There a lot of things to do and see in Barcelona when it comes to art, music, architecture, culture in general. C and I, had few things in mind, few activities that were recommended to us or we read about. We were there for a week, so we tried to combine the delightful days at the beach, the lazy walks around the city during day and night time, the delicious dinners and drinks with museum visits, or architectural pilgrimages.
But before we start sharing some of these beautiful treats, I first need to mention that C is an architect and for him Barcelona is a real urban spectacle, he enjoyed a lot many of Barcelona´s streets, buildings, parks, plazas. According to his taste Barcelona is his favourite city when it comes to urban spaces, he considers Barcelona as the Mecca of urban life and urban design (that´s his opinion so let´s respect it 🙂 ). So I guess for those of you that are really interested in architecture and urban space, take some time to walk around the city, get it´s vibe, start understanding the structure, the scales, the corners, the details, the music of the city and it´s smell.
So long story short, here is our list of things to see in 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA.
1st – The Diposit de Aigües Building 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA
The library is part of the Universitat Pompeu Fabras campus, the building is a former structure that was holding a water tank, it was designed in 1874 by Josep Fontsere and the static calculation were done by a young student of architecture, Antoni Gaudi i Cornet.
From the 1874 to nowadays the building had a very interesting history, sheltering a municipal asylum, fire service store, garage of the Municipal Police force, justice department archive. It became a property of the university in 1992. The architects that did the renovation and transformed the space in to a library are Lluis Clotet and Ignacio Paricio.
https://www.upf.edu/campus/en/historia/aigues.html
C was amazed by the imposing structure, and the feeling of walking through a temple rather than a library, a temple of knowledge. This feeling reminded him of other retaining water designated structures that he found in India the water wells, which impressed him a lot radiating the same type of feeling of wandering through a sacred space.
2nd – Fundacion Mapfre – 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA
The Fundacion Mapfre exhibition hall is located in Casa Garriga Nogués, which is a truly beautiful space and a great example of Catalan modernism. The house was built by the architect Enric Sagnier in the early beginning of the 20 th century for a family of bankers.
The exhibition hall was open to the public in September 2015 and so far it featured shows like the triumph of color, a beautiful expedition trough the impressionist paintings and the avant garde, from Van Gogh to Matisse, the photography of Hiroshi Sugimoto or the photography of Bruce Davidson.
C heard about the Hiroshi Sugimoto show and he was really eager to see it, unfortunately the show already left for Madrid, but instead we manage to see the show of the American photographer Bruce Davidson. We weren’t familiar with his work, but at the end of the tour we were really impressed. There is a chronological order that you need to follow, that opens pages of American and European history. It is a beautiful documentary about human life, a must see.
3rd – Elogio al aqua – Eduardo Chillida 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA
This piece is in Parc de la Creueta del Coll, which is situated in the very hilly side of Barcelona, reminding us of the streets of San Francisco. Far away from the tourist invasion (reachable with the metro) and nested in a residential area. The sculpture is big and impressive, reminding you of an ancient marine animal, that instead of finding itself in the water is levitating over in some kind of contemplation state. The very funny detail about this sculpture is that it is inside of a public children swimming pool. The sculpture is the work of Eduardo Chillida, a Basque artist coming from San Sebastian, formerly trained as an architect. C appreciates his work a lot.
4th Fundacio Juan Miro 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA
Last but not least, Fundacio Juan Miro was a very nice surprise. Situated in Parc Montjuic, surrounded by beautiful nature and other touristic attractions, the museum is a quiet and rich artistic oasis. The building designed by the Spanish architect Josep Lluis Sert is hosting a good amount of Juan Miro´s work, plus contemporary art works from different artists that are collaborating with the foundation.
It is really an interesting mix of architecture, modern and contemporary art, that deserves a good two hours (at least). So if you are in love with art or just curious, write it down on your TO DO list and don´t miss it.
I hope you liked our tips for 7 DAYS IN BARCELONA. I can not wait to go there again. Please keep us posted about your favorite places to visit in Barcelona. X
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