Come Discover More About Gaudí At The Gaudí House-Museum

While the house in which the museum is located was not designed by Gaudí himself and is not quite as eccentric, experimental, or whimsical as one of his designs, it is still quite a romantic and distinct-looking building with a rather unusual origin story. Part of Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi's grand plan to build a garden city with sixty homes for the Catalan bourgeoisie on the grounds of the property Can Muntaner de Dalt (which he had acquired in 1899), it is one of only two of the imagined houses that were actually built when the project came to a halt in 1914. Along with Doctor Trias i Domènech's House, there was this house, designed by the architect Francesc Berenguer i Mestres and built by the contractor Josep Casanovas i Pardo, which would eventually become home to Gaudí and, briefly, his niece and father, until shortly before his death. A model property designed to attract buyers, it was built between 1903 and 1905 and was bought by Gaudí in 1906 when it failed to entice anyone to purchase it. Gaudí eventually left the house when he moved into the workshop of his grand project at the Sagrada Familia Basilica (to which he had been exclusively devoted since 1914) at the end of 1925 to focus on it more fully, a few months before his death in 1926. He donated the property to the Foundation Board of La Sagrada Família in his will. The foundation then promptly sold it on but the Friends of Gaudí Association began a campaign to repurchase it in 1960 in order to convert the house into a museum. Luckily, they succeeded and the Gaudí House-Museum was ultimately opened to the public in 1963.

While the house is a four storey property, it is only actually the ground and first floors that are permanently opened to the public and that house much of the museum's collection. The second floor hosts the Enric Casanelles Library, which can be accessed upon request by architectural students and researchers, while the basement is not open to visitors at all. On display throughout the museum spaces of the house are some of Gaudí's own personal belongings, (with some rooms having been rearranged to try and recreate the spaces in which he lived while the house was his and to give a greater sense of connection to the architect and his life) and an exhibition of some of the furniture that was designed by Gaudí to decorate and complement some of his most iconic buildings, including the Casa Batlló, Casa Calvet, Casa Milà, Casa Vicens, Colònia Güell's crypt. These rooms also host furniture, sculptures, paintings, drawings, and more that were created by his peers and which help give great context to the time in which Gaudí was working and other movements, styles, and concepts that existed at the same time as his. Out in the garden, meanwhile, you will find more examples Gaudí's varied work across all elements of architecture and interior design in some wrought iron elements that he also created.

For those really interested in Gaudí and his life in work and for those who are more serious fans, beyond just seeing and photographing his most famous buildings, this is a must-see museum to really give context to the life and work of this most famous of Spanish architects! Just browse our incredible vacation rentals in Barcelona and get planning your next trip so that you can come explore this fascinating museum and this true gem of a city in Spain for yourself.

[Note: In 2020, due to the lack of stable tourism in Barcelona for the year and given the on-going pandemic, the Gaudí House-Museum is currently closed, unfortunately. However, it will hopefully reopen sometime in 2021 or as soon as normal operation is possible. For now, if you are interested in checking it out, it can be explored via virtual tour from home on their website!]