Neoclassical architecture and hidden garden

At the end of the 19th century, Robert Robert i Surís, the Marquis of Robert and a highly influential aristocrat of the time from Girona, commissioned the construction of his main residence in what was then one of the most privileged parts of Barcelona the corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Avinguda Diagonal. Built between 1898 and 1903, Palau Robert was designed by the French architect Henri Grandpierre and built with stone from Montgrí by the Catalan architect Joan Martorell. It stands out for its Neoclassical architecture, not at all like the prevailing Modernisme, which was spreading throughout the Eixample.

The Palau Robert garden was designed by the municipal gardener Ramon Oliva,who would later be in charge of designing the Plaça Catalunya gardens.

History

On the death of the marquis in 1929, the Robert family tried to sell the mansion. After the Civil War a company was set up to convert it into a hotel with an entertainment room but this never came off. Finally, in the 1980s, it became the property of the regional government, the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Having been used for various functions throughout its history, at the end of the 1990s it opened as the cultural centre we know today. The building also houses a tourist information centre. Its well-kept garden is open to the public and receives lots of visits from both tourists and locals.