Casa Batlló, Barcelona

About Casa Batlló

This wasn't a new Gaudí building but a makeover: the textile industrialist Josep Batlló bought an ordinary late-19th-century house and in 1904 asked Gaudí to update it. In two years the architect reworked the façade, interiors and roof so thoroughly that little of the old building is left.

Locals call it the House of Bones, for the bone-like columns on the first floor, and the House of Yawns, for balconies that look like masks or fish skulls. Many read the façade as the legend of Saint George and the dragon: the roof is the dragon's back and the turret with its cross is the saint's lance. Since 2005 it has been UNESCO-listed among the Works of Antoni Gaudí.

What's inside Casa Batlló

The visit starts on the Batlló family's noble floor, where there are barely any straight lines: doors, ceilings and windows flow like water. The main salon has a huge window onto Passeig de Gràcia and a ceiling that swirls like a whirlpool. In one corner is a mushroom-shaped fireplace built for two.

At the heart of the house is the light well, tiled in shades of blue: darker at the top and paler below, so the light spreads evenly. Under the roof is a white loft of sixty arches that look like ribs. On top is the roof, with the dragon's scaly spine and mosaic chimneys, looking down the whole avenue.

What to see at Casa Batlló

• The façade — mask balconies, bone columns and mosaic.
• The noble floor — the salon window and the mushroom fireplace.
• The light well — tiles shading from deep to pale blue.
• The loft — white rib-like arches.
• The roof — the dragon's back and mosaic chimneys.
• The Block of Discord — the neighbouring modernista houses.

The Block of Discord on Passeig de Gràcia

Casa Batlló stands in a row of three famous modernista houses nicknamed the Block of Discord, as if their architects were competing to be the most extravagant. Next door are Josep Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Amatller, with its stepped gable, and Lluís Domènech i Montaner's Casa Lleó Morera, with its flowery balconies.

From here it's a 7-minute walk up Passeig de Gràcia to Gaudí's other house, Casa Milà, also called La Pedrera. The avenue itself is Barcelona's main shopping street, lined with boutiques and cafés, and even its lamp-post benches are decorated with mosaic.

Tips for your visit

Come at opening time: for the first hours the rooms are nearly empty and the light well is easy to photograph. Look at the façade twice, by day when the mosaic shimmers and in the evening when the house is lit. In summer there are evening concerts on the roof with a drink, ticketed separately.

The augmented-reality audio guide runs on a tablet or phone: point it at a room and the furniture and animations appear as Gaudí imagined them. There are narrow stairs inside, but also a lift. It's an easy visit with children, who love the dragon roof and the coloured glass.

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How to do it right

• Online tickets are cheaper than at the door.
• The rooms are quiet first thing.
• The façade is lit in the evening.
• Casa Amatller and Casa Milà are close.

Questions