Experience Barcelona’s diverse architectural heritage. Stroll the narrow streets and handsome squares of the Gothic Quarter, lined with medieval buildings and scattered about with remnants of walls and other constructions from an earlier Roman city. Here you will view the magnificent cathedral and the palace of the kings of Aragon. After a short panoramic drive, walk up to the Sagrada Familia and get acquainted with Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona’s celebrity architect – his unmistakable style with its organic shapes, twisted iron sculptures and colored tiles is hard to miss. The Sagrada Familia, which you will admire from the outside, was begun in 1883, and it remains unfinished to this day.
Drive along the elegant Passeig de Gracia with its wrought-iron street lamps and fine array of Modernist buildings, including Gaudi’s Casa Batllo, with a mosaic façade and undulating roof. You’ll wander through the Spanish Village, where you’ll find full-scale replicas of the most characteristic buildings from all over Spain, as well as craft workshops, exhibitions of contemporary art and shops offering quality souvenirs. There will be free time in the Gothic Quarter to explore, shop or have lunch on your own.
