Following each other in quick succession: Gaudí's projects, Batlló House and Casa Milà (La Pedrera), from 1906 to 1912

Most people walk past these two buildings, take a photo and move on. Others go in, but with no one to explain anything, and then even the most spectacular space stays just that: a spectacular space. Here you visit both back to back, with skip-the-line access and an official guide at each. No time wasted at ticket windows. Gaudí did not make decisions on aesthetics alone. Every curve, every tile and every chimney on the roof has a reason behind it. With the explanation in front of you, Casa Batlló stops being a pretty building and becomes a story of dragons, saints and a city searching for its identity; and the rooftop of La Pedrera stops being just a good place for photos. Doing both in the same outing reveals something a single visit does not: how Gaudí's thinking changed. Only a few years separate one from the other, and the leap is enormous. That contrast is one of the most interesting things you can see in Barcelona. The meeting point is at the corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Consell de Cent, opposite Casa Lleó Morera.