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LA PEDRERA

Completed in 1912, this fantastic, undulating apartment block with its out-of-this-world roof is one of the most emblematic of all of Gaudí’s works. Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera (“the stone quarry”), was Gaudí’s last great civic work before he dedicated himself to the Sagrada Família. What makes it so magical is that every detail bears the hallmark of Gaudí’s visionary genius. Now restored to its former glory, La Pedrera contains the Espai Gaudí, an exhibition hall, courtyards, a roof terrace, and the Pedrera Apartment.

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La Pedrera’s distinctive roof

NEED TO KNOW

prac_info Pg de Gràcia 92 • 90 220 21 38 • www.lapedrera.com/enOpen 9am–8:30pm daily (to 6:30pm Nov–Feb, 8:30pm at Christmas time); times for evening guided tours and temporary exhibits vary • Adm $25, premium tickets $33 (audio guides in several languages included); advance booking online advised

Google Map

  • Check the website for information on current activities and temporary exhibitions.
  • Explore La Pedrera with nocturnal and early morning tours, or opt for a combined guided tour where you can experience the sight day and night.
  • Tickets for the popular nighttime sound and light show can be booked online for $38 (A glass of cava and snacks are included.)

Sight Guide

The Espai Gaudí, the Pedrera Apartment, the Passeig de Gràcia and Carrer Provença Courtyards, the Exhibition Room, and the roof are open to visitors. An elevator goes up to the apartment, Espai Gaudí, and the roof. The courtyards, staircases, café, and shop are accessible from the entrance on the corner of Pg de Gràcia and C/Provença.

1. Façade and Balconies

Defying the laws of gravity, La Pedrera’s irreverent curved walls are held in place by undulating horizontal beams attached to invisible girders. Intricate wrought-iron balconies are an example of the artisan skill so integral to Modernisme.

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Façade and Balconies

2. Espai Gaudí

A series of drawings, photos, maquettes, and multimedia displays help visitors grasp Gaudí’s architectural wizardry. The museum is housed in the breathtaking vaulted attic, with its 270 catenary brick arches forming atmospheric skeletal corridors.

3. Interior Courtyard: Carrer Provença

A brigade of guides take the multitude of visitors through here each day. A closer inspection of this first courtyard reveals its beautiful mosaics and multicolored wall paintings lining a swirling, fairy-tale staircase.

4. Roof

The strikingly surreal rooftop sculp-ture park has chimneys resembling medieval warriors and huge ventilator ducts twisted into bizarre organic forms, not to mention superb views over the Eixample.

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Gaudí’s unusual chimneys

5. Gates

The mastery in imagining the huge wrought-iron gates reveals the influence of Gaudí’s predecessors–four generations of artisan metal workers. The use of iron is integral to many of Gaudí’s edifices.

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Gates

6. Temporary Exhibition Hall

This gallery space, run by the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation, holds regular free art exhibitions. It has shown works by Salvador Dalí, Francis Bacon, Marc Chagall, and others. The ceiling looks as if it has been coated with whisked egg whites.

7. La Pedrera Apartment

This Modernista flat with period furnishings is a reconstruction of a typical Barcelona bourgeois flat of the late 19th century. It provides an engaging contrast between the sedate middle-class conservatism of the era and the undeniable wackiness of the outer building itself.

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La Pedrera Apartment

8. Interior Courtyard: Passeig de Gràcia

Like the first courtyard, this, too, has a grand, ornate staircase. This one is decorated with a stunning floral ceiling painting.

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Interior Courtyard: Passeig de Gràcia

9. Auditorium

The auditorium, located in the former coach house, hosts regular events such as jazz and contemporary concerts. The adjacent garden offers visitors a glimpse of greenery.

10. La Pedrera Shop and Café

A wide range of Gaudí-related memorabilia includes replicas of the warrior chimneys in ceramic and bronze.

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