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Flyawhey | Health & Travel Blog wrote a review Jan 10
Lexington, Kentucky151 contributions11 helpful votes
There's so much history all within this street. It's a huge cross between traditional Catalan and modern-day style. You can see a whole bunch of Gaudi influence as well. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants, a couple of museums, and plenty of opportunities for shopping.
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Date of experience: February 2020
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The Boulevard got its name from the village that the road led to from the city Gate of the angel on the site of the current Plaza Catalunya. The Passeig de Gràcia was laid out before the Cerda plan was adopted, so the Boulevard deviates slightly from the rectangular geometry of the Eixample. If you look at the sea, the main promenade of Barcelona begins with an obelisk in the square of Juan Carlos and continues with the Jardins Salvador Espriu square. After crossing the Diagonal Avenue, which violates the ideal layout of Cerda and passing 2 blocks on the left, we will see the main hit (IMHO) of Casa Mila Boulevard. This Gaudi masterpiece, better known as La Pedrera "quarry", is good not only for its facade with wavy curves, but also for its roof, which is famous for thousands of photos in networks and guidebooks. Gaudi created the most beautiful ventilation system in the world by disguising chimneys and ventilation shafts as fairy-tale warriors. The next place on the Avenue where you say "Wow!" is the so-called discord Quarter (Manzana de la discordia). It is named so because the houses of three grandees of Barcelona modernism — Gaudi, Domenech and Puig-are densely Packed in one block. Discord is located three blocks from La Pedrera, and along the way you will encounter some interesting modernist houses, such as Casa Marta. The most impressive house of the discord Quarter is also made by Gaudi - Casa Batlló No. 43. Like Casa Mila, it is a UNESCO world heritage site. However, the admiration for the facade is due not only to Gaudi, but also to Josep Maria Jujol. The house is a metaphor for the legend of the patron Saint of Catalonia, Saint George. The scaly facade symbolizes the body of the serpent, and the balconies represent the skulls of its victims. The neighboring house is a creation of Gaudi and Puig-I-Cadafalch. Rather . Chocolate king Anthony Amatlier bought this house built in 1875. Puig, together with a group of sculptors and masters of applied arts (Eusebi Arnau, Alfons Juyol) reconstructed it in 1898-1900. The facade of the house made of ledges would be more suitable for Antwerp, Bruges or Ghent. Although it will be difficult to find such forged balcony grilles and such paints there. In addition to the Museum, you can buy chocolate and Amatller candies inside the house, as the chocolatier family continues to control the building. Finally, the third participant in the dispute over the Apple of discord (La manzana de la discordia) is Casa Lleó Morera; No. 35. Naturally, it was built by the third classic of Catalan modernism, Puig's teacher, Lluís Domènech i Montaner. As well as its main masterpieces of Sao Pau and the Palace of Catalan music, Domènech attracted a team of talented sculptors and applied artists. Taking into account the vanity of the customer, albert Lleo y murera, the architect included numerous images of lions (Lleó) and mulberry trees (Morera) in the decoration of the building. The Barcelona bourgeoisie was like the medieval monarchs with whom it was still fighting a century ago. The morer family owned the house for three generations, but in 1943 the building passed to haberdashers from Loewe. The merchants had the idea to create a boutique with floor-to-ceiling glass Windows. To do this, the entire first floor was demolished. All eusebi Arnau sculptures were lost. The barbarians of Loewe still occupy the first floor.Moving on to Plaza Catalunya, you can see a few more interesting houses,but there will be no masterpieces. House 33-School of Black ladies (La Escuela de las Damas Negras) by architect Enric Sagnier, 1913-1916. House 27. Casa Malagrida by architect Joaquim Codina y Matali, 1911-1913. On the other side house 24 early modern Casa Pere Llibre. 1872. Casa Rocamora will be on the left. The architects of the Rocamore houses-the Bonaventure brothers and Joaquim Bassegoda y Amigo-were distinguished not by various design tricks like their more famous competitors, but by their size. Built in 1914-1917, the houses occupy almost a block from 6 to 14. Corner building of the Phoenix insurance company by architect Eusebi Bona i Puig and sculptor Frederic Mares. 1911-1929. Interestingly, number 1 on the Avenue was also built by Bona i Puig, but already during the Franco dictatorship in 1941-1942. Compare the Phoenix building and the squalid Spanish credit Bank building that already faces Plaza Catalunya. What was the impact of francoism on the architecture! The final chord of Passeig de Gracia was sad.…
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Date of experience: January 2020
1 Helpful vote
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Floating on fanciful wings, we went in search for yet another series of Gaudi’s ethereal architectural delights along the Passeig de Gracia, except these were homes not churches. Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona’s Grand Avenue has the highest concentration of Art Nouveau and Modernist architecture in Europe. These unique designs let you know instantly that you have become part of a playful, if surreal new world. I noticed there were a lot of tempting shops along this wide boulevard but we were on a mission so, no time for shopping!…
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Date of experience: November 2019
2 Helpful votes
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This is an important street in town covering a lot of territory. Lots of shopping and eating including cafes on the lower end. And then there is the fabulous architecture as you walk uphill. And you end in Gracia, my favorite neighborhood full of young people and bars.
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Date of experience: December 2019
1 Helpful vote
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