Day 1: Meeting at the hotel

Morning: Free
Welcome Lunch
Afternoon: Montcada Street (Carrer Montcada)/ Picasso Museum
Evening: Lecture on the history of Barcelona.

Afternoon: Montcada Street (Carrer Montcada) / Picasso Museum. The Carrer Montcada was constructed before the 12th century outside the city walls. When the Catalan-Aragonese realm expanded in the Middle Ages, the eastern side of the city became more important and was enclosed by a wall in the 14th century. The Carrer Montcada was the link between the harbor and the trading neighborhood; therefore, it attracted both nobility and merchants who built palatial villas there. During the next three centuries, it evolved into the fine residential street that we see today.

The Picasso Museum is one of the most visited museums in Barcelona. The collection of Picasso’s work is particularly strong in his early period, with some of his schoolbook sketches on display, and works from his early days in Barcelona and Paris. The focus of the exhibit is the series Las Meninas (a visual study by Picasso of Velázquez’s famous painting). The palaces of Castellet and Berenguer d’Aguilar, designed in late Gothic style, house the collection, proving once more that in Barcelona tradition and avant-garde go hand in hand.

Day 2:

Morning: Gothic Quarter/ Cathedral
Afternoon: Museum of the History of the City (Museu d’ Historia de la Ciutad). Private Tour.
Late Afternoon: Free*

Morning: Gothic Quarter/ Cathedral. La Seu Cathedral dates from 1298 and is dedicated to Santa Eulália, patron Saint of Barcelona. The alabaster sarcophagus containing her remains and the monumental canonical choir in the central nave are focal points of interest and devotion.

Afternoon: Museum of the History of the City (Museu d’ Historia de la Ciutad) Private Tour.
This museum is located in a XV century gothic building and it offers two itineraries. The first tour takes the visitor through the excavations of the old Visigoth and Roman settlements. Few cities in the world offer such an exclusive subterranean walk through old Roman streets.

The second itinerary is a visit to the old Royal Palace (Palau Reial Major). Former residence of the Counts of Barcelona and the Kings of Aragon, it was originally built between the XI and XII century, across from the Roman walls. Within the building the Salon Tinell, added during the second half of the XIV century, is of special interest since it is the room where the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, welcomed Christopher Columbus after he returned from discovering America. The Chapel of Santa Agata houses the Retablo de Condestable (altarpiece), a superb example of Catalan painting. The church also has a tower that allows a wonderful overview of this old section of Barcelona.

Day 3:

Morning: Montjuic/ National Museum of Art of Catalonia (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya). Private Tour of Romanesque and Gothic Collection.
Afternoon: Free*
Evening: Lecture on Eixample/ Palau de la Musica Catalana

Morning: Montjuic/ National Museum of Art of Catalonia (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya). Private Tour. The Museum of Art of Catalonia has one of the most beautiful and largest collections of Romanesque and Gothic art in Europe. The Romanesque frescoes have been transferred from old churches in the country to the museum in an attempt to protect Catalan cultural heritage. The museum opened in 1934 at the National Palace in Montjuic (Palau Nacional) which had been built for the 1929 International Exposition.

Day 4:

Morning : Palace of Catalan Music (Palau de La Música Catalana). Guided Tour.
Early Afternoon: De Gracia Boulevard (Passeig de Gracia). Casa Milá/ Casa Batlló.
Afternoon: Free*

Morning: Palace of Catalan Music (Palau de La Música Catalana). Guided Tour. The Palau de la Música Catalana is the most spectacular building of Modernist architecture in Barcelona. The architect, Domenech i Muntaner, whose work is also in the the main boulevard Passeig de Gracia, completed this masterpiece in 1908. Its multicolored mosaics covering colonnaded porticoes and arches with unique patterns of floral design, and its stained glass cupola are a feast for the senses.

Early Afternoon: De Gracia Boulevard (Passeig de Gracia). Casa Milá/ Casa Batlló. The Mancana de la Discordia (apple of discord) in Passeig de Gracia offers a wonderful stroll through early 20th century Barcelona. It is named for three houses next to each other. Although they are built in Modernist style, they differ dramatically and reflect the temperament of the three most creative architects of the time. These houses are named after the owners who were successful businessmen. Casa Lleó Morer by Lluis Domenech i Muntaner reminds the public of a Venetian palace. The Casa Amatller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch gives a north European impression with the stepped gables of northern German or Dutch houses. The third house was designed by Antoni Gaudí, following a commission by Josep Battló. This house was the subject of controversy because of its biomorphic shape.

Casa Milá or La Pedrera is located just three blocks away on the Passeig de Gracia. The house is known as La Pedrera (The Quarry) because of its undulating eroded rock frontage. The roof terrace landscape features chimneys resembling knights in futuristic armor and snail-like ventilation shafts covered in mosaic fragments.

Day 5:

Morning: Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Family (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia). Guided Tour.
Afternoon: Free*
Evening: Concert at Palau de La Musica or Auditorium Barcelona

Morning: Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Family (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia). Guided Tour. Gaudí’s enormous temple is the premier tourist attraction in Barcelona. The unusual name responds to the idea of a religious building that would serve as “temple of atonement” for the excesses of the time. It was a memorial commissioned by the National Conservative Brotherhood of St. Joseph, a religious order which advocated the return to the forms of society of the Middle Ages. The construction of the temple began in 1882 following a Neo-Gothic design. When Gaudí took over the design of the building, he no longer regarded this style as valid and took a more general, international concept as his model. Gaudí came up with architectural innovations using a new structural system. Despite the novelty of the structure, the form of the Sagrada Familia was determined by its symbolic content. It is a manifesto in stone of the Christian faith. Gaudí’s biblical scenes are enlivened by animals and plants so that the entire portal grows upward like a kind of spring-like forest in paradise. The fauna is completed by snails and tortoises which support some of the columns of the façade. The construction of this gigantic temple is an ongoing project. In September, 2003, a report published by the architect in charge of the construction predicted that the temple would be completed in 19 years.

Day 6:

Morning: Lecture on Joan Miró
Mid Morning: Montjuic: Miró Fundation
Lunch: free*
Afternoon: Montjuic: Museum of Modern Art (Museu D’Art Modern.
Evening: Lecture on Montserrat

Miró Foundation. This museum houses the world’s largest collection of the Catalan artist which includes tapestries, sculptures, paintings, drawings, and the artist’s complete graphic work. The beautiful building was designed by Miró’s friend, architect Josep Lluis Sert. From the terrace the visitor has an extraordinary panoramic view of Barcelona

The Museum of Modern Art is located within the Museum of Catalan Art at Montjuic. It houses the most important collection of Catalan arts and crafts ranging from Neo-classical through Modernist and Impressionist, to classical modern. Among the outstanding items are paintings by Mariá Fortuny, Santiago Rusiñol, Ramon Casas, Isidre Nonell, and sculptures by Josep Llimona and Miquel Blay.

Day 7:

Day Trip: Montserrat

Montserrat. Montserrat is a monastic retreat high in the mountains 30 miles inland from Barcelona. It is a powerful symbol for the Catalan people. The Cult to the Virgin of Montserrat, popularly known as La Moreneta, because of the dark wood from which she is carved, is the most popular cult in Catalonia. The Image of Our Lady of Montserrat is housed in the Benedictine monastery, famous for its boys’ choir and school of music (created in the 12th century, and one of the oldest in the world). The Monastery museum houses works from artists such as Caravaggio, El Greco, Berruguete, Sisley, Picasso and Dalí.

Morning: Visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat and the museum. Performance of the Salve Regina by the boys’ choir.

Afternoon: Walk along trails. Visit to the Santa Cova (Holy Cave) where the first image of La Moreneta was found. Walk along the medieval route to the Hermitage of St. Joan.

Day 8:

Day Trip: Salvador Dalí/Figueres/Port Lligat

Salvador Dalí/Figueres/Port Lligat. Figueres is Dalí’s birthplace. He chose this place to create his own museum Theater-Museum Dalí (Teatre-Museu Dalí).
The Museum opened its doors in 1974 to celebrate Dalí’s 70th birthday. The Collection is Spain’s most popular after the Prado in Madrid. It is called Theater-Museum because it occupies a building that originally housed a theater. Dalí himself redesigned the building as a gigantic surrealistic installation. The museum is a personal legacy of Dalí, exhibiting works from all periods of his life, as well as works acquired by the artist and his wife from other artists. From the outside, the visitor can see the huge eggs, delicately poised atop the Galatea Tower. The red façade is decorated with thousand of delicate cabbages. Dalí found his last resting place in this temple of Surrealism.

Port Lligat is a small town at the seashore located within walking distance of Cadaqués. After 1930 Dalí and Gala bought several fishermen’s cottages and rebuilt them into what today is called Casa-Museu Salvador Dalí. The couple lived in this house until her death in 1982. The house was designed to capture the spell of the Mediterranean light streaming through large windows. It is filled with objects reminding the viewer of Dalí’s surrealistic fantasy; an oversized egg presides over one of the house towers.

Day 9:

Morning: Lecture on Park Guell and Visit to the Park
Afternoon: Free*
Evening: Farewell Dinner.
Visit Park Guell. Included in the list of the United Nations World Heritage Monuments, Park Guell is one of the most captivating creations of the early modern world. The Park is famous not only for its wonderful architectural design but also because, among Gaudi’s works, it most perfectly reflects and symbolizes the thought of the Catalan Renaixenca (Catalan Renaissance): the union of the secular with the sacred, of the modern with the traditional. The design of the park moves from a colorful modern secular ambiance at the entrance, to a more spiritual and natural atmosphere which increases as the visitor approaches the summit. Gaudí included historical and religious symbols throughout the park, creating a rich and intriguing atmosphere for the visitor to ponder and experience.

Day 10: Hotel check-out. End of Tour