My clients often ask me why the Modernisme photography tour doesn’t include Gaudí. The answer is simple: there’s a specific tour for that. But this route holds its own — and by the end of the day, they always admit I was right.
Catalan Modernisme is so much more than Gaudí. It’s an entire generation of architects competing to see who could push the limits further — using stone, ceramics, wrought iron and coloured glass as their tools. Domènech i Montaner, Puig i Cadafalch, Lluís Sagnier. Names most tourists have never heard of, yet they left behind some of the most extraordinary works in the history of European architecture.
This Barcelona photography route is a tribute to them. It starts at the largest Modernista complex in the world, winds down through the Eixample to the Passeig de Gràcia and ends in the Born at the Palau de la Música. All on foot, all outdoors, all with a camera in hand.
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau: the largest Modernista complex in the world
If I had to pick the perfect starting point for a Modernista architecture photography route, I’d always choose Sant Pau. Every single time.
Domènech i Montaner built this hospital between 1902 and 1930 as a city within a city: independent pavilions connected by underground tunnels, gardens between buildings, coloured ceramic domes that catch the Barcelona sun. The whole complex was designed so patients could recover surrounded by beauty — a philosophy that sounds revolutionary today and was pure visionary madness back then.
Photographically, it’s a paradise. The domes shot from below with a wide angle, the mosaic details on the facades, the gardens with the pavilions in the background, the perspective from the entrance looking towards the Sagrada Família at the far end of the Avinguda de Gaudí — one of the most impressive views in the Eixample that almost nobody takes advantage of.
Stand at the main entrance of Sant Pau and look down the Avinguda de Gaudí. At the far end you’ll see the towers of the Sagrada Família perfectly aligned with the axis of the avenue. It’s no coincidence — the two buildings were designed in direct visual dialogue. It’s one of the most powerful shots you can get in this city, and almost nobody has it.
From Sant Pau to the Bloc de la Discòrdia: 1.5 km on foot through the Eixample
From Sant Pau to the Passeig de Gràcia is around 1.5 km — between 15 and 20 minutes walking through the Eixample. My recommendation is always to go on foot. The walk itself is part of the photography tour: the streets of the Eixample have their own Modernista rhythm, with wrought iron lamp posts, doorways with details almost nobody stops to look at, and the hexagonal pavement designed by Gaudí. If the weather is against you, the L5 from Sant Pau/Dos de Maig to Diagonal leaves you a couple of blocks from the Bloc.
Casa Lleó Morera: the gem nobody photographs
The first building of the Bloc de la Discòrdia, at number 35 on the Passeig de Gràcia, is also the most unjustly overlooked. Casa Lleó Morera, by Domènech i Montaner, is probably the most elaborate building in the entire block — and the one fewest people photograph, precisely because Casa Batlló is just a few metres away.
The facade is an exercise in stone craftsmanship that leaves you speechless: floral motifs carved with near-impossible precision, sculpted figures, mosaics, stained glass. Domènech i Montaner could make stone look like lacework. This facade shows it better than anywhere else.
Cross the street and frame from the opposite pavement, shifted slightly to the right. From that angle you capture Lleó Morera, Amatller and Batlló lined up in a single frame — an image that perfectly summarises what the creative competition between the great Modernisme architects was all about.
Casa Amatller: the architects' chocolate stop
Two steps further on, at number 41, is Casa Amatller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. One of my favourite buildings in all of Barcelona — and one of the most original in the Eixample.
That stepped gable crowning the facade blends Flemish Gothic with Modernisme in a way that shouldn’t work and yet is completely fascinating. The carved stone, the wrought iron flowers, the coloured tiles. Puig i Cadafalch had a vocabulary of his own that looks like nothing else — not Gaudí, not Domènech, not anyone.
Go inside and head down to the chocolate shop on the ground floor. Order the hot chocolate with melindros — the traditional dry biscuits for dipping. The interior of Amatller has an atmosphere that calls for shallow depth of field, high ISO and a lot of patience. Don’t be in a rush to leave.
Palau de la Música Catalana: the shot of the tour
From the Passeig de Gràcia you make your way to the Born, and arrive at what is for me the most spectacular building in all of Modernista architecture photography in Barcelona. Not La Pedrera, not Casa Batlló. The Palau de la Música Catalana by Domènech i Montaner.
The exterior facade is already a statement of intent: columns covered in mosaics, sculptures bursting from the stone, the busts of Beethoven and Anselm Clavé flanking the entrance. But the real photograph is inside — the central skylight of leaded stained glass that floods the concert hall with an unreal wash of coloured light. When natural light falls through that space, it’s one of the most extraordinary visual experiences you can have in this city.
A guided tour is essential to access the interior — without one, you won’t get into the hall. Book in advance on the Palau’s official website. Once you’re inside, point your lens upward and wait for your eyes to adjust to the light. The central skylight is the shot of the tour.
🍜 Oishii Ramen Station: the ending you won't see coming
About 10 minutes’ walk from the Palau de la Música is where the tour ends — and I’ll admit it’s not the most Modernista spot in the world, but it’s the one I most want after hours of walking with a camera round my neck.
Oishii Ramen Station, on Carrer de Provença 205, is a ramen bar decorated like a Japanese train station — the seats are train compartments and the decor has a photographic prop quality that doesn’t clash at all with the visual spirit of the tour. The ramen is made fresh every day. For me, the perfect ending to a morning of Modernisme on foot.
Join one of my Photo Tours and discover the angles, the light and the history that only someone who truly loves Barcelona knows.
Frequently asked questions about the Modernista Photo Tour
How long does the Modernista Architecture Photo Tour in Barcelona take?
Do we go inside the monuments during the tour?
Not necessarily. Most of the tour takes place outside, where the best photographic angles are. If you want to visit the Hospital de Sant Pau or the Palau de la Música from the inside, you can do so independently before or after the tour by booking your tickets in advance.
