Casa Amatller

Casa Amatller stands on Passeig de Gràcia right next to Casa Batlló, and most visitors photograph its stepped gable without realising they can go inside. Its owner, Antoni Amatller, ran one of Barcelona's best-known chocolate companies, and he was also a keen photographer, traveller and collector. At the end of the nineteenth century he commissioned Josep Puig i Cadafalch, one of the three great architects of Catalan modernisme, to remodel an existing building into a family home. Puig drew on Gothic and Flemish architecture to create the façade you see today, with its tiled stepped gable, sculpted stone window frames and carved figures of animals playing music and making things, and set a stage for one of the most famous architectural rivalries in the world. Within a decade, Gaudí remade Casa Batlló next door and Domènech i Montaner remodelled Casa Lleó Morera on the corner, and the three clashing masterpieces gave this stretch of the avenue its nickname, the Block of Discord. Amatller and later his daughter Teresa lived in the main apartment, and when she died it passed to a foundation that kept it largely as it was. After a long restoration, the apartment opened to visitors with its original furniture, decorative arts and many of Amatller's photographs in place, and the visit feels less like a museum and more like being shown around the home of a wealthy, cultured Barcelona family at the turn of the twentieth century. Rooms of carved wood, stained glass, decorated ceilings and ornate fireplaces lead from the entrance hall and its grand staircase through the family's private spaces, with Amatller's own photographs a highlight for anyone curious about early camera work.

The chocolate is not a gimmick. Amatller's company was a household name, and many tickets, including the chocolate-tasting versions sold through partners, finish in the ground-floor café and shop with a taste of Amatller chocolate, a sweet full stop after an hour among the family's treasures. The shop sells the brand's beautifully packaged bars and is one of the better places on the avenue for a gift. The building also houses an institute for the study of Hispanic art, founded with the family's legacy, which is a reminder that Amatller's interests went far beyond business.

Visiting well: visits run at set times, mainly as small-group guided tours in English, Spanish and Catalan, with audio-guided options on some partner tickets; in the second half of 2026 the house has also offered separate guided tours of Antoni Amatller's photographic studio. Groups are small, so the house rarely feels crowded even when Casa Batlló next door has a long queue. Allow about an hour. Book ahead in high season to choose your time and language, but same-day availability is common in quieter months. Interior photography rules can vary, so check on arrival.

How it fits a trip: Casa Amatller is the perfect companion to Casa Batlló. Seeing a house remodelled by Puig i Cadafalch right beside Gaudí's masterpiece shows how differently the architects approached the same brief, and the contrast makes both visits richer. It suits travellers who enjoy historic interiors, decorative arts and family stories, and it is a good choice for a rainy day on Passeig de Gràcia. Pair it with Casa Batlló, then walk up the avenue to La Pedrera, or cross the Eixample to Domènech i Montaner's Hospital de Sant Pau to complete the trio of great modernista architects in a single day. If you only have time for one paid house on the avenue, Casa Batlló is the headline; but if you have time for two, the pairing of Batlló with Amatller tells the story of the Block of Discord far better than Batlló alone, and the quieter rooms next door are a welcome contrast after the crowds. Look up at the façade on the way in, too: the carved figures around the windows and the doorway reward a slow look from the pavement.