Barcelona & Gothic to Modern: Experience the Best of Today's Architecture with Enric Miralles

Discover the best of Barcelona’s architecture with Enric Miralles as your guide. Experience the city’s stunning Gothic to Modern designs and learn from practicing architects and professors of architecture.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Escultura Barcino - Get ready to be surprised by some of today’s best architecture! See Barcelona through the eyes of Enric Miralles.

With the aim of truly enjoying Enric Miralles’s work, we propose a journey of initiation that will attempt to be loyal to the architect’s words: “The architecture that interests me is capable of avoiding demagoguery and cannot hide the complex reality it comes from.”

This architecture tour walks through history, politics, the cultural imagination and the architecture of Barcelona’s Gothic and La Ribera Quarters.

We begin the journey in Roman Barcelona, then travel to the Carolingian era, the post-Franco era, Olympic Barcelona and, finally, the era that created el forat de la vergonya (the hole of shame). The walk ends in the market, where we will do some fieldwork to check Miralles’ methods, along with some of the processes that formed part of his modus operandi.

What's Included
  • Written by a team of expert architects
Additional Information

Prepare to be astounded by the finest modern structures as you discover Barcelona from the perspective of Enric Miralles!

The tour guides of Barcelona Architecture Walks are active architects, many of whom are architecture professors and critics. This diverse collection of experts delivers a broad range of insights on a vast array of subjects exclusive to Barcelona Architecture Walks. We traverse the city with our unique contemporary viewpoints and a subtle grin, driven by our passion for architecture!

Location
Escultura Barcino
Plaça Nova
The meeting point will be at the letter “O” of the sculpture “BARCINO” by Joan Brossa in front of the Col·legi d’arquitectes de Catalunya and beside the Cathedral of Barcelona.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(18 Ratings)
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Sightseer63457455011
Jun 3, 2024
Amazing! - If you want to understand Barcelona's architectural history, this tour is a must! It adds great value to your trip. I took it twice and had a fantastic time. Pia is very knowledgeable and makes the information easy to understand. You'll likely meet amazing people in your tour group as well. One of the highlights of my trip!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Anupasahney
May 7, 2024
An amazing architectural walk and exploration in Barcelona - We had an amazing walk with Pia - she was well informed well paced and the personal stories and the in-depth knowledge of the city and its structures made this an amazing learning experience
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Stephenwh4567vf
Apr 28, 2024
If you don't do anything else, do this - As journalists, we travel for a living and generally shun guided tours, preferring to find out things by ourselves. But boy, were we wrong this time: The Gothic to Modern tour was simply spectacular. Give the credit to Pia, an architect and university-level architecture lecturer who made a three-hour stroll through the old city into a genuinely absorbing master course in history, sociology and design. We'd walked the area for three days before the tour and thought we knew it well, but Pia's expertise taught us that we'd only been looking at the buildings -- not really seeing the cues that spoke to their history and the stages of the city's growth. We left wanting to buy books on Barcelona architecture and history to see what else was there. Barcelona is a magical place, but both of us would agree that the tour was perhaps the highlight of our week-long stay. (And no, we weren't paid or otherwise induced to write this. It's all true.) Put this at the top of your to-do list if you're going there.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sunshine40389023078
Apr 20, 2024
Highly Recommend - We did the Barcelona and Gothic to Modern tour with Pia. She is an amazing, charming guide with tremendous knowledge! 5 stars!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Prmenard
Dec 5, 2023
Barcelona Gothic to Modern Architectural Tour - Pia - Excellent - Pia was a fantastic tour guide. She has excellent knowledge of the history and architecture of Barcelona. She has a very engaging style and was fun to spend time with. She gave us some great local recommendations. This tour was one of the highlights of our trip to Barcelona!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
K7452abrc
Jun 3, 2023
Outstanding guide deepened our understanding of the history and architectural make-up of the heart of the Old City - Our walking tour with Pia was a highlight of our time in Barcelona. English is a first language for her yet she is as fluent in several others so relates intimately to a number of cultures, besides her broad and deep knowledge of history and architecture. An architect herself, she explained technical aspects of different dome shapes and so on in a way that a lay person gained a good, fundamental understanding of changes over time. I will definitely seek out more of these tours on our next visit to Barcelona.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Footprints266421
May 7, 2023
Brilliant architectural tour - Our afternoon with Pia was splendid -- she has a astonishing depth and range of knowledge of Barcelona architecture and history, and she led us to many extraordinary and fascinating (and hidden) spots we never would have found on our own (including, incidentally, a spot for refreshment at the best gelato in Barcelona!). She was friendly and funny and entertaining, as well as informative, and we felt we had a made a friend by the end of our time together. She enriched our experience of the city beyond measure. We highly recommend Pia and Barcelona Architecture Tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
36heidiv
Mar 27, 2023
Wonderful Tour - Great tour by our architect, Pia! She really knew Barcelona and made the tour very interesting. A must if you're in the city!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Claire
Nov 30, 2022
The best Tour! - Amazing “ Barcelona Gothic to Modern” walking tour with Pia. I have architecture background and both I and my husband love history. Pia is fun and very knowledgeable and we learned so much from her about the city and details about how each style of architectures were built. Most tourists go the Gaudi tours but Barcelona is so much more! Rich in history and architecture in the old town! This is the best tour by far we had all our trips to Europe! Will definitely take another tour with Barcelona architecture Walks If we come back to Barcelona. Highly recommended if you love history and architecture !
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travelmamanow
Jun 21, 2024
If you already love architecture…. - If you have a special interest and previous experience with architecture then this is likely a great tour for you. It’s like taking a 201 vs. 101 class, it is a better tour if you have previous knowledge about the field. It is not designed as an ‘intro’ to Barcelona architecture tour. The guide had extensive knowledge, but didn’t know how to make it accessible to all members of our group. Think architecture encyclopedia vs captivating story teller, so if you already have an interest any of your questions can and will be answered but the guide is not a story teller and will likely not pull you in without previous interest. One teen and parent found it interesting, while the other two couldn’t wait for it to end.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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