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REVIEW OF THINGS TO DO
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“The towers here are more complete - more ornate with splashes of colour and an ornate rocklike texture.” |
One of the must sees of Barcelona.
I squeezed it in before catching the train down the coast to Sitges and it is undeniably mindwarpingly impressive.
To get there take the METRO to Sant Jaume and just follow the crowds. Emerging the great rocket-thrusts of the towers will be right in front of you. The great scale cannot be truly appreciated from up close so I cross the road to a tree lined plaza. Now I could get those four coffee brown towers in sight as they reached into the sky. Described by some as "celestial billiard cues" or "perforated cigars - each is topped with a jewell-like star. All the vision of one man - Antoni Gaudi and started by him in 1890. He lived on site until his death in 1926 and the work continues to this day finishing in 2026..
Although I didnt do so I suspect it is worth investing the 800 pesetas to take the lifts up through the towers as the inside is something of a disapointment. Sunlight illuminates a vast dusty construction site where only sections of the modernist ceiling could be seen. Without knowing it you are in, observing the interior and then back out into the street within a minute.
So my advice is to head around to the eastern side. The towers here are more complete - more ornate with splashes of colour and an ornate rocklike texture. This is where the tourgroups gather to take pictures of the surrealist towers. And I must admit, despite the quickness of the visit - it did find it impressive.
Right! Enough culture! Time for a beach!
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