
Barcelona: Sagrada Familia and City Highlights Bike Tour
- Small group
- Duration: 3 hours
From
€ 27
per person
Antoni Gaudí saw nature as his muse and used its patterns and shapes to create architectural masterpieces. Casa Batlló is one example that reflects his ingenious imagination, and it should top your list when visiting Barcelona.
In 1904, the Batlló family asked Gaudí to turn their building into an unrivaled showpiece and allowed him free rein to bring his whims of creativity to life. He clearly succeeded.
Gaudí's technqiue, with the use of stone, glass, color, and abstract shapes on Casa Batlló's undulating facade and in its interior, illustrates his brilliance of Catalan Modernism.
It's where the Batlló family lived, and it exudes sheer elegance. The mushroom-shaped alcove, with benches to sit by a fire, is an example of Gaudí's gifted mind at work.
The use of warm tones and wood creates a harmonious flow throughout. The building's shaft, lined with cool shades of exquisite, blue tiles, fills Casa Batlló with natural light.
Eccentric chimneys rise behind what appears to be the contour of a dragon's back, which crowns the roof. The sequence of colored tiles enhances the effect of a scaly surface.
Admission always includes a great audio guide. When you purchase a ticket online, you'll also receive a video guide, which allows you to see what some of the rooms would have virtually looked like when furnished. This feature costs extra at the ticket window. When booking online, you can also add on the "fast pass" to avoid a long wait in line.
Casa Batlló is open 365 days a year, from 9:00AM - 9:00PM (last entry is at 8:00PM). Allow yourself 1 - 2 hours to appreciate this amazing building.
Located at Passeig de Gràcia 43 in Barcelona's Eixample district. Metro station: Passeig de Gràcia (Line 3)
The skip-the-line tickets are nice although the timing that we visited Casa Batllo and La Sagrada Familia on a Sunday also seemed less busy. There were 15 of us and it was a good group size and with the earphones, it was easy to hear the narration and jokes by Javier. However I thought Javier could have done a better job ensuring that all 15 of us were together before moving off to different spots to explain the attractions. The transportation was comfortable and prompt by David.
Getting the Barcelona Hop on Hop off ticket through GetYourGuide was a good decision. The Hop on Hop off tour is a great way to start your stay in a city as you get to see so much that you can plan to return to later in your stay. The staff on the buses were all really helpful and the audio guide was good - although in one bus it was a bit behind where we were travelling but that was a minor hiccup really. All in all a great tour
The hop on hop off bus was a great way to see all over the city and get off at certain points. We did the whole tour first and stayed on for one circuit, then decided where we wanted to get off later. Having the commentary explain what everything was, was really helpful. The buses came every 10 -15 minutes so we never had to wait around for very long A really great way to see the city
This is a complete tour of Gaudí’s work in Barcelona: Sagrada Familia. Park Güell and Casa Battlo. We went from one location to the other in a bus. Park Guell is just so charming and definitely a must visit in Barcelona. It’s also a bonus to walk the street of Passeig de Gracia and see Casa Milà on our way to Casa Battlo.
We had a two day pass but didn’t realize they had to be consecutive days. Due to the strike occurring, buses not running we were not able to use the second day. We were refunded for the one day. I think the consecutive days should be clearer in the advertising.