This 2026, Any Gaudí, is a unique opportunity to rediscover the figure of one of the most universal, yet enigmatic, architects in history. Beyond the Sagrada Familia or Casa Batlló, Gaudí left a rich and diverse legacy, full of details that are only perceived with an attentive and deep gaze. For this reason, from The New Barcelona Post we propose a tour of the 12 essential works of the modernist genius, taking advantage of the 12 months of this year that, coinciding with the centenary of his death, invites us to explore the most complete Gaudí, from the scientific to the artistic aspect.
This itinerary not only invites us to admire the architecture, but also to discover the details that make each work unique: textures, shapes, plays of light and color, elements that reveal Gaudí's original view of nature, religiosity and the city. A leisurely journey following the architect's architectural legacy: from the most emblematic, but essential, spaces, to the most hidden corners, those that often go unnoticed in tourist postcards and photographs. With this tour, Gaudí becomes an experience for the whole year: a constant discovery that reminds us why his figure and work continue to captivate gazes from all over the world.
1. A stone forest in the Sagrada Familia
144 years. That is the time that, for now, the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia, his most exuberant and monumental work, has been under construction. Gaudí became involved in 1883, when he took over the project initiated by Francisco de Paula del Villar, the first architect of the temple, who abandoned it shortly after due to discrepancies with the promoters. From 1914, Gaudí dedicated himself exclusively to this project, pouring all his spirit and soul into it, until his death in 1926, as a result of a fatal tram accident.
Although 144 years may seem like an eternity —and its completion, surely, the most repeated unknown among tourists visiting the city—, it is by no means a historical record. The Duomo of Milan, for example, took more than five centuries to build, and many of the great European cathedrals needed entire generations to see their completion. However, these 144 years of construction have allowed the temple to be filled with a richness of details, symbolisms, and hidden messages that make the Sagrada Familia a universe in itself.
Beyond religious symbolism, colors, and light, one of the elements that captivates every visitor is its columns. This element is, perhaps, one of Gaudí's most revolutionary contributions to the world of architecture: columns unique both in their form —surpassing the traditional Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles with a double helical twist column inspired by the eucalyptus— and in their structure, capable of absorbing and distributing the loads of the temple. With them, Gaudí builds a true stone forest within the interior of the Sagrada Familia, a space that invites contemplation and reflection. A forest in which it is worth getting lost on the next visit, letting the gaze rise through the stone trunks and feeling the grandeur of the universe that Gaudí projected in this space.
2. The living organism of Casa Batlló
If the Sagrada Familia is a lush and deep forest, Casa Batlló, a complex that Gaudí reformed between 1904 and 1906 for Josep Batlló i Casanovas, breathes like a living marine organism. In this iconic building, every curve and every surface seems to pulsate with a life of its own: in the hall, the wooden railing recalls the spine of an underwater creature, while in the attics, the catenary arches make the visitor feel inside the belly of a whale.
This aquatic environment is reinforced by the intense blue of the light well, which gives visitors the sensation of diving into a crystal-clear sea full of hidden treasures. Between the walls, some recognize a turtle shell in the green skylights inside, while others debate whether the balconies imitate Venetian masks or imposing skulls. A whole marine universe, crowned by a large dragon guarding the space, invites us to dive into it all year round. Everything is movement, everything is breathing, everything is nature transformed into architecture.
3. Parc Güell: ergonomics as art
Gaudí's love for nature and organic forms extends to Parc Güell, the large urbanization he began to build for Eusebi Güell in 1900 on the estate known as Muntanya Pelada. The initial commission was to create a private park with chalets for the Barcelona bourgeoisie.
One of the most emblematic elements of the park —without detracting from the lizard created with trencadís— are the sinuous benches, 110 meters long, formed by convex and concave modules with an ergonomic design that adapts to the human body. The decoration follows the visual language of the park, with the trencadís technique as the protagonist. But not only the colors attract attention: its ergonomics is a true lesson from Gaudí on posture and comfort. It is said, in fact, that he asked a worker to sit on it to create the shape so that the bench would adapt perfectly to the body.
4. Ceilings in La Pedrera
Upon entering La Pedrera —Pere Milà's residence, where Gaudí worked between 1906 and 1912— it is almost impossible not to look up at the sky: not only because of the central skylight of the inner courtyard, but also because of the surprise held by the terrace, with its unique ventilation towers and chimneys. However, inside the building, few visitors stop to observe the ceiling. Doing so, however, reveals one of the most fascinating secrets of this residential building designed by Gaudí: the ceilings,many disappeared with the subsequent uses of the homes, but some still visible, show the architect's genius. Unlike the usual flat roofs, these ceilings escape the horizontal plane to become surfaces with relief that follow the sinuosity of the entire building. Gaudí drew shapes such as spirals, vaults, and circumferences on them, which were then reproduced in plaster, creating suggestive reliefs. The undulating curves recall aquatic lines, and the play of light and shadow they generate is almost hypnotic.5. The Moorish carnation of Casa Vicens: polychromy and oriental influences in his first major commission
Although less known, Casa Vicens —where the modernist architect worked between 1883 and 1885— is Antoni Gaudí's first major commission and marks the prelude to all his subsequent architectural work. Until then, Gaudí had only developed minor projects, mostly urban planning, while completing his architecture studies, but with Casa Vicens he debuted as the creator of his own universe, where art, nature, and technique merge into a unique work.
In this space, the architect is inspired by oriental, Islamic and Mudejar architecture, combining iron, ceramics, brick and wood with a colorful and exuberant result. However, the true protagonists of the house, as well as of Gaudí's later work, are the floral motifs found everywhere. Among them, the Moorish carnation stands out especially, the yellow flower of the plot, converted into an identifying symbol of the house, especially on the facade, where it alternates green and white tiles with others decorated with this flower. But it is not the only natural element: passionflowers, olive trees, roses or daisies also coexist, creating a vegetal universe that anticipates the decorative language that Gaudí would develop in his later works.
6. The Montjuïc stone in Casa Calvet
Considered his most conservative and baroque work, Casa Calvet —built between 1898 and 1900 by commission of the textile manufacturer Pere Màrtir Calvet— demonstrates, however, the artist's deep knowledge of architectural techniques and his environment. So much so that he decides to build the house using Montjuïc stone, which gives solidity and a local character to the work. Furthermore, despite its baroque and sober air, Casa Calvet anticipates some features of Gaudí's language: with the curved lines of the facade and balconies, as well as the wrought iron that seems to grow like a plant embracing windows and balconies.
7. Palau Güell: An organ and multiple animals
The heart of the Palau Güell building, built by Eusebi Güell between 1886 and 1890, is its central hall, three stories high and covered with a parabolic dome with celestial reminiscences. This space, conceived as a large concert hall, has an undisputed protagonist: a large organ with nearly 900 pipes, an exceptional element in a private residence. Gaudí conceived the building thinking about its musicality and acoustics, and the dome of the Palau acts as a natural loudspeaker, enhancing its sonority.
The organ, however, is not the only protagonist of the house, inhabited by animals everywhere: from the phoenix that symbolizes rebirth, the swan that crosses the gaze as in a Wagnerian dream, to the pheasant and the dogs that inhabit the stables, without forgetting the dragon that watches over the visitor throughout the house.
8. The Philippine shells of Colonia Güell
In the Crypt of Colonia Güell, begun in 1890 in Santa Coloma de Cervelló by businessman Eusebi Güell, Gaudí displays his architectural mastery combining technical innovation and poetic sensibility. Although it is an unfinished work, shows some of its great innovations, such as the catenary arches, present throughout the temple, which define the structure and allow weight loads to be elegantly distributed. However, one of the most surprising and hidden elements arethe holy water fonts,conceived as large Tridacna Gigas shells, from the Philippines and given to Gaudí by the Marquis of Comillas, Eusebi Güell's father-in-law and owner of the Transatlántica company. Supported by wrought iron, an essential material for Gaudí, these shells evoke the nature and marine world that so fascinated the modernist architect.9. A great wave as a prelude to Finca Miralles
The great curve that preceded Finca Miralles —now disappeared—, better known as Portal Miralles, is one of the least known elements of Gaudí's urban legacy, but a perfect example of his ability to transform everyday elements into architectural sculptures full of dynamism and modernity. Built in 1901 at the request of his friend Hermenegild Miralles, the gateway gave access to the private estate and was conceived as a kind of visual prelude before reaching the residence: a sinuous curve, reminiscent of a great sea wave, which seems to move and pulsate with the force of nature.
10. Four evangelists among rivers and nature in the Artigas Gardens
However, Gaudí's legacy is not limited to Barcelona; it can be traced throughout Catalonia and even beyond, with works in Comillas, Mallorca, and León. Not far from the Catalan capital, in the municipality of La Pobla de Lillet, are the Artigas Gardens, a space where nature and architecture merge like two rivers meeting in the middle of the mountain. Gaudí came to the Artigas house to stay while he was building the Catllaràs Chalet, a dwelling intended for the workers and engineers of the mines, commissioned by Eusebi Güell, founder of the first Portland cement factory in Catalonia.
As a token of gratitude for the hospitality received, Gaudí designed the gardens as an ecosystem in which natural and architectural elements are harmoniously integrated, reproducing on a small scale concepts he was developing at that time in Parc Güell. During the tour, visitors encounter the Four Evangelists represented in the form of four sculptures —the eagle, the lion, the ox, and the angel— which, as in the Sagrada Familia, accompany and guide the space.