Gaudí Masterpieces in one day with Flamenco show - Skip the Line

 

Are you a Gaudí fan? If not, don’t worry. Once you arrive in Barcelona, it’s impossible not to become one. His instantly recognizable and wildly imaginative architecture is so distinctive that you can’t help but be drawn to and hypnotized by his work. His vision-distorting curves, exaggerated proportions and dislike for straight lines seems to call to a innate sense of playfulness and nature that lives inside us all. Barcelona is home to so much of his architecture that it would seem impossible to pick a favorite! Discover your favorite on this uniquely designed tour boasting the only itinerary of its kind and bringing together all four of Gaudí’s most important architectural works in a single day. We begin our tour at Casa Batlló, commissioned by the Batlló family. The residence-turned-museum features several highlights, such as the hallway with its grand wooden staircase that was built to look like the spine of a giant beast and skylights shaped like tortoise shells. Gaudí’s distaste for straight lines is particularly evident here as you’ll be hard-pressed to find a single one! Our visit of Casa Batlló will culminate on the roof terrace where we’ll see more of Gaudi’s mythical-looking chimneys and the famous ‘Dragon’s Back’. Your guide, a staunch Gaudí enthusiast will expertly lead you through the sights, pointing out details you might not have noticed otherwise. We then continue our tour with a visit of Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera (The Quarry). Finished in 1910 and commissioned by the Milà family, it didn’t open to the public until 1987. Since then, Casa Milà has become quite popular, receiving millions of visitors. Despite its popularity, the long lines here won’t be a concern; we’ll access the Casa via our Skip the Line access. Your expert guide will lead you through an itinerary that includes a floor decorated as it would have been by one of the wealthy couples who lived there as well as the spectacular rooftop, with several impressive knight-shaped chimney peaks. At this point we’ll take a break affording you free time to grab a quick lunch before the second part of your tour. The afternoon starts with the Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s most ambitious project and the most famous monument in the whole of Spain, which challenges and stuns over 3 million visitors per year. As we skip the long entrance lines and step inside the heart of the Basilica, you might feel as though you have been transported into an alternate universe. We have carefully studied an itinerary that takes you through the immense Basilica with insightful commentary from your English-speaking local guide. Though construction is ongoing and not estimated to be completed until 2030, much of the Basilica can be visited today. The entrance fees collected from groups such as ours continue to ensure enough funding to see Gaudí’s dream through to completion. After having marvelled at this unique monument, we catch our private, air-conditioned bus transfer to Park Güell. As in our previous stops, the long lines here are of no concern as our tickets are pre-booked and we’ll step right inside. After a day learning all about what made Gaudí tick, the architectural design of his Park Güell seems nothing less than a natural consequence of his fixation with nature. If you thought Casa Batlló e Milà were impressive, this is a chance to experience Gaudí at his most uninhibited. Nature envelops every element of the park. Whether truly natural or constructed, the elements fit seamlessly and harmoniously together. Often the architecture, like the flora, seems to grow out of the ground! Here we’ll have an hour to relax and take in the forms, colors, and spectacular panoramic view of Barcelona. Finally, you can make your day in Barcelona truly unforgettable by joining an authentic flamenco show.