La Pedrera or the Casa Milà

La Pedrera is a stunning building which owes its name to the peculiar shapes that were devised by the original architect, Antoni Gaudí, who was commissioned to design this building by Señor Milà, and for this reason, it is also known as the Casa Milà.

Visiting La Pedrera today means immersing yourself in a center of art and culture where you will find an excellent combination of technological ideas which blend seamlessly with the building's history and its noble past.

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History of La Pedrera

La Pedrera is a unique building that was constructed between 1906 and 1912 by the architect Antoni Gaudí and was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1984. Its name was attributed to its exterior appearance which resembles an open pit quarry, but it is actually called the Casa Milà because it was commissioned by the businessman Pere Milà i Camps and his wife who was previously the widow of a wealthy Indian from Reus. The couple's initial idea was to construct a building on the border between Barcelona and Gracia which they would be able to use as a family home but which would also have apartments that they could rent out. During this period, the Passeig de Gracia was in fact becoming the new bourgeois residential center of the city which was emblematic of the then urban expansion of Barcelona: La Pedrera was the fourth and last house that was built by Gaudí along this elegant avenue upon which the stunning and already famous Casa Batlló had been built.

The structure of Gaudí's Casa Mila

Casa Milà was built as two different habitable blocks with independent communicating accesses thanks to two large internal courtyards which were joined together by a sinuous common facade. The structure of the building consists of columns that facilitated the inclusion of large external openings. The house represents a break with the previous architectural language of Gaudí's other works because of its innovation both in its functional and ornamental aspects but at the same time, it blends seamlessly with Barcelona's other modernist buildings with a style that was at the vanguard of 20th century architectural styles.

Art and Culture at La Pedrera

Currently, the house is the headquarters of the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation and is home to an important cultural center of reference for the city of Barcelona, as much for the activities it organizes as for the different exhibition spaces it houses. The Foundation has, in fact, a catalog of artistic exhibitions and shows that take place throughout the year which you can check out by visiting the web page. Casa Milà also hosts thematic debates about art and culture, sometimes outside these subjects but still representing precisely the spirit in which the building was envisaged. Today, La Pedrera is a beacon that radiates creativity and knowledge and holds all the aces when it comes to the transformation of the public's views and the commitment of its people to investment in the fields of art and culture.

Visiting La Pedrera

In addition to the exhibitions, the debates and the shows that are held here, it is possible to visit La Pedrera from Monday to Sunday, from 09:00 to 18:30 and again from 19:00 to 21:00. You can reach La Pedrera on the Green Line 3 and the Blue Line 5 of the metro, getting of at the stop called Diagonal, or by walking from the neighborhood of Gracia along the Passeig de Gracia or, alternatively, in the opposite direction by coming up from the center and walking down La Rambla, for example, towards Plaza Catalunya until you reach the Passeig de Gracia. A really special visit to the Casa Milà is called "La Pedrera by day and by night", which refers to a combined experience that showcases the beauty of the building both by day and by night: with the assistance of an audio-guide, you will be able to experience an audio-visual show that will take your breath away. You can also arrange to visit La Pedrera with a private guide from Barcellona.shop who, if you wish, can come and collect you from your accommodation and will accompany you on your visit to this wonderful house of Gaudí's. Furthermore, the Casa Milà is one of the attractions that is included if you decide to purchase the iVenture Card and it is also one of the stops on the Tourist Bus which you can also book on this page. Here you can also check the current pricing and buy your tickets immediately by clicking here: Entry tickets to La Pedrera.