Torre Bellesguard

The Basics

If you want to enjoy some of Gaudí’s best work without the lines and the crowds, Torre Bellesguard is the place to go. Entrance to the estate includes an hour-long audio guide that takes you through the dramatic interior and surrounding gardens and to the top of its tower for sweeping views across Barcelona. Docent-led tours are available in English on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Gaudí-themed tours by bicycle, bus, and GoCar often include Bellesguard, or you could combine a visit with a tour of the architect’s most famous work, the Sagrada Familia.

Things to Know Before You Go

• The Torre Bellesguard offers a quiet alternative to Gaudí’s more popular buildings.

• The audio guide is available in English, Spanish, Catalan, French, Japanese, and Russian.

• Visiting the Bellesguard requires the ability to go up and down stairs.

How to Get There

Several city buses stop near Torre Bellesguard at Avinguda Tibidabo, as does the Blue Line of the Barcelona hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus. The house is a 15-minute bus ride from the Avinguda Tibidabo (line 7) metro stop or a 15-minute drive from the center of Barcelona.

When to Get There

Bellesguard is open Tuesday to Sunday throughout the year from 10am to 3pm. Since it sees far less foot traffic than Gaudí’s other monuments, reservations generally aren’t necessary, even in the middle of summer high season.

History of Bellesguard

Well before Gaudí constructed this grand house between 1900 and 1909, the land Bellesguard occupied was already inhabited. A palace here became the royal residence of King Martin I in 1408, and he lived there until his death in 1410; some of the palace’s medieval remains can still be seen. It’s also one of the few Gaudí buildings that’s still occupied by its owners, the Guilera family.