Fodor's Spain 2011 by Fodor's

Author:Fodor's [Fodor’s]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780307928535
Publisher: Fodor's Travel Publications
Published: 2011-04-11T16:00:00+00:00

Worth Noting in the Eixample

Casa de les Punxes (House of the Spikes). Also known as Casa Terrades, for the family that commissioned it, this cluster of six conical towers ending in impossibly sharp needles is one of several Puig i Cadafalch inspirations rooted in the Gothic architecture of northern Europe, an ur-Bavarian or Danish castle in downtown Barcelona. It’s one of the few freestanding Eixample buildings visible from 360 degrees. Nearby is the Casa Àsia–Palau Baró de Quadras (Av. Diagonal 373), a neo-Gothic and plateresque (intricately carved in silversmithlike detail) house built by Puig i Cadafalch in 1904 for Baron Quadras. Its facade has some of the most spectacular Eusebi Arnau sculptures in town. Look for St. George slaying the dragon, and don’t miss the alpine chaletlike windows across the top floor. The architect’s Casa Macaia (Passeig de Sant Joan 108) is also worth walking past. | Av. Diagonal 416–420, Eixample | 08008 | Station: Diagonal.

Casa Montaner i Simó–Fundació Tàpies.

This modern, airy building showcases the work of contemporary Catalan painter Antoni Tàpies, as well as temporary exhibits. | Carrer Aragó 255, Eixample | 08007 | 93/487–0315 | €5 | Tues.–Sun. 10–8.

Hospital de Sant Pau.

Certainly one of the most beautiful hospital complexes in the world, a 10-minute walk down Avinguda Gaudí from the Sagrada Família, the Hospital de Sant Pau is notable for its Mudejar motifs and sylvan plantings. The hospital wards are set among gardens under exposed brick facades intensely decorated with mosaics and polychrome ceramic tile. Begun in 1900, this monumental production won Lluís Domènech i Montaner his third Barcelona “Best Building” award, in 1912. (His previous two prizes were for the Palau de la Música Catalana and Casa Lleó Morera.) The Moderniste enthusiasm for nature is apparent here; the architect believed patients are more apt to recover if they are surrounded by trees and flowers rather than ensconced in sterile hospital wards. Domènech i Montaner also believed in the therapeutic properties of form and color and decorated the hospital with Pau Gargallo sculptures and colorful mosaics. | Carrer Sant Antoni Maria Claret 167, Eixample | 08025 | 93/291–9000 | www.santpau.es | Free; tour €5 | Daily 9–8; tours weekends 10–2, weekdays by advance arrangement | Station: Hospital de Sant Pau.

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