Passeig de Gracia
Passeig de Gràcia was from the beginning designed to be Barcelona’s Grand Avenue. It is Barcelona’s most elegant avenue and one of the best architectural walks in the city with lots of Modernist buildings, many of which house fine shops (jewelry, fashion, gifts) at street level. The quality and quantity of modernist buildings is unrivalled. It’s origins can be traced back to Roman times when it was a path that linked to the Via Augusta. In medieval times the city’s door to this road was the Portal dels Orbs (blind people’s gate), today the Portal del Angel pedestrian shopping area.
La Pedrera was the last great work of Gaudí before dedicating all his time to the construction of La Sagrada Familia. It is one of Gaudí’s finest and most ambitious creations, extraordinarily innovative in its functional, constructive, and ornamental aspects. It is a perfect example of Gaudi’s conceptual synthesis. The chimneys of Casa Milà recall knights wearing visors. Casa Mila, also called “la Pedrera” (the quarry), has undulating balconies and fantastic metalwork. Make sure to visit the interior and the rooftop, now open to the public after extensive restorations. The building was started in 1906, but in 1909 Gaudi’s disagreements with the owner, Pere Milà came to a head and the building’s interior was finished in 1911 by Gaudi’s collaborator Josep Maria Jujol.
On both sides of this avenue there is a Modernist urban development from the beginning of this century, which was created by the chemist Dr. Andreu. There are some very interesting villas by several different architects. The so-called "Tramvia Blau" (blue tram) goes up this avenue and is the only one of its kind left in Spain. There is a magnificent view over Barcelona.