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Four Contemporary Art Museums
Four days, four neighborhoods, four contemporary art museums.
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Walking through the streets of Barcelona stimulates the senses. Take four days to go deeper into its art, and wander its neighborhoods while you contemplate the artists in four top contemporary art museums.
 Day Note
In the morning see where Pablo Picasso's imagination began at the Museu Picasso. If you're into textiles, which was one of Barcelona's big industries, go across the street to the textile museum and perhaps grab a bite to eat. Walk from the museum to the Passeig del Born, an inviting square that's becoming hipper and hipper. Make your way to the main drag Via Laietana take a right, then when you reach Carrer de Jaume (and the metro stop by the same name), take a left and continue until you reach Carrer d'Avinyo. End your day at the Quatre Gats where Picasso had his first exhibit.
This popular budget hostel is inexpensive, clean and basic. It's also conveniently close to the atmospheric Plaça del Pi. The interior rooms are dark and very basic, but renovation work during the 1990s improved some of the outer rooms that also offer views over Plaça Sant Josep Oriol. All bedrooms have bathes and washbasins. Prices depend on the type of room and how many people are sharing. It is best to book in advance.
An outdoor café located in an unbeatably romantic Gothic-style courtyard setting in the Museu Tèxtil i d´Indumentària (Textile Museum). It has a sensibly limited menu offering top quality vegetable soups, pastas and meats. In addition, you can choose from a colorful selection of Mediterranean-style sandwiches, vegetable pastries, couscous, chilly with chicken and delicious homemade cakes. It is a relaxed and peaceful place during the day, mainly frequented by tourists visiting the other neighboring museums. At night it fills up with couples and groups of friends. It just shows how a heap of imagination and energy can create something out of nothing.
This historic restaurant opened in 1897. It was the favourite haunt of avant-garde artists and intellectuals in the early 1900s. It is said that Picasso used to hang out here too. The menu ranges from tapas and sandwiches at the bar and elaborate and expensive meals available in the restaurant. The establishment has its own newspaper with articles about the art of cooking as well as the plastic arts. The authentic modernist-style interior and the live piano music combine to create a great atmosphere.
This museum is located opposite the Picasso Museum, in the medieval Marqueses de Lió Palace, well known because of its original wooden roof and ornate central courtyard (still beautifully preserved). The museum is divided into three sections: textiles, clothes and lace. It gives visitors the chance to trace the history of fabrics and fashion from Ancient Egypt up to the present day. Moreover, it includes a collection of mannequins, textile tools, carpets, embroidered pieces and liturgical ornaments, among other items. There is also a terrace-bar all year round that is one of the most pleasant spots in Barcelona. Furthermore, there is a nice shop where they sell any kind of fabric and clothes made from natural materials and fibres. During school holidays, they organize workshops through which children can learn, for example, how to weave a tapestry and take it home afterward.
This street runs from Carrer Ferran to Carrer Ample, and is very typical of an old town street, with lots of places to eat, drink and socialize with the hoards of young people that populate them. Picasso found the inspiration to paint his famous Las señoritas de Aviñón in a brothel located here, too; the painting does not refer to the French town, as people often assume. It is an agreeable place for a late-afternoon stroll; it still maintains all the charm it once had centuries ago.
Barcelona's tribute to one of its adopted sons, this fabulous collection is displayed in three adjoining medieval palaces. Picasso was born in Malaga but really started his long artistic career here. You can see all of his most important early works, including engravings, lithographs and pottery. The most famous pieces on show are his Harlequin, a potrait of one of his wives, Jacqueline, and the Las Meninas series. Regular temporary exhibitions focus on different aspects of the artist's activities, for example, his research on landscapes or his foray into theatre design. In addition, there are some examples of work by artists from the avant-garde movement.
Museu Tèxtil i d´Indumentària
Day Note
Expose yourself to a little Antoni Tapies and a little modernism. Tapies's work often needs explanation to be understood so take time with the texture of his pieces. The Modernist Casas Batllo, Ametller, and Lleo-Morera are around the corner on the Passeig de Gracia. Several tapas bars with outdoor cafes line this section of the street for lunch. Back around your hotel in the Barri Gotic you'll enjoy the Gothic Santa Maria del Pi and its welcoming square, where on some weekends artists set up their paintings to be sold. The Vinya del Senyor is nearby for the final toast before bed.
Txapela
Cuisine: Spanish, Mediterranean
Located on Passeig de Gràcia, they offer Basque pinchos (tapas) and montaditos (like canapés) for a small amount. You can get an idea of the fare on offer by having a look at the big informative boards with pictures on both sides at the entrance. Decorated in wood, there is a big central bar where the products are displayed. It is full of tourists, locals and workers from the nearby offices. Try the first floor, where it is a bit quieter. They also have an outdoor terrace on the pavement, where you can watch all the people go by.
This basilica owes its name (pi means pine) to the pine forest that once stood here and spanned from the walls of the Roman city to the Ramblas. In 1322, work began on the basilica building, which is in typical Barcelona Gothic style, although the main entrance is Romanesque. It is an imposing structure with a 54m tower. Inside is a chapel, in front of the chapter house containing the tombs of Josep Oriol (a saint from Barcelona) and Antoni Viladomat (an 18th-century baroque painter). There is also a rosette window, truly impressive for its size and the lighting created by the sun at the different times of the day.
The name comes from the Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi and from Saint Sant Josep Oriol, who is buried there. The two squares are consecutive; one leads into the other. A sculpture of Àngel Guimerà resides in Sant Josep Oriol—he was a very important writer representative of a Catalan cultural movement called La Renaixença in the 19th century. There are art and food markets here, as well as musicians playing and singing in the street, with people listening to them from the terraces of the many pleasant cafés surrounding the two squares.
Part of the Illa de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord), Lluís Domènech i Muntaner's design displays a spectacular use of mosaic as well as stained-glass windows by Lluís Rigalt and sculptures by Eusebi Arnau. These decorative elements reflect Hellenistic, Gothic and Renaissance influences, especially the stained-glass windows. Built between 1902 and 1906, it stands in the same residential block as two other outstanding modernist buildings created by different architects in hugely different styles, hence the collective name - Block of Discord.
To cope with the exponential expansion outside the city's medieval walls, Ildefons Cerdà developed a new city plan in 1850: a grid structure of vertical and horizontal streets that formed squares when they crossed. Cerdà wanted to build residential accommodation in these square blocks and have communal yards in the middle with gardens where children could play. This part of the plan was sadly never accomplished, but the original design gives the blocks plenty of light. L'Eixample was built between 1860 and 1920, coinciding with the boom in Modernist architecture that is well represented here. The district is divided between the Dreta de L'Eixample (The Right) and the Esquerra de L'Eixample (The Left).
Casa Batlló is one of the masterpieces by the world-renowned architect Antoni Gaudi. A mosaic of different architectural styles, colored glass and designs with a history going back to 1875, it is a culture aficionado's delight. Tour the intriguing interiors of the beautiful 20th century home of the Batlló family—the dragon—like structure has magical rooms like the elegant Piano Nobile, the sky—lit coach house, and more. The Casa is available as a magnificent venue for special events, gatherings and conferences. Don't miss your chance to explore this heritage structure, seemingly straight out of a psychedelic fairy tale. Check the website for details.
Built between 1898 and 1900 by the modernist architect Puig i Cadafalch, this structure together with Casa Lleó Morera and Casa Batlló, is a part of the Illa de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord). These three modernist buildings, the designs of which clash radically, hold great architectural and aesthetic value. Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed inside, but the view from the street is still impressive. Casa Ametller's design has Central European Gothic influences, which is particularly evident in the pyramid-shaped roof; a touch of Catalan Gothic style in visible in the window arches, but on the whole, it's clearly a modernist design.
Gaze at the Gothic Santa Maria del Mar, while you sip on a goblet of Spanish cava. Located in a touristy yet charming area, La Vinya del Senyor lets you sample hundreds of varieties of wine at your own leisurely pace. You can accompany your drink with a host of cheeses and coca (a pizza-like Catalan dish). Also available is the Spanish favorite, bread with olive oil and rock salt, as well as cold cuts like salami. Grab a table or a stool by the bar and enjoy your meal while you detach from the hustle and bustle around you.
The artist himself, Antoni Tàpies, created this center in 1984 as a place to study contemporary art, and today its library has become one of the most important of its kind in the world. It exhibits a large collection of his drawings, paintings, sculptures and engravings and organizes regular temporary exhibitions as well. The building that dates back to 1880, is the work by modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and it was the headquarters of the prestigious publishing house, Editorial Muntaner i Simón until the 1970s. Look up, above the entrance to see one of Tàpies's avant-garde sculptures.
Basílica de Santa María del Pi
Day Note
Go up to Montjuic by Funicular from the Paral-Lel metro stop, or take the transbordador aereo. Montjuic is another world of museums and viewpoints. Spend the day exploring. Get inspired by the poetry of Miro's paintings, visit the castle for grand views, and time it all so you can see the Font Magica near the Placa de Espanya. Back around your hotel on the Placa Reial dine at the Quinze Nits.
This charming 19th-century square is just off the Ramblas and Carrer Ferran. It was the site of a Capuchin convent that was demolished in 1835 when Barcelona underwent a period of urban renewal. Architect Francesc Daniel Molina was put in charge of filling the vacant space. Plaça Reial has undergone a number of renovations since then. The street lamps in the shape of trees were designed by Antoni Gaudí. The Las Tres Gracias fountain in the center dates from the end of the 19th century. Now Plaça Reial is a meeting point for young people on their way to and from the nearby clubs and bars.
The cable-car is the most interesting way to reach Castell de Montjuïc (Montjuïc castle) and the rest of the sights on Montjuïc hill. It starts from Avinguda Miramar where it connects with the funicular railway from Parallel metro station. It's made up of four cabins that give you fantastic views along the way of both the port and the hill itself, especially on sunny days. You can take it both ways.
This cable railway is a leftover from the Universal Exposition of 1929 and goes from Barceloneta up to the last station of the Montjuïc funicular. The cabin is spacious and has big windows, so you get spectacular views of the port and the rest of the city. It goes in both directions with a departure every 15 minutes.
This 18th-century castle stands on top of Montjuic hill. The original structure was built in 1640 during the War of the Segadors to resist Felipe IV's forces, but it was expanded and improved between 1751 and 1779 to form the present building, which has become a symbol of centralist repression and of the abolition of Catalan liberties. Once a military prison, it's now home to the Museu Militar (Military Museum). You'll find it at the end of the cable-car line where it protects the harbour with its show of arms.
Standing 173 metres high, this hill by the sea was not inhabited until after the Middle Ages, despite the fact that the Jewish quarter had extended to the nearby Miramar area. In 1607, the first path to the summit was opened and, in 1640, during the war of the Segadors, a fortress was built to resist Felipe IV's incursions. This later became Castell de Montjuïc (Montjuïc Castle). For the last three hundred years it has been a popular park for locals looking to pick wild herbs or to spend a little leisure time.
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