A modernista boulevard

Passeig de Gràcia is one of the most elegant and stately avenues in the city. It runs through the heart of the Eixample, where back in the early 20th century Barcelona’s bourgeoisie filled it with magnificent buildings that still marvel visitors today. Just treasure the architectural gems, such as Casa Milà, also known as the Pedrera, or Quarry, and Casa Batlló, two houses built by the Modernista architect Antoni Gaudí, and another two Modernista mansions, Casa Amatller i Fuster and Casa Lleó Morera, designed respectively by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Lluís Domènech i Montaner.

An exclusive avenue

It was called Camí de Jesús (Jesus Way), in times gone by, and was a rough country road that linked the city with the then small town of Gràcia. In 1906, the architect Pere Falqués took on the job of designing the avenue and you can still sit on his spectacular white mosaic benches which also serve as the base of the prettiest lampposts in the city. The paving is another unmistakable sign of his work: the panots, or hexagonal tiles, designed by Gaudí in 1904 and decorated with floral motifs, which the city restored at the end of the last century as a tribute to this most international of Catalan architects. Today Passeig de Gràcia is one of the city’s most exclusive shopping hubs and home to an upmarket range of shops, restaurants and hotels.