Visits to Antoni Gaudí’s Torre Bellesguard

As you probably know, the architect Antoni Gaudí left examples of his genius in many parts of Barcelona. Here we want to tell you about the Torre Bellesguard, a house built between 1900 and 1909 characterised by rectilinear forms seldom found in his works. Gaudí seems to have been inspired by the mediaeval castle of Martin the Humane, the last king in the Catalan dynasty from the House of Barcelona; indeed, the king lived in Bellesguard in the latter years of his life, before he died in 1410. What the architect did was design a castle with both Gothic and Modernisme-style elements, and he also restored part of the mediaeval castle, which is located in the estate’s gardens.

As you can see, the tower is interesting not only because it was made by Gaudí but also because of the site’s centuries of history. It is open for visits every morning of the week except Mondays. You can visit it on your own any day with an audioguide, which is available in six languages: Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Japanese and Russian. If you go on the weekend, you can also sign up for a guided tour (although it’s best to sign up in advance, since groups top out at 18 people). The guide will tell you about all of Bellesguard’s nooks and crannies, legends and stories. Guided tours are offered in Catalan, Spanish and English.

The building is located at number 20, Carrer de Bellesguard. More information at this link.