Get update alerts
Locations
- .All Trips
- Art
- Car Culture
- Central America/Caribbean
- Food
- Food Tour
- Pic of the Week
- Sl;ovenia
.All Trips / Europe / Spain
Doors of La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
One of my favorite buildings in the world is La Sagrada Familia. In today’s post I thought I’d share photos of some of the doors and entrances to this beautiful (still unfinished) cathedral.
The photo above features what will be the cathedral’s main entry when the building is completed, and is known as the Doorway of Majesty.
The first completed entrance to the cathedral was themed after the Nativity, and the doors at this entrance show some imaginative details:
Even this more traditional cathedral entrance has an interesting skylight feature….
…
Tagged architecture, Barcelona, Cathedral, doors, Gaudi, La Sagrada Familia, portals
.All Trips / Europe / Spain
The Critters of La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
Gaudi’s fabulous La Sagrada Familia cathedral is well known for its innovative architecture. Gaudi was a fan of nature and tried to incorporate elements of it in his buildings.
While visiting La Sagrada Familia, I notice a veritable zoo’s worth of animal designs incorporated into the structure. Some, like a turtle bearing a pillar or reptiles crawling the exterior of the building are quite obvious. Most subtle and interesting were the insects and other small creatures incorporated into some of the metalwork around the doors.
(Exterior detail of lizard, La Sagrada Familia)
Look carefully at the images below and see how many different types of critters you can see in and on the great …
Tagged animals, architecture, Barcelona, Gaudi, La Sagrada Famlia
.All Trips / Europe / Spain
The Beauty of Stained Light, La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
One of the most written about tourist attractions in Barcelona is La Sagrada Familia, Modernitme architect Antoni Gaudi’s last greatest project and perhaps the most unique cathedral in the world. And it is magnificent, as you can see from the photos below.
Instead of sharing details of the church’s unusual architecture and style in this post, I wanted to highlight what was most memorable to me. We visited in the afternoon, and the sunlight was bathing through the windows, especially those facing west. The light coming through the stained glass was as lovely as any I’ve ever seen, and I stop many times to enjoy it’s beauty. Gaudi himself said, “Sunshine is the best painter”.
(Stained Light La Sagrada Familia)
The stained-glass windows …
Tagged Barcelona, Cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, light
.All Trips / Europe / Spain
Barcelona’s Other Cathedral
If you’re in Barcelona, then you absolutely MUST visit the still unfinished Sagrada Familia Cathedral, Gaudi’s masterpiece. It’s a church unlike any other and must be experienced in person. But if you have time, then by all means you should also visit the historic and beautiful Barcelona Cathedral. It’s also a busy place, with many people waiting in line to enter.
Main entrance to the Barcelona Cathedral
Barcelona Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, is a lovely Gothic construction. The site where the Cathedral currently sits has been home to various Christian temples dating to the fourth century. Construction of the Cathedral you visit today began in 13th century and it was mostly completed by the 15th century. …
Tagged Barcelona, Barcelona Cathedral, Cathedral, cloister, Gothic, Saint Eulalia
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Spain
A Market in Barcelona’s Gracia Neighborhood
Having visited Barcelona’s huge and busy La Boqueria market, an interesting place but teaming with tourists rather than residents, I made a point of trying to visit a smaller community-oriented market in the city during our week’s visit.
Gracia is a small neighborhood within Barcelona that doesn’t have any major tourist attractions within it. It’s a place in which people work and live, rather than a tourist destination. We walked through Gracia on our way to Gaudi’s Park Guell and passed a community market on our way, so we popped in. I wish I’d noted the name of the market, but sadly I did not.
In any event, it’s a great market. Much smaller and more intimate than La Boqueria, …
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Spain
La Boqueria: Barcelona’s fabulous Food Market
One of the finest food markets I’ve ever visited, and supposedly one of the best in the world, is the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, usually just called “La Boqueria“. It’s one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist spots — so much so that group tours are no longer allowed inside. You, the independent traveler, are welcome! The market is just off the popular pedestrian mall, La Rambla, not far from Barcelona’s opera house. A iron gate frames your entrance to the very diverse and fresh selection of food items within.
The first mention of the Boqueria market dates to 1217, when tables were installed near the old city gate to sell meat. From December 1470, a pig market was …
Tagged Barcelona, Boqueria, food, La Boqueria, Market
.All Trips / Europe / Food / Spain
Barcelona’s Santa Catarina Market
Situated in the El Born region of Barcelona, close to the Picasso Museum, Santa Caterina is one of the finest markets in Barcelona. Built on the ruins of an old monastery, the market opened in 1848. The market was constructed on the former site of the convent of Santa Caterina (from which it derived its name). It has served its working class neighborhood for more than 150 years.
Santa Caterina market has recently undergone modernization and extensive renovation, completed in 2005 (while preserving the old walls of the market). This is most evident in its brightly colored wavy Modernista roof, which consists of 325,000 ceramic pieces in dozens of colors intended to be coordinated with the produce sold under it. The …
Tagged Barcelona, food, Market, Modernista, Santa Catarina
.All Trips / Europe / Spain
Palau Güell, Barcelona
Palau Güell is a mansion designed by Barcelona’s favorite son, the highly imaginative architect, Antoni Gaudí, for tycoon Eusebi Güell. It was to be the first of their collaborations. The home was built between 1886 and 1888 and is in the El Raval neighborhood, near the popular pedestrian mall, la Rambla. It’s part of Barcelona’s “Works of Antoni Gaudi” UNESCO World Heritage Site. The building was refurbished in 2011 and is fresh and beautiful throughout.
Palau Güell was the first important commission Antoni Gaudí received as a young architect. Mr. Güell (a wealthy industrialist and patron of the arts) asked Gaudí to build him a unique urban home. The result is Palau Güell, a great example of Art …
Tagged architecture, Barcelona, Gaudi, Modernista, Palau Güell
