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L'Eixample (or Ensanche), designed by the civil engineer and urban planner Ildefons Cerdà, with its characteristic orthogonal urban grid, 113m x 113m blocks, 45-degree chamfers and tree-lined streets with banana trees, is undoubtedly one of the most characteristic districts of Barcelona.
It is known that the famous Plà Cerdà (1859) was imposed by decree from the central government, a few years after the consistory signed the order to demolish the walls surrounding the historic city (1854). In a few decades, the Catalan bourgeoisie, enriched by colonial trade and industrialization, promoted the construction of an elegant and modern city, with buildings designed by top architects such as Antoni Gaudí, Puig i Cadafalch, Domènech i Montaner and Enric Sagnier, among many others.
On this route, you will be able to appreciate some of the main works of Catalan Modernisme such as La Pedrera, Casa Batlló (Gaudí), Casa Ametller, or the Editorial Montaner y Simón, which currently houses the Tàpies Foundation, among other modernist buildings.
The route can include several special interior visits if required (recommended). For interior visits to La Pedrera, Casa Batlló and similar, tickets must be requested, confirmed and purchased in advance. Updated price and availability will be communicated as soon as possible. Entrance fees are not included in the itinerary price.
The concept of hygienist character underlying the Pla Cerdà was already distorted from the beginning due to the difficulties in the reparcelling and management of the property of the plots and speculation.
The lack of green spaces in the Eixample has been addressed over the last decades through different urban planning strategies, such as the Program for the Recovery of the Interiors of Blocks, les Superïlles or the most recent plan, Els Eixos Verds, which will be exhibited along the route.
Along with great works of Catalan Modernism, we will discover examples of modern and contemporary architecture that dialogue with the architectural tradition of the district with respect and grace, as is the case of some buildings by Robert Terrades, Correa and Milá, OAB or MAIO.
