{"id":3445,"date":"2018-02-20T14:17:27","date_gmt":"2018-02-20T14:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiqets-blog-staging.local\/what-to-see-in-barcelona-if-youre-not-a-gaudi-fan\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T11:04:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T11:04:32","slug":"what-to-see-in-barcelona-if-youre-not-a-gaudi-fan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/what-to-see-in-barcelona-if-youre-not-a-gaudi-fan\/","title":{"rendered":"What to see in Barcelona if you’re NOT a Gaud\u00ed fan","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2013<\/em>\u00a0This post was written by\u00a0Yasmin Gleghorn<\/em>\u00a0\u2013<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As you can see by the title, we’re heading into controversial waters. Because who isn’t a Gaud\u00ed fan, and what are you doing in Barcelona if you’re not one? Well, believe us, they exist. You’ll normally find them hiding around corners, one eye on their glass of sangr\u00eda, <\/em>the\u00a0other scanning the street for Gaud\u00ed-obsessed pursuers.<\/p>\n

But where can they escape next? If you’re on the run and want to avoid He Who Shall Not Be Named, worry not. We’ve scoured the city for the perfect hideouts. Who knows, you may even end up enjoying it!<\/p>\n

Montju\u00efc<\/h2>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a>Take a cable car<\/a> to Barcelona’s most famous hill, the perfect place to enjoy a bird’s eye view of the entire city.\u00a0The hillside overlooking the port has some of the city’s finest art collections: the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), the Fundaci\u00f3 Joan Mir\u00f3 and CaixaForum. Other galleries, gardens and the imposing\u00a0Montju\u00efc Castle form part of the scenery. Just below you, the lively tapas bars and eateries of Poble Sec await, while the up-and-coming neighborhood of Sant Antoni draws the young and hip.<\/p>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Montju\u00efc was also selected as the site for several of the venues of the\u00a01992 Summer Olympics. The\u00a065,000-seat Estadi Ol\u00edmpic<\/em> saw the opening and closing ceremonies, and the surrounding\u00a0Anella Ol\u00edmpica<\/i>\u00a0(the “Olympic Ring”) was host to several sporting venues. Head over for an iconic view of\u00a0Montju\u00efc Communications Tower or Torre Calatrava<\/em>,\u00a0designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.<\/p>\n

MNAC<\/h2>\n
\"Barcelona\"<\/a><\/div>\n
Originally the Spanish Pavilion at the 1929 World Fair, The Museu National d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)<\/a> is Barcelona’s largest art museum, showcasing over 260,000 paintings and the world’s largest collection of Romanesque mural paintings. It’s all housed inside the Palau Nacional, a beautiful neo-baroque palace reopened in 1997. We recommend taking the mechanical stairs up. You’ll get the most amazing view of Barcelona from its terrace!<\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

Fundaci\u00f3 Joan Mir\u00f3<\/h2>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even if you don’t like Gaudi, we’re sure there’s still room in your heart for another wacky Catalan creative. World famous surrealist Joan Mir\u00f3 came up with the idea for his Foundation in 1968, wanting to establish a place for young artists to engage in contemporary art.\u00a0Today, the Fundacio Mir\u00f3 Museum<\/a> displays almost 15,000 pieces of art. Take a guided tour<\/a>, or wander around yourself, to discover its more than 8.000 drawings, 217 paintings, 178 sculptures as well as ceramics, textiles and graphic works.<\/p>\n

Poble Espanyol<\/h2>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Built in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exhibition,\u00a0\u00a0this ‘village’<\/a> is home to 117 buildings from all over Spain, and all kinds of Spanish architecture. Impressive reproductions of typical streets, squares, and activities give you the full flavor of a country in one place. The onsite Fran Daurel Museum has over 300 works by internationally renowned artists, including Picasso, Dal\u00ed, and Mir\u00f3.<\/p>\n

El Born<\/h2>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a>If\u00a0La Rambla\u00a0and the\u00a0Gothic Quarter, with their tourist traffic and petty peddlers, prove a bit too much, head to the district of El Born instead. This delightful corner of Barcelona has all the beauty of the\u00a0Barri Gotic, with old narrow streets and quaint cafe-covered squares, but it’s just quiet enough to make you forget about the hustle and bustle.<\/p>\n

Despite the popular tourist attractions of\u00a0Picasso Museum and Ciutadella Park\u00a0(also home to\u00a0Barcelona Zoo), the area has maintained a high degree of local life, and we guarantee that you’ll never just be surrounded by English-speaking voices.<\/p>\n

Palau de la M\u00fasica Catalana<\/h2>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a>Designed by Llu\u00eds Dom\u00e8nech i Montaner, the Palau de la M\u00fasica Catalana<\/a> is just as fanciful and rich in detail as anything by Gaud\u00ed. This UNESCO World Heritage site is a luxurious\u00a0Catalan Art Nouveau\u00a0masterpiece, and its decorative arts of sculpture, mosaic, stained glass and ironwork provide an uplifting setting for the concerts that are regularly held there.<\/p>\n

MACBA<\/h2>\n

\"Barcelona\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The self-proclaimed best contemporary art museum in Spain,\u00a0the wacky mix of MACBA’s permanent and temporary exhibitions<\/a> is a stark contrast to the building’s minimalistic and cool design. Enjoy the AC during the summer (trust us, you’ll need it in Barcelona) while perusing its\u00a05,000 works from the mid-20th century onwards, across three periods – the 40s – 60s, 60s – 70s, and contemporary.<\/p>\n

Got any recommendations for Gaud\u00ed-free (or filled) places? Let us know on Facebook<\/a> or Twitter<\/a>, and make sure to use Tiqets<\/a> for your next Barcelona getaway!<\/h2>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you’re desperate to avoid Gaud\u00ed in Barcelona, worry not. We’ve scoured the city for the perfect hideouts. Who knows, you may even end up enjoying it!<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":30,"featured_media":3446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-barcelona"],"acf":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3445"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19855,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3445\/revisions\/19855"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}