Casa Pascual y Pons (Nos. 2-4) by E. Sagnier (1890)	Casa Rocamora (Nos. 6-8) by Bassegoda (1918)	Wrought iron lampost framing No. 7

The Passeig de Gràcia is Barcelona’s most elegant avenue and one of the best architectural walks in the city. The quality and quantity of modernist buildings is unrivalled, not only in Barcelona but in any city of the world. It is the defining avenue of the 19th century Eixample, a grid like "extension" to the city that was planned by engineer Ildefons Cerdà whose original plan was observed, but not in its entirety. Cerdà’s plan called for impressive inner squares and gardens for each city block and these were never built.

The Passeig de Gràcia was from the beginning designed to be Barcelona’s Grand Avenue. It’s origins can be traced back to Roman times when it was a path that linked to the Via Augusta. In medieval times the city’s door to this road was the Portal dels Orbs (blind people’s gate), today the Portal del Angel pedestrian shopping area.

Not too far from the city walls a farmhouse named Gràcia was established (later growing to be a village) and the path came to be known as Passeig de Gràcia. In the 18th century the lower part of the Passeig started to be tendered and became an avenue bordered with trees and some fountains. In the early 19th century, a turbulent time of unemployment, wars and plague, the Marquis of Campo Sagrado ordered that the avenue should be urbanized, partly to improve the city but also to alleviate some of the growing social problems. Thanks to this initiative an avenue 5 lanes wide (2 lanes for carriages on either side and a wide central lane for pedestrians) was built and there were at least 8 different kinds of trees lining the way.

In 1840 the people who looked after the tree farm (at the crossing with the Granvia) decided to open a café with tables to sit and enjoy a refreshment. It became an instant success and attracted a great many people to the area. Years later the Español theatre was erected on this site, and you can still see the intricate neo-moorish style architecture at number 24.

No. 24 with neo-moorish details originally seen on the Teatro Español	No. 27, Casa Malagrida (1908) by J. Codina	No. 35, Casa Lleó Morera (1905) by Domènech i Montaner

By the mid 19th century the Passeig de Gràcia was the fashionable place in Barcelona. A great many theatres, ballrooms, concert halls and singer-cafés opened, and prestigious events were held, such as the Spanish premiere of Wagner’s Ring. Soon the first houses –rather like palazzos– were built for the well to do and industrial captains.

In 1873 and due to a remodelling of the avenue, the municipal gardener replaced all the trees with the current platane variety. And then the rapid development of the Passeig started with a whole generation of Modernist architects that gave created buildings such as the Pascual y Pons houses by Enric Sagnier built in 1890 and 1891 and still standing (with modifications) at numbers 2 and 4.

Horse drawn streetcars made the trip from Portal del Angel to Gràcia from 1872 onwards, and in 1899 the route was electrified. In the early 20th century the competition among patrons and their architects reached delirious heights and gave the Passeig de Gràcia its best buildings. The best example of this is the so-called "block of disagreement", where in 1905 the Casa Lleó Morera (number 35) was built by Domènech i Montaner. The next two buildings (numbers 37 and 39) built in 1906 in in Louis XIV style are by Enric Sagnier. Then the stunning neo-gothic and jewel-like Casa Amatller at number 41, built by Puig i Cadafalch in 1898-1900 is adjacent to Gaudi’s fantastic and colourful Casa Batlló (number 43) of 1906.

No. 66, Casa Marfà (1905) by M. Comas i Thos	To the left No. 41, Casa Amatller (1898-1900) by Puig i Cadafalch, and on the right No. 43, Casa Batlló (1906) by Antoni Gaudí	Detail of Casa Lleó Morera (No. 35)

Continuing along the Passeig towards the Diagonal, there are many more extraordinarily interesting and beautiful buildings, many of which now house elegant shops, banks or prestigious offices. Number 66 is the Casa Marfà of 1905 by Comas i Thos and is fine example of the adaptation of Catalan civil gothic architecture.

At the lower end, on the corner with carrer Casp, number 6 to 8 (see photo above) is the 1918 Casa Rocamora by Bassegoda, a building that you can spend a lot of time looking at and never finish discovering new elements. Number 7 is a very orderly and classic building, the casa Puig Colom of 1913-14 by Font i Gumà.

Passeig de Gràcia is also home to Gaudí’s most accomplished work and one of Modernism’s best examples, the Pedrera or Casa Milà at number 92, at Passeig de Gràcia and Provença. The undulating balconies and fantastic metalwork are unforgettable; be sure to visit the interior and the rooftop, now open to the public after extensive restorations. The building was started in 1906, but in 1909 Gaudi’s disagreements with the owner, Pere Milà came to a head and the building’s interior was finished in 1911 by Gaudi’s collaborator Josep Maria Jujol. From the very beginning this building caused a lot of controversy, with extreme opinions against or in favour. Some contemporary cartoonists saw La Pedrera as a kind of air travel terminal, with hot air balloons, airplanes and zeppelins docking to the building.

Today the Passeig de Gràcia is an eminently commercial avenue, in the style of the great European boulevards. There is no better way to get to know the essence of Barcelona than to take a relaxed stroll along the Passeig de Gràcia.