BARCELONA 2025 | Love as a city, nature, architecture

Monets can be packed and shipped from France to Singapore, or auctioned off at a Sotheby’s. The original cast of West End’s Lion King can reunite for an international tour. Prima ballerinas frequently sign on for guest artist seasons abroad.

But architecture is uniquely immovable as an art form. Buildings and parks stay firmly rooted where they were first dreamed, designed, and built. For this reason, Barcelona is on top of my list of must-visit places for aesthetes and lovers of beautiful forms. This is the city that Gaudí loved. To glimpse his vision alone can be worth an entire trip.

This is a blog post about some of my thoughts and memories from our short family trip to Barcelona. Even though it’s been a year and some months, I still feel a little joy recalling the places we visited. It’s really that good.

Watch the travel video diary here:

Park Güell: Luxury to whimsy

Our first taste of Barcelona (aside from the quiet ride from the airport to our hotel) was a visit to Park Güell, which quickly established the uniqueness of Barcelona’s landscaping and achitecture.

In 1900, Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell commissioned Antoni Gaudí to design a luxury housing complex. Wealthy families would have lived in homes made in the modernisme style emphasizing naturalism and organic forms. It failed as a residential estate, but obviously succeeded to become a UNESCO Heritage Site and public park. (L for capitalism, I guess!)

Nothing is art if it does not come from nature.
– Antoni Gaudí

Somewhere along the **Three Viaducts** of Park Güell. We entered the park closer to the C/Del Carmel entrance. I think we had to enter by that side because cars don’t drop off at the C/Olot entrance (where the main staircase and pavilions are located). In hindsight it was mostly a good decision, because it meant we started at the higher end then walked our way to the bottom.
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View from below, looking up at the **Hypostyle Hall.** It’s really interesting to know that this was originally intended to be a type of marketplace for the residential estate. Now, it’s an impressive roofed area for people to cool off and take nice pictures.
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**The Serpentine Bench.** Framing the large open-air terrace in Park Güell are these beautiful wavy benches made of broken tile mosaics (*trencadís*). Eventually, it got a bit too hot so we proceeded down the Monumental Staircase (the one with the iconic salamander) and the pavilions.
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There were purple flowers blooming. The sunlight was bright but the weather was still cool enough for a walk. Every half-hour or so on the path, you’d stumble upon a musician playing the piano or a string instrument for the added ambiance. The first hour of our visit captured more of the magic; it got very busy later on in the day, and the museum/shop was jam-packed.

If we had a little bit more time, I think it would have been nice to spent the whole day in the park. Note for the future: prepare energy to walk all the way to and back the Hill of Three Crosses, and visit the Gaudí House Museum.

Gaudí in the city: Casa Batlló and Casa Milà

Is this post just a post about Gaudí’s works? Maybe. Probably.

It’s impossible to walk around downtown and not see how Modernisme as an architectural style continues to flavor the city. There’s a little bit of Neo-Gothic, a little bit of Art Noveau, and a lot of curving lines.

**Casa Batlló.** The colorful trencadís of the facade, the almost coral-like balconies, and the undulating lines mirrored across the different floors make a unique and bold contrast to the classical buildings lining the street.

And yes, we did get some Coco fruit tea. It’s a need for hot days in Europe.
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**Casa Milà (La Pedrera)**. Imagine crossing the street and just seeing this treat for the senses… Another example of *Modernisme*, Casa Milà was apparently the last private residence designed by Gaudí in the early 1900s.

Gaudí is also a pioneer and genius in interior design, so it’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to go inside and tour these buildings. Casa Milà in particular apparently has a stunning patio and courtyard, plus art exhibitions and a preserved historical apartment.

Once again: going in the bucket list!

Gothic Quarter: A glimpse of Catalan history

We did also go to some other parks and churches, and also the iconic Mercat de la Boqueria. There’s a lot to love in the city. We only barely explored the Gothic Quarter, the historic area with its winding medieval alleys and ruins. Going on a walking tour is on the to-do list for future me.

This imposing (and beautiful) 14th-century Gothic cathedral is the **Cathedral of Barcelona**. Unfortunately we were pressed for time so we weren’t able to tour the interiors (but as you can guess, we had enough time for souvenir and clothes shopping hahahaha. Primark was so fun).
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**Pont del Bisbe (Bishop’s Bridge).** My sister, who had visited Barcelona before, shared that this was one of her favorite spots. I mean sure, it’s a neat bridge. Little fun fact: it’s actually a fairly new construction blending in the medieval Gothic Quarter. This Neo-Gothic bridge was made in 1928 by Joan Rubió i Bellver, a disciple of Gaudí.
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La Sagrada Família

In 1883, a 31-year-old Antoni Gaudí was put in charge of La Sagrada Família, and from then on devoted the rest of his life to the Church and other great works. More than 144 years later, the Church is still to be completed.

(I note his age because I too am somehow in my early 30s already…)

Though it doesn’t hold the record for the longest construction for a church (that honor goes to the Cologne Cathedral, which we got to visit in Germany back in 2010), it’s the only one of its kind in modern history. Interruptions from world and civil wars, lack of private funds, and the sheer complexity of Gaudí’s vision all contribute to its very long history.

**Under construction.** The church was under construction when we visited last April 2025, as it has been since it was started in 1882. But as of February 2026, the final piece of the **Tower of Jesus Christ** was installed, making it the tallest church in the world. There are still remaining chapels and a facade to be finished though. Maybe I’ll come back once it’s done (probably in 10 years).
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Is it just the anticipation and history that make it worth a visit? I might have said yes if we only looked from afar. But having stepped inside the church beneath the cool spring sun… To visit this crowning jewel is to know a little bit more of the universe.

The exteriors of the church show the story of Jesus Christ. Here in this photo is the Nativity Facade, the oldest side dedicated to the birth of Jesus. On the other side if the Passion Facade. And the final facade, Glory, is yet to be completed.

**In the details.** The amount of people who visit La Sagrada Família can get pretty overwhelming. In some ways it’s quite similar to the experience of looking at the facade of the church: the many embellishments and sculptures can easily overwhelm the eyes.

The ornamentation of every aspect reflects the attention to detail and vision of the architect. I can only imagine how inspired Gaudí was by God and by nature, to have made scale models and designs to this level of detail for such a big church.
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But the true beauty of churches is in its interiors (or if I have to really think about it, in its people?). That was my experience when we visited Église Saint-Sulpice, an unassuming (if large) neoclassical church that opened up into a cavernous baroque interior.

I don’t think I have the words to describe how beautiful the interiors of the La Sagrada Família were. I won’t even try. The pictures can’t do justice to the way the light plays with the columns, how with movement it feels like you’re inside a strange forest.

Nothing is invented, for it’s written in nature first.
– Antoni Gaudí

In one of his letters, Gaudí wrote that “people will come from all over to see the Sagrada Família”. It’s a place to have conversations with God. It’s a monument to nature. It’s an ongoing testament to the efforts of man to create meaning through generations. It deserves to be a site of pilgrimage.

What must be always preserved
is the spirit of the work; its life will
depend on the generations that
transmit this spirit and bring it to life.
– Antoni Gaudí

So: I definitely recommend getting tickets to enter the Church, and visiting it at least once in your life. The geometrical forms, the interplay of light, the mimicry of nature –unique in the world, for both its ambition and its history.

The church also offers a free audio tour through its app, which was very easy to follow. For the pious and the interested, the main church has cordoned off pews for people who are there to pray.

La vida es amor y el amor es sacrificio.
– Antoni Gaudí

More than Gaudí

Barcelona is more than just a city of buildings and parks made by a great modern architect. Maybe with more time I can explore the rest of the city: the historic Gothic Quarter, Barceloneta beach, visit MNAC or MACBA or Moco Museum, maybe catch a game at Camp Nou.

Manifesting. ¡Vuelvo enseguida! (Y hablaré español con más fluidez.)

**2025 version.** To be updated some day!

Until next time! ♥

P.S. Shout out to Momax Pintags for keeping me sane!!!

My luggage got lost some time in between the plane landing and us getting to the carousel. By the time the luggage carousel was close to emptying, my heart was already feeling heavy. Twenty plus years of travel and this is the first time I got separated from my luggage (the second time was just this March, en route form Iloilo to Manila hahaha).

Luckily, our pintags (airtag dupes for a much cheaper price) worked perfectly well, and I was comforted by the knowledge that my suitcase was somewhere nearby, just not where it was supposed to be.

**Lessons learned:** Always put a pintag on a suitcase (if it’s valuable to you and you don’t live for the thrill of things) + take a photo of your luggage before you travel! The photo will make it easier for airport staff to identify the right luggage.

We got it after one hour, a lot of standing near the lost luggage kiosk and some funny attempts at localization by walking around. Hurrah.