Palau Guell, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain (B)

Walking down the Ramblas and slaloming between noisy groups of tourists and insisting street sellers, we make a right into a quiet side street. A few metres further and the craziness of the Ramblas seems like a distant memory. We have just arrived in front of Palau Güell, Gaudí’s first major assignment for his most loyal patron, the rich industrialist Eusebi Güell.

The palace looks stark with its light greyish square limestones, dark wrought iron portals where grills fill up two massive parabolic arches in a rather narrow street shaded by the buildings lining it up.

However, looking up to the roof, bright and colourful chimneys catch the sunrays and contrast with the apparent seriousness of the building, and making us wonder what to expect inside.

Back in 1885 Gaudí started building this palace for the wealthy Güell with whom a mutual admiration will develop over their 40 years of collaboration. Barcelona was changing fast and the medieval fortifications had just been destroyed to make the gothic part breathe more, to expand the city, and to prepare it for the universal exhibit of 1888. Bourgeois were moving to the new and modern El Eixample district, but Güell wanted to remain close to his family residence in El Raval, a rather popular area. Gaudí’s challenge was to build an urban palace on a rather small 500 square metre lot surrounded by adjoining walls, and connected to the family home. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).