Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
which Casas largely financed. In 1941, the
Vinçon
store was established in the building,
which emerged in the Sixties as the country's pre-eminent purveyor of furniture and design,
a reputation today's department store still maintains. There are several street entrances (c/de
Provença 273 and c/de Pau Claris), while the extraordinary furniture floor gives access to a
terrace with views of the interior of La Pedrera. The
Sala Vinçon
gallery, meanwhile (same
hours as the store; admission free), located in Casas' original studio, puts on excellent shows
of graphic and industrial design and contemporary furniture.
Palau Robert
Pg. de Gràcia 107 • Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun & hols 10am-2.30pm • Free • 932 388 091,
gencat.cat/
palaurobert
• Diagonal
The information centre for the Catalunya region is installed inside the
Palau Robert
, right
at the top of Passeig de Gràcia, and hosts changing
exhibitions
on all matters Catalan, from
art to business. There are several exhibition spaces, both inside the main palace - built as a
typical aristocratic residence in 1903 - and in the old coach house. The centre is also an im-
portant
concert venue
for recitals and orchestras, while the pretty gardens around the back
are a popular meeting point for the local nannies and their charges. The lobby is home to a
Catalunya tourism information
centre.
Palau Baró de Quadras
Av. Diagonal 373 • No public access • Diagonal
Neo-Gothic palace or
modernista
apartment building? How you categorize the beautifully
detailed Palau Baró de Quadras (a Josep Puig i Cadafalch work from 1904) all depends on
how you approach it. With intricate carvings, an ornate balcony and mansard roof, the Avin-
guda Diagonal facade takes a cue from North European palaces. The building's Carrer del
Rosselló side is decorated in a more subdued, but very lovely,
modernista style.
Casa de les Punxes
Av. Diagonal 416-420 • No public access • Verdaguer
Architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch's largest work, the soaring Casa Terrades, is more usually
known as the
CasadelesPunxes
(House of Spikes) because of its red-tiled turrets and steep
gables. Built in 1903 for three sisters, and converted from three separate houses spreading
around an entire corner of a block, the crenellated structure is almost northern European in
style, reminiscent of a Gothic castle.
