Located in Barcelona’s stylish Gràcia district, Casa Vicens is an architecturally significant historic home considered to be the first major project completed by the legendary architect Antoni Gaudí. Recently renovated, Casa Vicens opened to the public for the first time in 2017. Visitors today can take self-guided tours of the restored interior of the beautiful home, while reserving plenty of time to bask in the building’s incredible façade. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art show here on a regular basis, and several specialty tour experiences are available, too.
History of Casa Vicens
Wealthy local citizen Manel Vicens i Montaner hired Gaudí to design and build his family a summer home in 1883; while Gaudí had been out of school and working as an architect for five years by this point in time, the commission still represented his first major project. When Casa Vicens was completed in 1885, it was recognized as a landmark achievement; today, it’s considered one of the architectural works that kicked off the Catalan Modernism movement.
Though the house was expanded, altered, and renovated by other architects and designers throughout the course of the twentieth century, the hallmarks of Gaudí’s original design remain self-evident. Most notably, the façade of Casa Vicens is a riot of shapes, colors, and architectural inspirations defined by an array of colorful tiles, ceramic flowers, and small balconies. The building’s distinctive roof has a terracotta terrace and multiple towers. Casa Vicens was a private residence until about a decade ago; following an extensive, three-year renovation, the home was transformed into a museum and opened to the public in 2017.
Casa Vicens Highlights
On the second floor of Casa Vicens, visitors will have the opportunity to explore selections from the home’s permanent collection of artifacts and resources. A video presentation provides background information on life in nineteenth-century Barcelona, and how the city’s growth and development shaped the ideas and innovations that would come to define Gaudí’s inimitable style. One particular object of note found here is a copy of the famous Reus manuscript—a notebook containing the closest thing to an “artistic manifesto” that Gaudí ever wrote.
Casa Vicens also regularly hosts a number of temporary exhibitions. Depending on when you visit, these temporary exhibitions are likely to be something new and different. However, for context, recent temporary exhibitions of note include Guerra, a site-specific installation by the artist Nikki Luna; Uncertain Equilibrium, a collaboration between artist Txemy Basualto, composer Perdi Rominger, and product designer Itziar Luna; and Scales, an annual contemporary art exhibit held at Casa Vicens each year during Barcelona Gallery Weekend.
In addition to the standard “Casa Vicens Visit” admission, which includes access to both the permanent and temporary exhibitions, a complimentary audio guide, and a self-guided tour of the site, there are four other ticket packages available at Casa Vicens. Those visitors wanting to add more structure to their experience can choose the “Guided Tour,” which is led by a Casa Vicens expert and lasts 60-75 minutes. Visitors desiring a unique Casa Vicens experience should consider “Good Morning Gaudí,” which lets guests tour the house before its standard hours of operation begin; “Sweet Gaudí,” which consists of the standard admission visit plus a cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream; or “The Essence of Casa Vicens,” a so-called “olfactory guided tour” of the house created by the perfumer Ernest Ventós (available on Saturdays, only in Spanish).
More to See and Do at Casa Vicens
Though several other Gaudí-designed buildings located throughout Barcelona tend to garner more acclaim, visiting Casa Vicens can make for a memorable time, too. Keep reading below for additional information.
*As you prepare for your visit to Casa Vicens, you’ll want to be sure and bring along your headphones or earbuds. That’s because a key component of the Casa Vicens experience is an audio guide (available in some 15 languages) that shares enlightening details about the history of this remarkable building. You can access this audio guide for free on your phone, but you’ll need your headphones to listen to it.
*The Casa Vicens café is a cozy spot to enjoy a small meal or savor a refreshing drink before or after you tour the house. It has outdoor seating in a garden-like atmosphere that makes for a charming-yet-casual environment.
*The Casa Vicens shop is open every day of the week, typically between the hours of 9:30am and 8:00pm. It sells an assortment of Barcelona-related souvenirs, tasteful gifts inspired by Casa Vicens, and books on the life and work of Gaudí.
*Casa Vicens hosts a variety of hands-on activities and educational programs throughout the year; many of these special events are designed for families visiting the attraction with small children, and they usually take place on weekends. Recent activities of note at Casa Vicens include ceramic workshops led by Manel Diestre, the artist responsible for the restoration of Casa Vicens’ ceramic surfaces; and a three-hour sketching class under the tutelage of Daniel Pagans. For more information, check out the official Casa Vicens website in advance of your visit.
Why Casa Vicens Should Be on Your Must-See List
If you’re feeling the time crunch when it comes to trying to fit everything you want to see and do into your upcoming Barcelona itinerary, it can be easy to skip past Casa Vicens; after all, do you really have to time to visit it, when you already plan to check out Gaudí masterpieces like Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, and Casa Batlló? The answer, if you’re an architecture buff, should be a resounding yes. The elaborate tiles and colorful ceramics that adorn the unforgettable façade of Casa Vicens are worth the effort alone, while a self-guided tour of the interior can be done comfortably in under an hour. So make a plan to stop by Casa Vicens before or after your trek to Park Güell, CosmoCaixa, or Torre Bellesguard—you won’t regret it.
