Madrid was our first stop in Spain. As a capital city it doesn’t have the pull of Paris, Rome, or Athens, but we found it a worthwhile destination.
The city had little historical significance before 1561 when King Felipe II moved his court from Toledo. To establish Madrid’s position as the ‘modern’ capital major building programs were undertaken. Examples include the Plaza Mayor, and the Royal Palace and surrounding gardens.
If for no other reason, go to Madrid to visit its phenomenal art galleries. We spent many hours savouring the delights of the Reina Sofia, and the Prado. (We didn’t get to the Thyssen-Bornemisza.)
From a trip planning perspective, Madrid is also an excellent hub for getting to and travelling within Spain. It was straightforward to come by train from southern France to Madrid. We took an amazing day trip from Madrid to Segovia, about 90 kms to the northwest. And we could easily transit south from Madrid to Toledo, then on to Andalucia.
Plaza Mayor is Madrid’s vibrant main square, notable for the frescoed Casa de la Panaderia. We visited during the Fiesta de San Isidro (the city’s patron saint) and various events were being held in the square. We enjoyed wandering the surrounding streets, getting a feel for Spain’s capital city.
Just to the west of Plaza Mayor is Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Almudena. It dates from 1883 but wasn’t finished until 1993, and has an interesting modern ceiling. Being Sunday morning it was fun to watch families and friends catching up outside the cathedral.
Plaza de Oriente stands at the front of Palacio Real and has an imposing statue of Felipe IV who was king of Spain in the early 17th C.
Built on the site of a 9th C Moorish castle overlooking the Manzanares river, Palacio Real (the royal palace) was commissioned by King Felipe V in 1735 to outshine his European rivals. It’s absolutely massive, with ~3,500 rooms. There are great views from Plaza de la Armeria and the royal armoury (armeria) is worth a visit.
Just south of the palace complex is Basilica de San Francisco el Grande, a charming baroque building which houses a beautiful painting by Goya.
From there we wandered down to Rio Manzanares. The heavily buttressed Puente de Segovia looked over-engineered for the trickling river.
The palace complex is surrounded by gardens. We visited Campo del Moro, a large garden situated between Palacio Real and the river. We also visited the French-style Jardines de Sabatini at the northen edge of the palace complex.
Plaza Mayor
Casa de la Panaderia
setting up
police hats
haberdashery
towers
Cathedral interior
Pope and friends
Sunday best
Plaza de Oriente
Palacio Real
Plaza de la Armeria
school group
armoury
Basilica de San Franicsco
Puente de Segovia
Campo del Moro
to Palacio Real
Jardines de Sabatini
formal style
Madrid’s famous galleries lie to the east of the city centre. On our way from the hotel to Reina Sofia we passed Escuelas Pías de San Fernando, a university library and auditorium built in the ruins of an 18th C church, and checked out the shop fronts and streetscapes.
Nearby is Antigua Estacion de Atocha, the old Atocha railway station. It’s been beautifully restored as a rail terminus with a lush garden inside.
Another day we visited the Prado, walking via Plaza de Cibeles which is flanked by the Palacio de Cibeles, formerly the city’s post office.
Museo del Prado is justifiably ranked as one of the world’s top art museums. It has a broad collection of European art, with a particular focus on the great Spanish painters Velazquez and Goya, along with El Greco (the Greek) who lived and worked in Toledo for the last 40 years of his life.
Nearby is the gothic Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real, founded in 1503 by the Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand and Isabel).
Just south of the Prado lies Real Jardin Botanico (the royal botantical gardens). It’s a pleasant antidote to the intensity of the art museums and the bustle of the city.
Escuelas Pías de San Fernando
shopfront
Reina Sofia
Atocha station
garden inside
Plaza de la Cibeles
former post office
Museo del Prado
San Jeronimo
Botanical Gardens
cacti
hanging garden
We took a day trip from Madrid to Segovia which was just fantastic. It only takes 35 minutes to get there on the high speed train.
The Romans occupied Segovia from 80 BC. The city was at the frontline of battles between Moors and Christians from the 8th C. It was resettled by Christians around 1085 after the capture of Toledo and its Alcázar dates to this period. Segovia boasts a number of Romanesque churches from the 12th and 13th C. From the 15th C it became a favoured location of the Spanish royalty and its gothic cathedral is a powerful expression of this patronage. There is well-preserved architecture from all these periods and the Old Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct is a World Heritage site.
Old Segovia sits atop a ridge running east to west. It’s a 20 minute walk from the train station to the old city. The first major site you come across is the extraordinary Roman aqueduct with 128 pillars spanning 813 metres in length.
From here we wound along Calle Juan Bravo to arrive at the lovely Plaza de San Martin. It features a statue of Juan Bravo who was a rebel leader in the Castilian Revolt of the Comuneros, a civilian uprising in 1520 against the rule of Charles I. The lovely Romanesque church of St Martin (Iglesia de San Martin) has a Moorish tower with distinctive brickwork and elegant arches.
Following the streets that wind along the ridge you come to Plaza Major. The massive gothic Catedral stands on the western edge of the plaza. It was commenced in 1525 after an earlier romanesque cathedral next to the Alcazar was destroyed in Revolt of the Comuneros. The Catedral has some beautiful chapels (capillas) and a lovely cloister.
Between the Catedral and Alcazar there are several interesting things to see. Iglesia de San Esteban is a 13th C romanesque church with a six-storey tower. Iglesia de San Andres is another lovely romanesque church with a Moorish tower and baroque interior. Casa de Sol is a former fortress within the city walls which now houses the Museum of Segovia. The ridge on which Segovia is built begins to narrow at this point and you can see the walls, the underlying rock, the river valleys, and surrounding countryside. In the slanting light of late afternoon it was all very beautiful.
The Alcazar (castle) stands on a site that has been fortified since Roman times and takes its name from the Moors. It was expanded in the middle ages when Segovia was a favoured location of the Spanish royalty. After the royal court settled in Madrid in 1561 the Alczar became a state prison for 200 years then a military school for 100 years. In 1862 it was badly damaged by fire and the spectacular roofline you see today is a reconstruction from after that event. The interior has many highlights including the Throne Room and Hall of Rope where Moorish influences on post-Reconquista Spain are plain for all to see.
Reaching the Alcazar felt like a fitting conclusion to the day, but Segovia had yet more to offer. Beyond the old city’s walls stand several churches and convents. We visited Iglesia de la Vera Cruz, built in the 13th C by the Knights Templar to house what was said to be a piece of the true cross (vera cruz). It’s a gorgeous little 12-sided building.
We walked back through the city to the station and caught a late train to Madrid, tired but exhilharated by the charms of Segovia.
We left Madrid to spend two nights in Toledo before heading south to Andalucia.
Toledo is an ancient city, beautifully situtated in a bend of the Tagus River and on a hill that rises above the plains of Castile-la Mancha in central Spain. It is known as the “City of the Three Cultures”, bearing traces of the influence of Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The Historic City of Toledo is a World Heritage site in recognition of this distinctive, polygot history.
By chance we arrived when celebrations for the Feast of Corpus Christi were underway. There were eight giant puppets displayed across the facade of the Town Hall, including dark-skinned Moors. It seemed that Toledo’s polygot history continues to be celebrated in Christian Spain.
The city’s skyline is dominated by the Cathedral and the Alcazar, both of which reflect Toledo’s fascinating history.
The Gothic Cathedral you see today was built between 1226 and 1493. The site has been a place of worship since the Visigoths built a church there in 646. It was converted to a mosque during Moorish rule which lasted from 711 until 1085 when Alfonso VI captured the city as part of the reconquista. The mosque was subsequently destroyed.
The caliph Abd ar-Rahman III built a fortress (al-qasr) on the Alcazar site in the 10th C which was altered when Christians retook the city in 1085. It was remodelled as a royal residence in the 1540s but the massive building became a ‘white elephant’ when the capital moved to Madrid. It was largely destoyed in the Spanish Civil War but General Franco had it rebuilt as a military museum.
San Juan de los Reyes is a Franciscan monastery and church with a beautiful cloister. It was commissioned in 1477 by the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella who had it built in the middle of the Jewish quarter as a mark of the supremacy of Catholicism in Spain. They’d planned to be buried here before capturing the greater prize of Granada where they are interred in the Capilla Real.
Traces of Moorish architecture remain throughout the city though Islam itself was eradicated by the reconquista. The Mezquita de Cristo de la Luz is an 11th C mosque that was converted to a church, with great views over the north of the city. You can see the Puerta Nueva de Bisagra, a Moorish city gate that was remodelled in 1559.
Museo de Santa Cruz was built in the early 16th C, just outside the Moorish city walls, and houses a great collection of ceramics and paintings.
Cordoba was founded by the Romans in 2 BC and became an important provincial base in Hispania under the Emperor Augustus. It was occupied by the Byzantines then by the Visigoths before it was captured by Umayyad Moors in 711. It was under the Moors that the city rose to its greatest prominence.
In 716 it became capital of the Emirate of Cordoba, subordinate to the Caliphate of Damascus. Internal strife within the Arab Muslim Empire led the Abbasids to defeat the Umayyads in 750. The Umayyads held on to al-Andalus and in 756 Abd al-Rahman I established an independent Emirate of Cordoba. In 929 the Umayyad Emir Abd al-Rahman III declared himself Caliph of Cordoba, and the caliphate he established lasted until 1031 before it crumbled into a number of independent principalities (taifas). The city was recaptured by the Catholic monarch Ferdinand III in 1236.
We had three nights / four days in Cordoba, including a day trip to Seville. It was a very full and rich experience.
The historic centre of Cordoba is a World Heritage site. It comprises the Great Mosque (Mezquita) and surrounding areas, the Synagogue and Alcazar, as well as the Roman Bridge and the Torre Calahorra across the River Guadaquivir.
About 8 kms west is Medina Azahara which Abd al-Rahman III built as a new capital for his Caliphate of Cordoba.
The Mezquita (Great Mosque) of Cordoba is justifiably famous. Standing in the prayer hall surrounded by a forest of Moorish columns topped with beautiful red and white striped arches is a remarkable experience. Its construction was started by Abd al-Rahman I in 784 and his descendants reworked the building over the next two centuries reaching its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard. The mihrab supposedly includes 1.6 tonne of gold mosaic cubes gifted by the Byzantne Empire. In its day the building would have been filled with light, but 19 external doors have been bricked up. Even more unfortunately, the centre of the Mezquita was ripped out in the 16th C to allow construction of a Catholic Cathedral which was further decorated during the 17th and 18th C. The fussiness of the Cathedral’s Capilla Mayor offends the elegence of the original structure. To the victors go the rights to spoil…
It’s pleasant to wander the Mezquita’s courtyard and around its walls. Although most the external doors are bricked up some of the surviving decoration is very beautiful.
The area around the Mezquita is also World Heritage listed. We visited the Sinagoga (synagogue) and wandered along the lovely Calle de Cairuan which follows the old Islamic walls to the gate of Puerta de Almodovar.
Mezquita
arches
Prayer Hall
Mirhab
Cathedral
courtyard, with boys
doorway, bricked up
door to Mezquita
external door
Calle de Cairuan
Sinagoga
Puerto de Almodovar
The Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos (Castle of the Christian Monarchs) is a palace and fortress commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile in 1328, built on the site of earlier Roman, Visigoth, and Moorish buildings. The Alcazar was one of the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition from 1482 to 1834. It is well worth exploring the towers, courtyards, mosaic room, and baths, and the gardens are delightful.
The Alcazar is close to the river and we wandered past the Episcopal Palace then across the Roman bridge to the district of Campo de la Verdad-Miraflores. Our visit coincided with the Feria de Mayo (May Fair), a ten day party held in the El Arenal Fairground on the other side of Puenta del Arenal. It was a lot of fun to wander amongst the Cordobans who clearly take their partying seriously. The dresses were colourful, the horses and riders well groomed, and the music absolutely pumping. Of all the fairground rides we liked Mega Kanguro best of all.
Flamenco originated in Andalucia in the 18th C and remains an important part of local culture. You see van drivers practice their clapping when waiting for traffic lights to change and hear cante flamenco (singing) blare from passing cars. We were interested to see and hear it live. Walking home one evening we were handed a flyer for a small club with a perfromance starting at 22:30. Very Spanish. We went along and had a fabulous time. The club was run by a Gitano (Romani) family and the peformance cycled through instrumental music (acoustic guitar, box drum, clapping, and stomping), male singers, a traditional female dancer, and a younger female dancer with a very different style. The impression it gave is that flamenco is not stuck in time but is evolving through younger generations bringing new skills and perspectives built on very formal traditions. The patriach of the family (José Antonio Plantón Moreno) goes by the stage name of El Calli. We bought an album called Orgullo de Estirpe which translates as something like Proud Lineage. Check it out on Spotify, along with an earlier album called Sonidos con Alma (Sounds of the Soul).
Alcazar, Tpwer of Homage
looking down from tower
Tower of the Lions
gardens
statuary
mosaic room
Royal Baths
busking, Spanish style
Episcopal Palace
water wheel
Feria de Mayo
Mega Kanguro
Abd al-Rahman III was clearly an ambitious man, declaring the Caliphate of Cordoba as rival to the Abissid (Middle East) and Fatimid (Egypt) Caliphates. In 936 he began building a magnificent new capital at Medina Azahara. It was completed by 945 but sacked and looted from around 1010 as the Caliphate of Cordoba fell apart.
The walled perimeter ran 1.5 kms east to west and 0.75 kms north to south (112 hectares), though only a fraction of the site had been excavated and was open to the public when we visited. Yet it’s one of those sites where there’s just enough left to fire the imagination and we had a fabulous time.
You enter through the north gate by the Higher Housing, coming to the Ya’far House (of the hayib or Prime Minister) and High Basilical Building. From there you enter the impressive Drawing Room of Abd al-Rahman III. Interestingly, the decorative tracery at Medina Azahara is made from carved limestone rather than the usual material of plaster. The Drawing Room leads onto the Gardens and to the east lie ruins of the Mosque. The tour finishes in the Arms Square which has a lovely Portico along its western edge.
The site was undergoing further excavation and reconstruction when we visited in 2008. Clearly a lot of work has been done since then as Medina Azahara was inscribed onto the World Heritage list in 2018. We’ll certainly return if we’re in this region again.
Seville is Andalucia’s capital and largest city, and is highly rated as a travel destination. Its Cathedral, Alcázar, and Archive of the Indies (Archivo de Indias) form a World Heritage site in the heart the city.
On this trip we prioritised Cordoba and Granada as our focus in Andalucia, but did manage a day trip to Seville. We certainly saw enough in that day to whet our appetite for a longer visit in the future.
The Moors captured Seville in 712 though its eminence as a Moorish city in Al-Andalus came in the 11-13th C under Moroccan Almoravid (1040-1147) and Almohad (1121-1269) caliphates. Seville was capital of the Almohad Caliphate in Al-Andalus for 100 years (1147-1248).
Most buildings of Moorish aesthetic in Seville belong to the Mudéjar style of the 14-16th C which was inspired by Islamic art but developed under Christian rule. This is an example of how Moorish influence on the Iberian Peninsula continued well beyond reconquest by the Catholics.
Traces of original Moorish buildings can be found in the city walls, parts of the Alcázar (closed when we visited), and the main section of the famous Giralda. The Girlada was the minaret of the Great Mosque of Seville, constructed between 1184 and 1198. The city fell to the Catholics in 1248 and the mosque was used as a church until 1401. When the mosque was razed to make way for a new cathedral, the Giralda was maintained and converted to a bell tower.
Seville Cathedral (completed 1507) is one of the largest in the world, and it’s certainly a statement piece. It hosts the tomb of Christopher Columbus, though whether his remains are actually interred here, in the Dominican Republic, or in Cuba seems to remain under debate.
The city has many lovely lanes, backstreets, and squares with cabelleros waiting languidly in their horse drawn carriages for the next customer.
Our wandering took us past the old Royal Tobacco Factory, now part of the University of Seville. The central characeter in Bizet’s opera Carmen was a cigarrera (cigarette maker) in this factory.
We spent four nights in Granada on our tour of Andalucia. It’s a charming city located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and the confluence of four rivers. We were attracted here to visit the famous Alhambra and the day we spent exploring this remarkable site was a highlight. There is however much more to the city and its surrounds.
We took a bus 75 kms to the southeast and spent a lovely day in the whitewashed villages of Las Alpujarras, the region that was awarded to the Moors when they surrendered Granada 1492.
In the rest of our time we explored the city’s grand Catholic monuments, interspersed with traces of Moorish heritage, and wandered the old Muslin quarter of Albyzin which is draped over a hill facing the Alhambra across the Darro River valley. All in all, Granada was a treat.
Granada rose to prominence in the 13th C as the base of the Nasrids, the last and longest running Muslim dynasty on the Iberian Peninsula. By 1228 the Almohad Caliphate was in decline in Al-Andalus and Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr (Muhammad I of Granada) emerged as an ambitious Muslim leader. Coming from Arjona he took control of several southern cities including Granada (in 1236) and established the Emirate of Granada in 1238.
With Cordoba (1236) then Seville (1248) falling to the Christians, Granada became the last Muslim stronghold. Muhammad I aligned himself with Ferdinand III of Castille (who took Cordoba and Seville), and this unholy alliance helped to ensure the Nasrid dynasty survived for over 250 years before Granada was surrendered to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinandand Isabellain 1492 to complete the Reconquista.
It was under the seventh and eighth Nasrid Sultans, Yusuf I (1333-54) and Muhammad V (1354-91), that Granada reached its zenith. They left an amazing legacy of architecture and art most conspicuously expressed in the World Heritage Alhambra building complex and Generalife Gardens.
The Alhambra receives a huge number of visitors, understandably so, but don’t let this put you off. It’s a very well managed site. We pre-booked a ticket for a specified starting time and walked straight in on the day. As each tour group frogmarched through we just retreated to a corner for several minutes then reoccupied the space when they were gone. For much of the time we were there (several hours) it felt like we had the place to ourselves and a few other like minded souls.
Our tour of the Alhambra entered through the Puerta de Vino and into Palacio de Carlos V. A wing of the Nasrid building complex was destroyed to make way for this Renaissance palace commissioned by Charles V in 1527, though it was never finished and stood roofless till 1957. It’s an interesting building with a two-tiered, circular coutyard inside. Although it is misplaced amongst the Moorish architecture, it’s far less odious than the Cathedral plonked into the middle of the Great Mosque in Cordoba. The Alhambra Museum is on the ground floor.
Palacio Nazaries (the Nasrid Palace) is the main attraction and for us it’s one of the most remarkable buildings we’ve seen anywhere in the world.
First you pass through the Mexuar, an antechamber for receiving visitors, then enter the Patio del Cuarto Dorado (Golden Room) where the emirs would give audiences. Next is the Palacio de Comares built as a residence for Yusuf I. It surrounds the Patio de los Arrayanes (Patio of the Myrtles) which has a beautiful pool. The combination of decorative plaster, wood, and tile decoration on the palace walls surrounding the patio is simply astonishing. The patio opens onto the Salon de Comares with an extraordinary marquetry ceiling representing the seven heavens of Islam.
Puerta de Vino
Palacio de Carlos V
coutryard
Mexuar
Patio del Cuarto Dorada
Patio de los Arrayanes
alcove
fountain
tiles and wood
plaster and wood
Salon de Comares
audioguide and camera
It’s thrilling to walk through the Palacio Nazaries and wonder what you’ll see next. Patio de los Lions is certainly a highlight with its beautifully ornamented pavillions.
We progressed through Sala de los Abencerrajes and Sala de Dos Hermanas, admiring the delicate ornamentation on ceilings and arches. Patio del Lindaraja led us out of the palace and into El Partal gardens with a lovely old portico facing west.
The Alcazaba was the Alhambra’s citadel and there are fine views of the ramparts and surrounds from Torre de la Vela.
The Generalife (Architect’s Garden) is a great last stop on a tour of the Alhambra. The beautiful Patio de la Acequia and Jardin de la Sultana have a soothing effect on tired legs and overloaded minds. What a day.
Patio de los Lions
pavillion
arches
tiles
Sala de los Abencerrajes
Sala de Dos Hermanas
Mirador del Lindaraja
El Partal
Alcazaba
Generalife
outlook
Jardin de la Sultana
One day we took a day trip to Las Alpujarras, a collection of valleys on the southern flank of the Sierra Nevada about 75 kms southeast of Granada. Berbers settled here in the 10th C and the area became renowned for irrigated agriculture and silkworm farms, supplying weaving workshops in port city of Almeria. When the Emir Boabdil finally surrendered Granada to the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isobel in 1492, he was awarded Las Alpujarras as part of the settlement. As Catholic promises of religous tolerance were subsequently broken, Las Alpujarras became a hotbed of Muslim insurrection until all of the Moors were finally deported from the region in the late 16th C and replaced with Christian settlers.
We caught a bus from Granada, up the Poqueira River valley to the village of Capileira. It takes a couple of hours to get there. Capileira is the highest of three villages in the valley. The stone streets, whitewashed buildings, and distinctively shaped chimneys are reminiscent of Berber villages in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, standing in testament to its Moorish history.
We spent a lovely day wandering the cobbled streets and along some of the footpaths that radiate into the higher mountains.
Capileira
Poqueira River valley
streetscape
old communnal laundry
door
chimneys
up river
walking
built in stone
Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny, Tommy lived here
higher up
terraces
Granada was the last domino to fall in the Catholic reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Ferdinand and Isobel had planned to be buried in Toledo, but after capturing Granada in 1492 they commissioned the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel). Their marble funerary monuments lie side by side in the chancel though their bodies are in simple lead coffins in the crypt below. The Capilla Real was not completed until 1521. Isobel died in 1504, Ferdinand in 1516, and they were interred in the Alhambra until the chapel was completed.
The adjoining Cathedral was commenced in 1521 and not fully completed until the 18th C. The Cathedral and Capilla Real have separate entrances.
It was pleasant to wander the streets around the Cathedral complex. The Alcaiceria is now an area of tourist shops on the site of the Moorish silk exchange. Nearby Corral del Carbon began life in the 14th C as an inn.
A little to the north of the city centre is the 16th C Monasterio de San Jeronimo. It has a lovely cloister, excellent stone carvings, and a profusion of brightly painted sculptures. It is the resting place of Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, know as El Gran Capitan (the Great Captain) for his role as Ferdinand and Isobel’s military commander.
We visited the Archaeological Museum then stopped for lunch before an afternoon wander around Albyzin.
The old Muslim quarter of Albyzin is also part of Granada’s World Heritage. It’s a delightful area to explore with cobbled streets, whitewashed buildings, and great views across the Darro valley to the Alhambra and the Sierra Nevada beyond. We checked out the Collegiata del Salvador which is a 16th C church built on the site of Albyzin’s main mosque. A patio with Moorish arches survives as a reminder of this history.
We left Granada well satisfied with our visit to the city and the fascinating region of Andalucia.
Barcelona was our last stop in Spain. We rented an apartment for five nights in a residential area near Placa de Catalunya, with the aim of slowing down and taking time to enjoy being in this legendary city. It worked a treat.
One day we visited the Picasso Museum, wandered down to the waterfront, then came home via the Cathedral district.
Across a couple of days we checked out the extraordinary architecture of Antoni Gaudi and his contemporaries. Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and other lesser known but amazing buildings.
We explored Montjuic and visited Mies van de Rohe’s gorgeous Barcelona Pavillion and the Joan Miro Museum.
In the rest of our time we wandered the backstreets, visited smaller churches and museums, and took in a concert at the shimmering Palace of Catalan Music. We left Barcelona vowing to come back.
We arrived late on the first night, having taken the slow train from Granada to check out some Spanish countryside along the way.
Our first full day was spent wandering down Via Laietana to the waterfront then back again, visiting some great sites in the La Ribera and Barri Gotic districts. Via Laietana runs parallel to the famous La Rambla, which is very crowded and touristy, and we found it a good option for easing ourselves in to this bustling city.
The Palace of Catalan Music is a lovely modernist building by the architect (and politician) Lluís Domènech i Montaner. It’s possible to see the interior on a guided tour. We didn’t take a tour but attended a concert one evening by Diego el Cigala, a well known Romani Flamenco gypsy singer. Either way it’s worth a look inside to see the beautiful stained glass ceiling. The Palace of Catalan Music and Montaner’s Hospital de Sant Pau are collectively recognised as a World Heritage site.
The Spanish artist Pablo Picasso was prolific during his long life, and there are several museums dedicated to his work throughout Europe. Born in Malaga, Picasso lived in Barcelona between the ages of 14 and 24. The Barcelona Picasso Museum is therefore focused on his earlier works, with paintings up to the ‘Blue Period’. Although best known as a painter, Picasso was also a sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer. We found the museum’s collection of linocuts to be superb, showcasing his mastery of line. To quote Julian Barnes from his novel “Flaubert’s Parrot”:
Mystification is simple; clarity is the hardest thing of all. Not writing a tune is easier than writing one. Not rhyming is easier than rhyming. I don’t mean art should be as clear as the instructions on a packet of seeds; I’m saying that you trust the mystifier more if you know he’s deliberately choosing not to be lucid. You trust Picasso all the way because he could draw like Ingres.
After the museum we visited Esglesia Santa Maria de Mar then took in the waterfront plazas and monuments around Port Vell (the old port).
From here we looped back through the Barri Gotic, past the Roman Walls near Placa de Ramon Berenguer el Gran and on to the Catedral district. We spent the late afternoon ambling along alleys and lanes around the Cathedral where the standard of busking was exceptionally high.
A lovely first day in Barcelona.
Palace of Catalan Music #1
Palace of Catalan Music #2
laneway near Picasso Museum
plaza near waterfront
Port Vell
Columbus monument
via Laietana
Roman wall
Pacac de Ramon Berengeur el Gran
Catedral
behind the Catedral
washing
Barcelona is rightly famous for its Modernista architecture, a distinctly Catalan ‘art nouveau’ style from the late 19th and early 20th C. Most of the iconic Modernista buildings are located in the districts of L’Eixample and Gracia, northwest of the city centre.
On our way we passed the Arco de Triunfo, a Neo-Mudéjar archway built as the main entrance to the 1888 Universal Exhibition hosted by the city.
On Passeig de Gràcia in L’Eixample there is a city block known as the “Block of Discord” which is noted for having buildings by all of the most important Modernista architects. Their styles were very different and the buildings clash with each other and the neighboring buildings.
Our first stop was Casa Lleo Morera, a stately residence by Lluís Domènech i Montaner (architect of the Palace of Catalan Music – see above).
For most people, Antoni Gaudí is the name that’s synonymous with Modernista architecture. Seven of his buildings in and around Barcelona constitute the Works of Antoni Gaudi World Heritage site.
Despite having seen many photos of Gaudi’s buildings, the experience of approaching then entering his amazing Casa Batllo for the first time was still a shock. It’s impossibly ornate. Much of the decoration has an air of fantasy yet it also seemed like a functional building, and the standard of craftsmanship was exceptional throughout. All in all it’s a breathtaking combination.
Casa Amatller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch is the other main building on the “Block of Discord”.
Heading northwest along Passeig de Gràcia we visited another Gaudi masterpiece, the Casa Mila apartment and office block also known as La Pedrera (the quarry). Part of the interior is open to the public, but the rooftop is its most striking feature with extraordinary chimneys that evoke human forms.
Just to the east is Casa de les Punxes by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, an apartment block that looks like a castle.
And so to the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia (Temple of the Holy Family), the project to which Gaudi dedicated himself from 1886 until his death in 1926. It remains unfinished to this day with a latest estimated completion date of 2032. In short it is unlike any other church building on the planet. The spires, facades, interior design, and decorative features combine gothic and art nouveau influences into a unique vision that seems unhinged from the realities of 21st C life. That Gaudi could have conceived such a building is amazing enough, but to see it still being built in accordance with his vision some 120 years later is simply astonishing. We visited in 2008 and it was very much a building site at that time. No doubt substantial progress has been made since then, and it was consecrated as a church in 2010.
Arco de Triunfo
Casa Lleo Morera
Casa Batllo, exterior
interior 1
interior 2
interior 3
roof 1
roof 2
Julie on the roof
Casa Mila
chimneys 1
chimneys 2
surroundings
interior
Casa de les Punxes
Sagrada Familia, exterior
nave
outlook
tower tops
facade
Next day we visited more Gaudi sites in the morning. First stop was Casa Vincenc, an early house designed with turrets and Mudejar references.
From there we went to Parc Guell. Eusebi Güell was a Spanish entrepreneur who developed a close relationship with Gaudi and became one of his most significant patrons. Guell bought this land in 1900 and commissioned Gaudi to create a small garden city with houses for the wealthy. The project was abandoned in 1914 but by then Gaudi had made his mark with highly decorated paths, steps, benches, and a covered market area supported by a forest of stone columns.
Having had our fill of Modernista architecture, we headed southwest to the Montjuic (Jewish mountain) district which has a number of interesting attractions. Barcelona hosted two World Exhibitions, in 1888 and 1929. Montjuic was the site of the 1929 event and its major attractions date from this period (and from the 1992 Olympic Games). Starting from Placa d’Espanya you rise towards Montjuic on stairs and / or escalators across a series of terraces dissected by a massive fountain called La Font Majica (majic fountain).
Just west of the fountain lies the Mies van der Rohe Pavillion. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was a German – American architect who with Lilly Reich won the commission to design Germany’s pavillion at the 1929 World Exhibition. It’s a stunning piece of minimalism that was taken down after the exhibition but rebuilt in the 1980s in homage to its enduring influence.
Riding the escalators we reached the Palau Nacional, built for the 1929 World Exhibition and now housing the National Museum of Catalonian Art.
From there we contoured east to Fundacio Joan Miro, a gallery dedicated to the art of Barcelona native Joan Miró. It’s a lovely building with a beautiful outlook and a comprehensive collection of Miro’s paintings, sculpture, and ceramics. For me he’s an artist who stimulates a mix of reactions. I love some pieces, find some childish, and sometimes feel like I’m having my leg pulled. His titles range from one word (“Painting”) to twenty word manifestos. My favourite title was “Hair Pursued by 2 Planets”. If you ever get the chance, visit Fundacio Joan Miro and make up your own mind.
Casa Vincenc
Parc Guell
photo op
detail
walkway
Mies van der Rohe Pavillion
statue
wall
furniture
escalator
Palau Nacional
Fundacio Joan Miro
On our last day we took in some sites in central Barcelona then went down to the port and cycled along the waterfront.
Started the day with a wander through the green expanse of Parc de la Ciutadella, another remnant of the 1888 World Exhibition.
We then visited the excellent Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat (City History Museum) which occupies a series of lovely old buildings around Placa del Rei. It’s built on top of Roman ruins that can be inspected from a subterranean raised walkway.
Barcelona’s Catedral is a magnificent gothic structure. It has a beautifully sculpted wooden choir from the 14th C and and an atmospheric crypt housing the tomb of Santa Eulalia, one of the city’s patron saints. The wooden coffin of Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, is mounted high on the western wall. The Cathedral’s roof can be accessed by lift and provides great views and perspectives of the modern city.
A little to the southwest is the lovely square of Placa Reial, which is a great place to have a drink and watch the world go by.
We finished the day by picking up city bikes (Bicing) and cycling along the waterfront.
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