My Escapes Spain Barcelona Exploring Gaudí's Sprawling Surreal Barcelona Casa Milà

Casa Milà

Casa Milà is also known as La Pedrera (meaing: "The Quarry") and it was the first museum that I visited in Barcelona.

Casa Milà is also known as La Pedrera (meaing: "The Quarry"). Of course, Antoni Gaudí designed most of it, but stone facade, the ceilings and the wrought iron decorations of the balconies and windows were largely designed by Josep Maria Jujol.
La Pedrera is one of Barcelona's top attractions.

It can be clearly distinguished from the architecture all around, due to its unusual curvy design. And, due to its peculiar decorative elements placed on its top.

The construction of Casa Milà has lasted for roughly 5 years: between 1906-1910, but officially it was only opened in 1912.

Awesome construction speed, I think... considering the technical conditions during that time… Imagine: they had no modern tools available, nor the modern "wander" materials. Even today, I see similar size modern buildings being slowly erected... some even take more than 5 years to complete.

Today, the Casa Milà is an impressive museum and a cultural center.

Exhibitions and even concerts are held at the Pedrera.

The building was put on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1984.

Wrought iron (an alloy of iron and carbon) were used to create the decoration of the balconies and windows. All of these were designed by Josep Maria Jujol, who was also responsible to part of the interior. And, I'd add, has also collaborated with Gaudí on the Casa Batllò, which stands across the road!

The facade is made of limestone. Huge blocks were carved in order to "fit in", each one at its place.

But you'll have to enter and explore the floors. The interior of the building is breathtaking.

I enjoyed exploring the various rooms, including bathrooms inside Casa Milà.

This is another one of those "back in time" experiences. It shows you how people furnished their homes about a century ago.

The roof is particularly interesting to explore. Shapes and forms there are truly "not of this World", but that's the Gaudí magic!

They actually hold concerts on the roof... but the space is limited. Even during my visit there were dozens of tourists up there.

I saw lots of salt holders and statuettes that were either replicas or were mimicking the Gaudí shapes found on top of this building.

What I saw on the rooftop did in fact resemble a collection of giant salt holders, "alien helmets" and "digital asparagus roots". That's just my fantasy running wild...

You can walk around and admire the place from every angle. Asymmetry is characteristic to the unusual shapes up there...
I personally though this goes way beyond Art Nouveau, it's already Surrealism.

Some of the decorative elements are vents, others are chimneys. One would think it's a statue exhibition.

It was a wonderful adventure to explore the Casa Milà and I even bought a few souvenirs in the souvenir shop inside it.

Then, I headed for the more colourful (but smaller) Casa Batllò, across the street.

I should mention: it took me more than a day to visit both. Getting there, buying tickets, walking around and taking photos.
Expect long waiting in the lines at both buildings, especially during mid-day and afternoon.

You'll find the "Pedrera" at 92 Passeig de Gràcia, in the Eixample district of Barcelona. You can't miss it, if you're wandering on the area. It's even visible from Plaça de Catalunya.

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