Antoni Gaudí’s Barcelona Is More Breathtaking Than Ever

As anyone who has ever built or renovated a home can tell you, such work is known to take twice as long and cost twice as much as estimated. Still, the construction of Barcelona’s crown jewel, Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família, which broke ground in 1882, has dragged on far longer than anyone ever thought possible.

The magnificent Catholic cathedral, perhaps the most renowned unfinished monument in the world, was supposed to be completed by this June, in time for the 100th anniversary of the visionary architect’s death. But when I visited the Catalan capital in March, I found construction cranes looming overhead as workers continued to mold the third façade, among other features. (My tour guide estimated it would be 2034 before the church was fully done—“or longer,” he added with a shrug.)

Nevertheless, the city will mark the centennial this summer with a solemn mass honoring Gaudí, followed by a celebration of the completion of the Sagrada Família’s large center column, the 565-foot Tower of Jesus Christ, which, upon installation of its 55-foot cross, made the church the tallest in the world. The pope is coming to bless the new tower on June 10, and the ceremony will culminate with the illumination of the Tower of Jesus and the Barcelona sky in a visual tribute to Gaudí.

I came to Spain ahead of the celebrations to explore Gaudí’s city, where his buildings dot the streets like colorful sprinkles. They stand out in their trippy, Alice in Wonderland uniqueness, crafted by a deeply pious man who flat-out refused to create buildings that looked like everyone else’s (or anyone else’s, for that matter). Indeed, when Gaudí took over the design of the Sagrada Família in 1883, he famously ripped up the original plans for a traditional neo-Gothic cathedral. (“He wanted to change one thing,” my guide said. “Everything!”)

Upon arrival in Barcelona, I checked into a chic and spacious luxury suite with a long, wide terrace and a tub built for two at the Mandarin Oriental, located on the grand Passeig de Gràcia boulevard. (A highlight of my stay was dining at the hotel’s Michelin-starred Catalan restaurant, Moments, where the chefs prioritize fresh, local ingredients and the 10-course meal ends, as all should, with a cheese cart and dessert.)

After soaking off the flight in the hotel’s spa (don’t miss the emerald-green indoor pool), I took off for my first stop, Casa Batlló, a private home-turned-museum and UNESCO World Heritage site located just one block from the Mandarin Oriental. (Turisme de Barcelona, a great source of information for visitors, helpfully provided me with a list of all the must-see Gaudí sites ahead of my arrival in the city.)

Casa Batlló’s owner gave Gaudí complete freedom to renovate the home, and he reimagined it with a water lily–esque façade, turtle-shell skylights, a mushroom fireplace, and cathedral glass and blue ombré tile that make you feel as though you are underwater, not climbing toward the roof, which boasts a dragon-spine-and-scale design. (Casa Amatller next door, by fellow Catalan Modernist legend Josep Puig i Cadafalch, is also worth a visit.)

On my third morning, I moved just a few blocks away to the historic El Palace, which bills itself as Barcelona’s most famous hotel. When it opened (originally as a Ritz) in 1919, it was the city’s first five-star hotel. After settling into the regal Joséphine Baker Art suite, which has two balconies and several gorgeous portraits of the namesake dancer, I set out for Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall designed by one of Gaudí’s mentors, Lluís Domènech i Montaner. With its mosaic-crusted columns and stunning stained glass skylight, it was easy to imagine how Gaudí found his teacher’s work inspiring.

Back at El Palace that night, I dined at Amar, where the menu is a combination of Basque and Catalan cuisine inspired by chef Rafa Zafra’s passion for seafood. (On other nights, I dined in the hotel’s gilded Grand Hall and also feasted on fondue inside a pop-up Swiss chalet located on the rooftop garden terrace.)

After exploring Gaudí’s origins, the following day, I made my way to his first major commission, Casa Vicens. It may have been his first, but I would say it’s also his best house, with elements evoking both Japanese and Moorish design, bold hues throughout, and green tile that climbs the red and yellow house like a vine. Casa Vicens opened to the public in 2017 and is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, like many of Gaudí’s creations, including his sprawling Park Güell, a Candyland-come-to-life expanse perched on Carmel Hill overlooking the city.

Next, it was time to move to Hotel Arts for the final three nights of my trip. The Ritz-Carlton-operated beachfront hotel was originally built for the 1992 Olympic Games. (Frank Gehry’s Fish sculpture, which is 183 feet long and 114 feet high and sits at the foot of the hotel overlooking the sea, was also constructed for the occasion.) This year, the hotel is undergoing a multistage renovation by the New York-based design studio Meyer Davis but is open while the work is underway, and from my suite high up in the 44-story skyscraper (which had an incredible 180-degree view), I couldn’t hear a thing. (A soothing 90-minute massage at the hotel’s spa added to the vacay vibes, too.)

Night after night at dinner, I learned Gaudí’s ingenuity extends throughout the city, with artful (and tasty) 10-plus-course menus at restaurants like Mont Bar and Hotel Arts’s Enoteca Paco Pérez, inspired by the architect’s work. Perhaps that’s why there are more Michelin-starred restaurants in Barcelona than you might expect for a city of its size (30, if you’re counting, or nearly half as many as New York City despite being one-fifth its size).

Chefs Javier and Sergio Torres, twin brothers and co-owners of Cocina Hermanos Torres, which has three Michelin stars, grew up hopping the fence to get into Park Güell. Decades later, the brothers perform theater each night as they cook in their open kitchen in the middle of the dining room, surrounded by tables of hungry onlookers watching them prepare dishes made with local ingredients like Maresme green peas, Iberian pork, and Catalan guinea fowl, topping them with bouquets of delicate edible flowers (almost too pretty to eat). (Another night, I enjoyed a Mediterranean meal at Jacqueline, followed by drinks in the jazz club downstairs.)

For my final day, I saved the best for last and visited the Sagrada Família. After riding the elevator up to the Passion Tower and then taking in the cathedral’s whimsical, fruit-adorned roof as I made my way down to the ground via a steep spiral staircase, I found myself standing inside the nave, marveling.

Looking up at the columns that stretch like trees and branches toward the heavens, with vibrant rainbow light cascading over me from the stained-glass windows, I thought to myself, If there is a God, surely he or she is here. And maybe if I say a prayer, this extraordinary work of art that Gaudí dreamed up will finally, actually, be fully completed one day.

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A version of this story appears in the Summer 2026 issue of ELLE.

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