Unique buildings
Nestling in a quiet side street of Barcelona, the café-restaurant, "Els quatre gats", is located on the ground floor of the Casa Martí. The building, with its medieval-style exterior, invites us to step into its cosy interior which was the meeting place for the intellectuals of modernist Barcelona, at the end of the 19th century.
Known by locals as "
El frare blanc" (the white friar), this majestic "modernista" villa stands out on the elegant Avinguda del Tibidabo, in the neighbourhood of Sant Gervasi. Like a sweet inside its wrapper, its appearance is a treat for the eyes and the heir to the city"s noble past.
One of the last modernista buildings in Barcelona stands imposingly on the Avinguda Diagonal, and encapsulates everything the masters of the style had achieved in Barcelona. Graceful and elegant, its beauty lies in the understated curves of the façade.
A "large Gothic castle" standing in the middle of Barcelona"s
Avinguda Diagonal catches the eye of any visitor to the city. The "Casa de les Punxes" (House of Spikes) is really a residential block built in the shape of medieval castle which is one of the most recognisable
modernista landmarks on the Barcelona skyline.
The Casa Thomas stands on Carrer Mallorca. It is an example of the highly decorative, purest modernista style which is fully in keeping with the façades of the buildings in this part of Barcelona"s Eixample. Despite subsequent alterations, it reflects the characteristics of its designer:
Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
