’t walk too far while listening to a story. 

Time: I spent 1 hour there

Casa Battló 

If you. stand in front of Casa Battló and marvel at the facade you’ll understand immediately why this building is. one of the best Gaudi buildings in Barcelona. Just wait until you see the inside and the roof top.

You start the tour in a stairway leading to the apartment. Here you can see again, similar to Casa Milà, how Gaudi imagined the tenants to live in his residential building. You can also see the backyard, two miniatures of the house itself, a few art exhibitions and last but definitely not least the rooftop with the colourful dragon on top.

Price: Between €35 and €49, small discount if you buy it online

There are a few different ticket options for Casa Battló. If you can’t decide what ticket to get, check out my article if the more expensive ticket is worth it. 

Audio Guide: Yes, but the cheapest ticket doesn’t include headphones. 

Time: I spent 2 hours there

Palau Güell

Palau Güell is probably the least visited of the best Gaudi buildings in Barcelona. It’s located just off the famous street La Rambla. 

As soon as you walk in, you can notice that this house is different to the other ones. It starts with the red brick stables and is more noticeable upstairs. The atmosphere feels more serious and not as light. Wood and metal are the predominant architectural elements. Only on the roof, you can find the more typical Gaudi elements, chimneys with colourful tiles. 

Price: €12

Audio Guide: You have to download the app on your phone, Wi-Fi is available. Don’t forget to bring your own headphones. 

Time: I spent 1 hour there

Best Gaudi Buildings In Barcelona

Antoni Gaudi‘s masterpiece is, of course, the Sagrada Familia. So if you only want to pay entrance for one building of his, it should be this magnificent, unusual church.

In second place is Park Güell in my opinion, it is also the cheapest. So if you don’t have enough money to go inside Sagrada Familia, only look at it from the outside and pay to go inside Park Güell.

If you’re considering doing a Gaudi tour check out my article about the best Gaudi tours in Barcelona.

I think the first two places to visit are pretty obvious though since they are definitely Gaudi’s best-known pieces. The question now is which of his residential houses is best to visit, in case you want to visit one of those as well. Each house is quite unique and has a lot to offer. It’s not practical to visit all three of Gaudi’s residential buildings in Barcelona though, considering the price and how time-consuming it is. My favourite house to visit was Casa Battló! I think it’s already the most beautiful from the outside, the colourful dragon on the roof is simply amazing, you get a good look at how Gaudi envisioned people to live there and there are some nice art exhibits in the attic and the stairway.