147 Best Sights in Barcelona, Spain

This charming little square and the story of Antoni Rovira i Trias shed much light on the true nature of Barcelona's eternal struggle with Madrid and Spanish central authority. Take a careful look at the map of Barcelona positioned at the feet of the bronze statue of the architect, who is seated on the bench: you'll see a vision of what the city might have looked like if Madrid's (and the Spanish army's) candidate for the design of the Eixample, Ildefons Cerdà, had not been imposed over the plan devised by Rovira i Trias, the legitimate winner of the open competition for the commission. Rovira i Trias's plan shows an astral design radiating out from a central square, while Cerdà's design established the emblematic uniformed blocks and wide boulevards that Eixample is known for.

A tiny square just behind Plaça de Garriga Bachs off the side of the cloister of La Catedral de Barcelona, this was once a burial ground for Barcelona's executed heroes and villains, before all church graveyards were moved to the south side of Montjuïc, the present site of the municipal cemetery. The church of San Felip Neri here is a frequent venue for classical concerts. On January 30th, 1938, one of Franco's bombs fell in the square, taking the lives of 42 people, most of whom were children from the School of Sant Philip Neri. Fragments of a bomb made the pockmarks that are still visible on the walls of the church. These days, the schoolchildren still play in the square, which is cherished by locals for its silence and serenity (at least when the children are indoors), despite its tragic history.

For an extraordinary Gaudí experience, visit this private residence. It was built between 1900 and 1909 over the ruins of the summer palace of the last of the sovereign count-kings of the Catalan-Aragonese realm, Martí I l'Humà (Martin I the Humane), whose reign ended in 1410. In homage to this medieval history, Gaudí endowed the house with a tower, gargoyles, and crenellated battlements. The rest—the catenary arches, the trencadís (pieces of polychromatic ceramic tile) in the facade, the stained-glass windows—is pure Art Nouveau.

Look for the red and gold Catalan senyera (banner) on the tower, topped by the four-armed Greek cross Gaudí often used. Over the front door is the inscription "Sens pecat fou concebuda" ("Without sin was she conceived"), referring to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. On either side of the front door are benches with trencadís of playful fish bearing the crimson quatre barres (four bars) of the Catalan flag as well as the Corona d'Aragó (Crown of Aragón).

Guided tours in English are available every day at 11 am and 1 pm. The visit includes access to the roof, which Gaudí designed to resemble a dragon, along with the gardens, patio, and stables.

Reservations are required for the highly recommended guided tour ([email protected]).

The 15th-century city hall on Plaça Sant Jaume faces the Palau de la Generalitat, with its mid-18th-century neoclassical facade, across the square once occupied by the Roman Forum. The Ajuntament is a rich repository of sculpture and painting by the great Catalan masters, from Marès to Gargallo to Clarà, from Subirachs to Miró and Llimona. Inside is the famous Saló de Cent, from which the Consell de Cent, Europe's oldest democratic parliament, governed Barcelona between 1373 and 1714. The Saló de les Croniques (Hall of Chronicles) is decorated with Josep Maria Sert's immense black-and-burnished-gold murals (1928) depicting the early-14th-century Catalan campaign in Byzantium and Greece under the command of Roger de Flor. The city hall is open to visitors on Sunday, with self-guided visits in English hosted at 10 am (reserve online). Virtual 360-degree tours are available at any time.

This redbrick arch was built by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas as the grand entrance for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Similar in size and sense to the traditional triumphal arches of ancient Rome, this one refers to no specific military triumph anyone can recall. In fact, Catalonia's last military triumph of note may have been Jaume I el Conqueridor's 1229 conquest of the Moors in Mallorca—as suggested by the bats (always part of Jaume I's coat of arms) on either side of the arch itself. The Josep Reynés sculptures adorning the structure represent Barcelona hosting visitors to the exhibition on the western side (front), while the Josep Llimona sculptures on the eastern side depict the prizes being given to its outstanding contributors.

Down Carrer Sant Sever from the side door of the cathedral cloister, past Carrer Salomó ben Adret and the Esglèsia de Sant Sever, is a tiny shrine, in an alcove overhead, dedicated to the 4th-century martyr Santa Eulàlia, former patron saint of the city (before she was replaced by current patron saint Mare de Deu de la Mercè). Down this hill, or baixada (descent), Eulàlia was rolled in a barrel filled with—as the Jacint Verdaguer verse in ceramic tile on the wall reads—glavis i ganivets de dos talls (swords and double-edged knives), the final of the 13 tortures to which she was subjected before her crucifixion at Plaça del Pedró.

This Gothic-style basilica is dedicated to La Mare de Déu de la Mercè (Our Lady of Mercy), who was proclaimed as the second patron saint of Barcelona in 1687 (the first being Santa Eulàlia). The curved Baroque facade is unlike anything you will see in other parts of the city. On the top of the basilica is a stone figure of Our Lady holding a baby Jesus and with her arms outstretched. Her feast day is on September 24 and is celebrated with the festival of Mercè (otherwise known simply as "La Mercè").

Sister church to Santa Maria del Mar and to Santa Maria de Pedralbes, this early Catalan Gothic structure is perhaps the most fortresslike of all three: hulking, dark, and massive, and perforated only by the main entryway and the mammoth rose window, said to be the world's largest. Try to see the window from inside in the late afternoon to get the best view of the colors. The church was named for the lone pi (pine tree) that stood in what was a marshy lowland outside the 4th-century Roman walls. An early church dating back to the 10th century preceded the present Santa Maria del Pi, which was begun in 1319 and finally consecrated in 1453. The interior compares poorly with the clean and lofty lightness of Santa Maria del Mar, but there are two interesting things to see: the original wooden choir loft, and the Ramón Amadeu painting La Mare de Deu dels Desamparats (Our Lady of the Helpless), in which the artist reportedly used his wife and children as models for the Virgin and children. The church is a regular venue for classical guitar concerts by well-known soloists. Tours of the basilica and bell tower are available in English, by reservation. The adjoining squares, Plaça del Pi and Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol, are two of the liveliest and most appealing spaces in the Ciutat Vella, filled with much-frequented outdoor cafés and used as a venue for markets selling natural products or paintings, or as an impromptu concert hall for musicians. The handsome entryway and courtyard at No. 4 Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol across from the lateral facade of Santa Maria del Pi is the Palau Fivaller, now seat of the Agricultural Institute, an interesting patio to have a look through. Placeta del Pi, tucked in behind the church, has outdoor tables and is convenient for a coffee or tapas.

Barcelona's (and probably the world's) first library established exclusively for women, the Biblioteca Popular de la Dona was founded in 1909, evidence of the city's early-20th-century progressive attitudes and tendencies. Over the opulently coffered main reading room, the stained-glass skylight reads "Tota dona val mes quan letra apren" (Any woman's worth more when she learns how to read), the first line of a ballad by the 13th-century Catalan troubadour Severí de Girona.

Once Franco's Spain composed of church, army, and oligarchy had restored law and order after the Spanish Civil War, the center was taken over by Spain's one legal political party, the Falange, and women's activities were reoriented toward more domestic pursuits such as sewing and cooking. Today, the library is open to all genders, and the complex includes a small theater that has a program of theatrical and cultural events.

This Romanesque hermitage looks as if it had been left behind by some remote order of hermit-monks who meant to take it on a picnic in the Pyrenees. The tiny chapel, possibly—along with Sant Llàtzer—Barcelona's smallest religious structure, and certainly one of its oldest, was originally built in the 12th century on the main Roman road into Barcelona, the one that would become Cardo Maximo just a few hundred yards away as it passed through the walls at Portal de l'Àngel.

Bernat Marcús, a wealthy merchant concerned with public welfare and social issues, built a hospital here for poor travelers; the hospital chapel that bears his name was dedicated to the Mare de Déu de la Guia (Our Lady of the Guide). As a result of its affiliation, combined with its location on the edge of town, the chapel eventually became the headquarters of the Confraria del Correus a Cavall (Brotherhood of the Pony Express), also known as the troters (trotters), which made Barcelona the key link in overland mail between the Iberian Peninsula and France.

Named for the terrissaires (earthenware potters) who worked here making escudellas (bowls or stew pots), this colorful loop is an interesting subtrip off La Rambla. Go left at Plaça del Teatre and you'll pass the landmark Grill Room at No. 8, an Art Nouveau saloon with graceful wooden decor and an ornate oak bar; next is La Fonda Escudellers, another lovely, glass- and stone-encased dining emporium. (Alas, the food is not especially good at either.)

At Nos. 23–25 is Barcelona's most comprehensive ceramics display, Art Escudellers. Farther down, on the right, is Los Caracoles, once among the most traditional of Barcelona's restaurants and now mainly the choice of tourists with deep pockets. Still, the bar and the walk-through kitchen on the way in are picturesque, as are the dining rooms and the warren of little stairways between them. Another 100 yards down Carrer Escudellers is Plaça George Orwell, named for the author of Homage to Catalonia, a space created to bring light and air into this somewhat sketchy neighborhood. The little flea market that hums along on Saturday is a great place to browse.

Take a right on the narrow Carrer de la Carabassa—a street best known in days past for its houses of ill fame, and one of the few remaining streets in the city still entirely paved with cobblestones. It is arched over with two graceful bridges that once connected the houses with their adjacent gardens. At the end of the street, looming atop her own basilica, is Nostra Senyora de la Mercè (Our Lady of Mercy). This giant representation of Barcelona's patron saint is a 20th-century (1940) addition to the 18th-century Església de la Mercè; the view of La Mercè gleaming in the sunlight, babe in arms, is one of the Barcelona waterfront's most impressive sights.

As you arrive at Carrer Ample, note the 15th-century door with a winged Sant Miquel Archangel delivering a backhand blow to a scaly Lucifer. It's from the Sant Miquel church, formerly part of City Hall, torn down in the early 19th century. From the Mercè, a walk out Carrer Ample (to the right) leads back to the bottom of La Rambla.

Named for the weavers and blanket makers to whom this street belonged in medieval times, Carrer Flassaders is best approached from Carrer Montcada, at El Xampanyet, one of La Ribera's most popular bars for tapas and cava. Duck into the short, dark Carrer Arc de Sant Vicenç. At the end, you'll find yourself face-to-face with La Seca, what used to be the Royal Mint (officially, the Reial Fàbrica de la Moneda de la Corona d'Aragó), where money was manufactured until the mid-19th century. Coins bearing the inscription, in Castilian, "Principado de Cataluña" (Principality of Catalonia) were made here as late as 1836.

Turn left on Carrer de la Seca to Carrer de la Cirera. Overhead to the left is the image of Santa Maria de Cervelló, one of the patron saints of the Catalan fleet, on the back of the Palau Cervelló on Carrer Montcada. Turn right on Carrer de la Cirera, and arrive at the corner of Carrer dels Flassaders. Walk left past several shops. Wander down Flassaders through a gauntlet of elegant clothing, furnishings, and jewelry design boutiques, and you'll pass the main entry to Escenari Joan Brossa at No. 40, with the gigantic Bourbon coat of arms over the imposing archway.

Look up to your right at the corner of the gated Carrer de les Mosques, famous as Barcelona's narrowest street. The mustachioed countenance peering down at you was once a medieval advertisement for a brothel. Pasteleria Hofmann, at No. 44, is the excellent pastry shop (don't pass up the mascarpone croissants) of famous Barcelona chef, the late Mey Hofmann, whose cooking school is on nearby Carrer Argenteria. A right on Passeig del Born will take you back to Santa Maria del Mar.

Just steps from La Rambla, Carrer Petritxol is one of Barcelona's most popular streets. Lined with art galleries, xocolaterías (chocolate shops), and stationers, this narrow passageway dates from the 15th century, when it was used as a shortcut through the backyard of a local property owner.

Working up Petritxol from Plaça del Pi, stop to admire the late-17th-century sgraffito design (mural ornamentation made by scratching away a plaster surface), some of the city's best, on the facade over the Ganiveteria Roca knife store, the place for cutlery in Barcelona. Next on the right, at Petritxol 2 is the 200-year-old Dulcinea, with a portrait of the great Catalan playwright Àngel Guimerà (1847–1924) over the fireplace. Drop in for the house specialty, the suizo ("Swiss" hot chocolate and whipped cream). 

Note the plaque to Àngel Guimerà over No. 4 and Sala Parès at No. 5, founded in 1840, the dean of Barcelona's art galleries, where major figures like Isidre Nonell, Santiago Rusiñol, and Picasso have shown their work, and its affiliated Galeria Trama, which shows more contemporary work. Look carefully at the "curtains" carved into the wooden door at No. 11 and the floral ornamentation around the edges of the ceiling inside; the store is Granja la Pallaresa, yet another enclave of chocolate and ensaimada (a light-looking but deadly sweet Mallorcan pastry, with confectioner's sugar dusted on top).

The neo-Gothic Casa Amatller was built by Josep Puig i Cadafalch in 1900, when the architect was 33 years old. Eighteen years younger than Domènech i Montaner and 15 years younger than Gaudí, Puig i Cadafalch was one of the leading statesmen of his generation, once the mayor of Barcelona, and in 1917, president of Catalonia's first home-rule government since 1714. Puig i Cadafalch's architectural historicism sought to recover Catalonia's proud past, in combination with eclectic elements from Flemish and Dutch architectural motifs. Note the Eusebi Arnau sculptures—especially his St. George and the Dragon, and the figures of a drummer with his dancing bear. The flowing-haired "Princesa" is thought to be Amatller's daughter; the animals above the motif are depicted pouring chocolate, a reference to the source of the Amatller family fortune. The first-floor apartment, where the Amatller family lived, is a museum, with original furniture and decor; self-guided tours are available with an English audio guide. A quick visit will give you a sense of what the rest of the building is like and a chance to buy some chocolate de la casa at the boutique.

Gaudí at his most spectacular, the Casa Batlló is actually a makeover: it was originally built in 1877 by one of Gaudí's teachers, Emili Sala Cortés, and acquired by the Batlló family in 1900. Batlló wanted to tear down the undistinguished Sala building and start over, but Gaudí persuaded him to remodel the facade and the interior, and the result is astonishing. The facade—with its rainbow of colored glass and trencadís (polychromatic tile fragments) and the toothy masks of the wrought-iron balconies projecting outward toward the street—is an irresistible photo op. Nationalist symbolism is at work here: the scaly roof line represents the Dragon of Evil impaled on St. George's cross, and the skulls and bones on the balconies are the dragon's victims, allusions to medieval Catalonia's code of chivalry and religious piety. Gaudí is said to have directed the composition of the facade from the middle of Passeig de Gràcia, calling instructions to workmen on the scaffolding. Inside, the translucent windows on the landings of the central staircase light up the maritime motif and the details of the building; as everywhere in his oeuvre, Gaudí opted for natural shapes and rejected straight lines. 

A visit to Casa Batlló is more than a traditional tour of a museum or monument. The fully restored house is packed with state-of-the-art technologies, including immersive rooms, surprising audiovisual productions, and an intelligent audio guide available in 15 languages. Children especially will enjoy an Augmented Reality SmartGuide: a fun, interactive way to discover the genius of Gaudí. From May to October, finish your visit with an open-air concert on the roof (starts at 8 pm) and a drink, as part of the "Magic Nights" program.

Budget-conscious visitors take note: The admission fee is rather high but there are discounts for booking in advance online; you can also just take in the view from outside the Casa Batlló and instead visit the Casa Milà, up the Passeig de Gràcia on the opposite side.

Like something out of an amusement park, this former umbrella shop was whimsically designed (assembled is more like it) by Josep Vilaseca in 1885. A Chinese dragon with a parasol, Egyptian balconies and galleries, and a Peking lantern all reflect the Eastern style that was very much in vogue at the time of the Universal Exposition of 1888. Now housing a branch office of the Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Artentaria (BBVA), this prankster of a building is much in keeping with Art Nouveau's eclectic playfulness, though it has never been taken very seriously as an expression of Modernisme and is generally omitted from most studies of Art Nouveau architecture.

This exquisite but more conventional town house (for Gaudí, anyway) was the architect's first commission in the Eixample (the second was the dragon-like Casa Batlló, and the third, and last—he was never asked to do another—was the stone quarry–esque Casa Milà). Peaked with baroque scroll gables over the unadorned (no ceramics, no color, no sculpted ripples) Montjuïc sandstone facade, Casa Calvet compensates for its structural conservatism with its Moderniste details, from the door handles to the benches, chairs, vestibule, and spectacular glass-and-wood elevator. Built between 1898 and 1900 for the textile baron Pere Calvet, the house includes symbolic elements on the facade, ranging from the owner's stylized letter "C" over the door to the cypress, symbol of hospitality, above. The wild mushrooms on the main (second) floor reflect Pere Calvet's (and perhaps Gaudí's) passion for mycology, while the busts at the top of the facade represent St. Peter, the owner's patron saint, and St. Genis of Arles and St. Genis of Rome, patron saints of Vilassar, the Calvet family's hometown in the coastal Maresme north of Barcelona. Note that the only part of the building accessible to visitors is the ground-floor China Crown restaurant, originally the suite of offices for Calvet's textile company, with its exuberant Moderniste decor.

Located at the bottom of Gràcia, this often overlooked Moderniste house (not open to the public) is worth stopping by to view the exterior—especially from the Carrer de Còrsega side of the building, at the corner of Carrer de Pau Claris. Built in 1911, the Salvador Valeri i Pupurull creation is one of Barcelona's most interesting Moderniste houses, with its undulating balconies, Gaudí-on-steroids stone arches, and polychrome ceramic-tiled facade.

The interior of this 15th-century building, home of the Municipal Archives (upstairs), has superb views of the remains of the 4th-century Roman watchtowers and walls. Look at the Montjuïc sandstone carefully, and you will see blocks taken from other buildings carved and beveled into decorative shapes, proof of the haste of the Romans to fortify the site as the Visigoths approached from the north, when the Pax Romana collapsed. The marble letter box by the front entrance was designed in 1895 by Lluís Domènech i Montaner for the Lawyer's Professional Association; as the story goes, it was meant to symbolize, in the images of the doves, the lofty flight to the heights of justice and, in the images of the turtles, the plodding pace of administrative procedures. In the center of the lovely courtyard here, across from the Santa Llúcia chapel, is a fountain; on the day of Corpus Christi in June the fountain impressively supports l'ou com balla, or "the dancing egg," a Barcelona tradition in which eggs are set to bobbing atop jets of water in various places around the city.

The last Barceloneta house left standing in its original 1761 two-story iteration, it’s fitting that CB1761 (its catchy moniker) is now used as an exhibition space to honor memories of the neighborhood’s past. The regularly changing photographic displays encompass social, political and artistic movements; recent retrospectives have included a photo-story of Picasso’s haunts in Barceloneta, and portraits of the (largely unseen) women integral to Barceloneta’s early-20th-century fishing industry. 

This house occupies what were once the grounds and buildings of a 14th-century Carthusian convent—though the convent itself is long gone. The present building dates to 1749; it was renovated in 1929 in Catalan Moderniste style, abandoned for a time, and then remodeled in 1980 as part of a large-scale urban improvement project for El Raval, with much of the impressive tile work, brick vaulted arches and stone pillars preserved intact. It now houses the Centre d'Estudis i Recursos Culturals de la Diputació (Center for Cultural Studies and Resources of the Provincial Council) and the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB: the Centre for Contemporary Culture), in the Pati Manning Espai Cultural—a two-story cloister around a central courtyard (pati means patio or courtyard) with lovely Tuscan arches. The Pati Manning (named for a benefactor of the one-time almshouse) includes a library, a lecture hall and auditorium, and exhibition galleries, and organizes a wide range of cultural and artistic initiatives.

With its charming ivy-covered and palm-shaded courtyard, this property was once a vocational school and a home for the children of the destitute. Founded in 1581 by theologian Don Diego Pérez de Valdivia, it functioned throughout the 19th and much of the 20th century as an orphanage for girls. The excellent bookstore La Central del Raval, next door at Carrer Elisabets 6, was formerly the institution's chapel. Around the corner (or through the bookstore) on Carrer dels Ramelleres at No. 17, a ring of wood in the wall just above waist level is all that remains of the ancient torno, or turntable, standard in early orphanages and cloistered convents. Alms, groceries, and unwanted babies alike were placed in this opening slot, to be spun anonymously into the hands of the convent staff. The building now houses an archive of historical documents—the oldest of which date to the 14th century.

This extraordinary apartment house crowned with an enormous yellow butterfly (papallona) made of trencadís (broken ceramic chips used by the Modernistes to add color to curved surfaces) was built in 1912 by Josep Graner i Prat. Next to Plaça de Espanya, directly overlooking the Arenes de Barcelona (the former bullring, now a multilevel shopping mall), the building displays lines of a routine, late-19th-century design—that is, until you reach the top of the facade.

Just adjacent to the church of Santa Maria del Pi is the seat of the 14th-century religious brotherhood charged with the preparation of the last rites, spiritual comfort, and burial of criminals condemned to death. In the famous Ramon Casas painting Garrote Vil (1894)—depicting the execution of the anarchist who bombed the Liceu Opera House (the painting can be seen in Barcelona's Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya)—the penitent monks dressed in long black cassocks and conical headgear are from this order, the Casa de la Congregació de la Puríssima Sang (House of the Congregation of the Purest Blood). The house was purportedly built in 1542 (the historical evidence is not clear) and renovated in 1613 and 1789.

Also known as Casa Terrades for the family that owned the house and commissioned Puig i Cadafalch to build it, this extraordinary cluster of six conical towers ending in impossibly sharp needles is another of Puig i Cadafalch's inspirations, this one rooted in the Gothic architecture of northern European countries. One of the few freestanding Eixample buildings, visible from 360 degrees, this ersatz Bavarian or Danish castle in downtown Barcelona is composed entirely of private apartments, some of them built into the conical towers themselves on three circular levels, connected by spiral stairways. Casa de les Punxes currently functions as a co-working space and is not open to visitors.

This less radical example of Eixample Art Nouveau architecture, now an apartment building, is interesting for its balconies and curved lines on the facade, for its handsome doors and vestibule, and for the lovely etched designs on the glass of the entryway. Built by and for the architect Domènech i Estapà in 1908–09, eight years before his death, this building represents a more conservative interpretation of the aesthetic canons of the epoch, revealing the architect's hostility to the Art Nouveau movement. Domènech i Estapà built more civil projects than any other architect of his time (Reial Acadèmia de Cièncias y Artes, Palacio de Justicia, Sociedad Catalana de Gas y Electricidad, Hospital Clínico, Observatorio Fabra) and was the creator of the Carcel Modelo (Model Prison), considered a state-of-the-art example of penitentiary design when it was built in 1913.

Gaudí disciple Joan Rubió i Bellver built this extraordinary house, known as El Xalet (The Chalet), for the Golferichs family when he was only 30. The rambling wooden eaves and gables of the exterior enclose a cozy and comfortable dark-wood-lined interior with a pronounced verticality. The top floor, with its rich wood beams and cerulean walls, is often used for intimate concerts; the ground floor exhibits paintings and photographs. The building serves now as the quarters of the Golferichs Centre Civic, which offers local residents a range of conferences and discussions, exhibitions and adult education courses, and organizes various thematic walking tours of the city.

This graceful Puig i Cadafalch building constructed in 1901 was the former seat of the Obra Social "la Caixa," a deep-pocketed, far-reaching cultural and social welfare organization funded by Spain's major (and most civic-minded) savings bank. It now houses the foundation's Espai Caixa cultural center, organizing a range of conferences, discussion forums, and presentations on current social and political issues. Look for the Eusebi Arnau sculptures over the door depicting, somewhat cryptically, a man mounted on a donkey and another on a bicycle, reminiscent of the similar Arnau sculptures on the facade of Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Amatller on Passeig de Gràcia.

Built by Josep Puig i Cadafalch for the Martí family, this Art Nouveau house was the fountainhead of bohemianism in Barcelona. It was here in 1897 that four friends, notable dandies all—Ramon Casas, Pere Romeu, Santiago Rusiñol, and Miguel Utrillo—started a café called Els Quatre Gats (Four Cats), meaning to make it the place for artists and art lovers to gather. (One of their wisest decisions was to mount a show, in February 1900, for an up-and-coming young painter named Pablo Picasso.) The exterior was decorated with figures by sculptor Eusebi Arnau (1864–1934). The clientele may be somewhat tourist-heavy these days but the interior of Els Quatre Gats hasn't changed one iota: pride of place goes to the Casas self-portrait, smoking his pipe, comically teamed up on a tandem bicycle with Romeu. Drop in for a café con leche and you just might end up seated in Picasso's chair. Venture to the dining room in back, with its unusual gallery seating upstairs; this room where Miró used to produce puppet theater is charming, but the food is nothing to rave about. Quatre gats in Catalan is a euphemism for "hardly anybody," but the four founders were each definitely somebody.

Gaudí disciple Joan Rubió i Bellver, creator of the Gran Via's Casa Golferichs, won the Barcelona architecture prize of 1913 with this extravagant interplay of decorative brick and white surfaces. The house is traditionally known as El Frare Blanc (The White Monk) for the masía (Catalan country house) that previously occupied the spot and served as home to a community of Dominican monks who wore white habits. Floodlit at night, the building resembles nothing so much as a fairy-tale Andalusian castle. It is not simply a sight to behold: It is also a restaurant, the Asador de Aranda—the venue in Barcelona for oven-roasted milk-fed baby lamb. It was built at the behest of Theodor Roviralta, who made his fortune in the Spanish colonies.