I just booked tickets for Barcelona and can't wait to see the Sagrade Familia!

I would say that "impressive" was a better label for that list of buildings than "beautiful".

Lists are always odd and highly subjective. I do not think of those buildings in Spain as beautiful as much as I think of them as intriguing and innovative. For beauty I think The Alhambra is more beautiful as are the cave drawings at Altamira.

he-he, of course mixed opinions. I saw the Guggenheim as it rose out of the dirty Nervion riverbank over years, seemed at first as if they were building a ship. I find it immensely beautiful, not least how it reflects the light and colours of the surroundings and the very shifting Basque weather.

"shifting Basque weather" Now that's truly beautiful!

The Guggenheim I do find beautiful
But as much as I love Barcelona, I cannot find Sagrada Familia more than "interesting ".
Truly a not-to-miss landmark and a massive attraction, though.
But good that tastes differ or we all would be crowding the same ten destinations

Aesthetically, I do not like moderisme but I am always mesmerized by its creativity and intricacy. It is like watching an artist ideate but with three dimensional manifestations.

Fascinating story around Sagrada Familia and Gaudí's enormous ambitions and obsession with the building of a church inspired by geometric forms of nature. He worked on it for 42 years, and the last 10 years he lived on the premises and was totally dedicated to the church. http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/?lang=0

He finally was run down by a tram and was initially assumed to be be a beggar because of his lack of identity documents and shabby clothing. He was therefore taken to a charity hospital for the city’s poor and homeless. His funeral five days later is said to have silenced Barcelona. http://www.catholicireland.net/pages/index.php?nd=57&art=25

Gaudí was a religious cuckoo but people with a singular focus are the ones who usually change the world for better and worse.

Kimhe, very intersting. But I agree with Adu, where's the Alhambra?

I find Sagrada Familia to be jaw dropping amazing, intriguing, unique, but not necessarily beautiful. In terms of modernisme treasures in Barcelona, I find the Palau de Música Catalana to be the most beautiful.

The Guggenheim, now that I find beautiful.

And clearly I need to travel more and more broadly. I haven't seen any of the other buildings on the list.

Ah beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Ah beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

Never heard that before.
_____

The Alhambra is in Granada.

http://www.alhambra.org/eng/index.asp?secc=/inicio

http://www.google.com/search?q=alhambra+spain&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fU0pUOTzO--16AHz1YHgAQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFkQsAQ&biw=1119&bih=762

The one concept to remember about the Alhmabra is that the outside is simple while the inside is complex and beautiful which reflected Muslim thought at the time which is the way people should be.