How is Casa Batllo inside?
ALL ABOUT GAUDI'S CASA BATLLO INTERIOR
Casa Batllo (Antoni Gaudi, 1904-1906) is not just one of the architect’s masterpieces, but it’s also one of the most visited sites in Barcelona and a UNESCO site, and it has recently won the award to the best cultural site in the world, thanks to the quality of their immersive visit concept. When you go inside Casa Batllo it’s not like visiting just one more building: they’ve used the latest technologies to wow you at every step, and they have invited prestigious international artists to add up to your experience.
You can choose different types of tickets, including more or less spaces, depending on your interests and what's your goal for the visit. In this post we'll help you figuring out what's the best option for you when planning to visit the Casa Batllo interior, and to set the right expectations. Come with us exploring one of the finest modernist buildings in Barcelona, a unique place that teases your imagination and delights you with its gorgeous details.
What you'll see inside Casa Batllo:
1
Gaudi Dôme
If you purchased Silver or Gold tickets, your visit of Casa Batllo starts heading downstairs to the basement where you’ll enter the Gaudi Dôme. And immersive room with over 1000 screens submerging you in the natural world that shaped the mind of Antoni Gaudi during his childhood in the countryside. You’ll see animals and plants, and their counterparts in Gaudi’s architecture. The center of the room is occupied by a representation of a Gaudi child, asleep over a drawing table, and dreaming of his future works.
INCLUDED IN: Silver & Gold tickets
2
Entrance Hall
3
Main Floor
The staircase reaches a landing, where opens the door to what used to be the office of Mr. Batllo. The best feature here is the fantastic fireplace shaped like a mushroom and hiding two benches inside. From there you continue to the Living Room, topped with an hypnotic spiraling ceiling, and flooded in light thanks to the ingenious window system created by Gaudi. Next, a corridor takes you to the more private area of the dwelling.
Here is where the bedrooms, the dinning room and the sawing room used to be. The original furniture has been long gone to other museums and private collections, but that allows you to appreciate better the naked Gaudi architecture. The visit of the main floor also takes you to the backyard, from where you can admire the backside of the building (not as ornate as the main façade, but nicely finished compared to the other buildings on the same block…). In one of the rooms you’ll also find a model of the building conceived to help visually impaired people to understand how Casa Batllo looks like, but it also allows you to see some of its details from closer.
INCLUDED IN: All tickets.
4
Blue lightwell and staircase
INCLUDED IN: All tickets.
5
The Batllo's modernist apartment
Also on the third floor, if you bought the Gold ticket you’ll get exclusive access to an area that has been fully furnished with vintage furniture – some of it replicas of the furniture Gaudi designed for the Casa Batllo interior. You’ll feel transported 100 years back in history, as if you were a guest invited by the Batllo family.
INCLUDED IN: Gold tickets only.
6
The Attic
In the early 1900's, attics weren't a fancy place. It was cold and damp, and that's where the servants worked and lived. The blue staircase ends there, where you enter a white tunnel of Gaudi's parabolic arches, lined up with doors - one for each apartment in the building. Behind the doors were the washing rooms where maids stored unused objects and made the laundry. The washing rooms smell like Marseille soap, and two holograms of a maid at work help you understand their hard work conditions.
At the other end of the building, the large room that used to be the dormitory of the mail servants has been transformed into a visual art installation by the Israeli creator Refik Anadol. From there, a spiral staircase takes you to the rooftop.
INCLUDED IN: All tickets.
7
The Rooftop
Rooftops weren’t a leisure area the way the are now, either. The chimneys you see used to be smoking all day long – from the winter heating but also from the kitchen stoves that worked with coal. No wonder most rooftops were ugly! But for Gaudi they were an opportunity to freely create his fantasy worlds. From here you have great views over the Hill of Montjuic and the fancy Passeig de Gracia.
Here is where the concerts of the Magic Nights at Casa Batlló take place. If you are visiting in the evenings, you’ll have here a reserved seat to listen to live music while enjoying a glass of cava sparkling wine. Note that the Magical Nights experience is only available during certain months of the year, but it’s a very original way to visit Casa Batllo inside.
At the other end of the rooftop you’ll discover that the undulating shape of the tiled roof, that from the street looks like the spine of a dragon, is actually hiding the room where the building water tank used to be. It hasn’t been preserved, but a modern water fountain recreates a magical watery effect. From there you’ll take another stair back to the attic.
ROOFTOP INCLUDED IN: All tickets.
CONCERT AND CAVA GLASS INCLUDED IN: Magic night tickets only. The assigned seats depend on the type of ticket you purchased (Gold ticket holders get the best seats, and Silver tickets get better seats than Blue tickets)
8
Descent back to the basement level
You’ll then proceed through another arched corridor where more washing rooms used to be (but you won’t see them – the doors are closed), and reach the new staircase that takes you back to the basement level. This space is not an original part of the Casa Batllo inside: After the last resident of the house passed away during the Covid pandemic, the space where the kitchens used to be was demolished in order to incorporate a new staircase and elevator shaft to make the circulation of the visitors smoother.
Another international artist, the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, was invited to decorate the descent with a mesmerizing wall of metal chains. Enjoy the descent and keep going all the way down to the basement: you’ll be passing the gift shop and the street access on your way down, but you won’t be able to leave as the chains are intertwined to lead the way and avoid you missing the last part of the visit.
INCLUDED IN: All tickets.
9
Gaudi Cube
At the bottom of the stairs a member of the staff will collect your audioguide and VR tablet (see below), and explain what's coming next. The Gaudi Cube is a 360º immersive visual experience created by Refik Anadol. You'll enter a white room, and when the door closes will start a video projection over walls, ceilings and floor. You'll be surrounded by images of Casa Batllo, Gaudi's sketches, portraits of Gaudi, pictures of natural elements that inspired him, math calculations and geometrical shapes, that change to the beat of a rapid music soundtrack. This installation is meant to take you into Antoni Gaudi's mind: a mind that never stopped thinking, making connections and creating.
The experience is not recommended for people with claustrophobia or certain psychological conditions that could be triggered by the light effects. When the show is over (it only lasts a few minutes), another door will automatically open. From there a modern staircase takes you to another gift shop, and from there you exit back to the street. Your visit of the Casa Batllo interior ends here.
INCLUDED IN: All tickets.
10
Final tips for planning your Casa Batllo inside visit
Radioguides vs VR tablets
Virtual Reality tablets are a visual complement to radioguides, that combine fantasy and information. When framing certain corners of the building with the tablet camera, different things will appear on the screen. Maybe it’s a turtle coming out of a skylight shaped like a turtle shell, or the arches of the maids dormitory moving as if they were breathing – a fun way to bring the building into life. But some other times it’ll be the furniture Gaudi designed for the building, or inhabitants of Casa Batllo going on their daily activities – kind of like a few seconds short documentary.
VR TABLETS ARE INCLUDED IN: Silver and Gold tickets.
Additional benefits of Golden tickets
Besides the exclusive access to the modernist vintage apartment, Gold tickets also give you fast-track access, date flexibility and free cancellation.
Casa Batllo Magical Nights
Visiting Casa Batllo at night or during daytime is exactly the same, except that at night you get to enjoy the concert at the rooftop and a drink. Other than that, you are still given the option of a Blue, Silver or Gold pass when purchasing your tickets.
Are you planning to go inside Casa Batllo?
Marta
Marta is the founder of ForeverBarcelona. She is a passionate tour guide that loves Barcelona and loves writing too. She is the main author of our Blog, and is committed to sharing her knowledge about Barcelona and her best tips with our readers.
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