Short answer. Casa Batlló began in 1877 as an ordinary building by Emili Sala Cortés. In 1903 the textile industrialist Josep Batlló bought it, and between 1904 and 1906 Antoni Gaudí renovated it from top to bottom. Today it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list, and about a million people visit it every year.
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Book tickets and visits →What was the house before Gaudí?
The original building went up in 1877. It was made by Emili Sala Cortés, who had been one of Gaudí’s professors in the school of architecture. It stood on Passeig de Gràcia, in the new Eixample district that Barcelona had begun to build under the Cerdà plan of 1860.
Who was Josep Batlló?
Josep Batlló i Casanovas was a textile industrialist, and he bought the building in 1903. A renovation went ahead, with Antoni Gaudí as the architect.
What did Gaudí do?
The demolition of the house was ruled out, and a full renovation was carried out between 1904 and 1906. Gaudí did not build a new house. He reworked the old one: he reorganised the inner walls, enlarged the light well, and redesigned the facade and the interiors.
He worked with some of the best craftsmen of the time, in iron, wood, glass, ceramic and stone, and with assistants such as Domènec Sugrañes i Gras, Josep Canaleta and Joan Rubió. The result is a house with almost no straight lines.
What is the Block of Discord?
Casa Batlló stands in a block of Passeig de Gràcia that people nicknamed the Block of Discord. Here several of the leading Modernista architects of the time built next to each other. Casa Lleó Morera is by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Casa Amatller is by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, and Casa Batlló is by Gaudí. Walk along the pavement and you can see three very different ideas of a modern home within a few steps.
What do the nicknames mean?
The slim stone columns of the facade look like bones, so people call the house the House of Bones. The scaled roof looks like the back of a dragon, so it is also the House of the Dragon. Many visitors read the whole building as a story of Saint George and the dragon: the roof is the dragon’s back, the tower with its cross is the sword, and the columns below are the victims. It is one popular reading among others.
What happened to the house afterwards?
The Batlló family left the building in the 1950s. Later it was used as offices. Since the 1990s it has belonged to the Bernat family, who have restored it.
Since 2002, the International Year of Gaudí, the house has been open to visitors with cultural tours. In 2005 Casa Batlló joined the UNESCO World Heritage list as part of the Works of Antoni Gaudí.
What has been restored recently?
A long restoration began in 2018. The work reached the noble floor and its original coverings, the staircase of the atrium, the roof and the facade, which was restored by craftsmen from seven trades. In 2023 restorers found gold leaf on the staircase and the decoration of the atrium. In 2025 the work on the rear facade and the courtyard revealed Gaudí’s original design, which had been hidden under paint for a century.
How many people visit today?
About a million people a year, so book your slot ahead of time.
Which one for you?
Short on time? Blue lets you see the facade, the main floor, the light well and the attic. Want the roof? Choose Silver. Want the private rooms of the family? Choose Gold. Read what to see in the house before you go, then choose your ticket in the ticket guide and plan your day with the hours and directions.