When we went to Barcelona at Easter I only had a couple of must see sights on my itinerary and one of them was Casa Mila or La Pedrera as it is otherwise known, this Gaudi designed building is now a World Heritage site and is most famous for the quite spectacular roof that it boasts however there is more to it than just that although to be honest the roof alone justifies the entry fee in my opinion and if you are visiting Barcelona I would definitely recommend it as a suitable place to visit for all the family as my children really enjoyed it especially as my son had studied Gaudi in art classes earlier in the year.
A Brief History
The building was commissioned by the industrialist Pere Mila and the intention was that the main floor would be the family residence with the remainder of the building leased out. Certainly the building proved to be an innovative design and it earned the name “La Pedrera” which means stone quarry because the façade of the building appears to be carved out of rock.
The structure of the building rests on pillars instead of load bearing walls which allowed Gaudi to include large apertures in the façade owing to the fact that each floor of what in effect were two apartment buildings independent of each other.
The building did fall into a certain state of repair however in 1986 the Caixa Catalunya purchased the property and began to restore it, the work took ten years and it is now open to tourists.
Getting There and Admission
Casa Mila is located on the corner of Passeig de Gracia and Provenca in the Eixample district of Barcelona. The nearest metro station is Diagonal on metro line 3 and the house is right opposite one of the metro exits. Being a main through fare there are also a number of bus routes that can be used however we found the metro to be the fastest and easiest to work out on our trip.
Entry cost was 7 euro each which was not bad and the audio guide was a further 3 euro however we did not bother with this as we had already read up a fair bit of the history and information on the property.
Opening hours are 10.00 to 20.00 seven days a week and with the exception of Christmas and New Year it is open all year round with the exception of one week in January so check ahead if you are visiting at the start of the year.
What is there to see?
One of the top tips is to get there early when it opens as there will be queues outside, also it is best to try and pick a dry day. We did neither so waited for about twenty minutes in the queue outside waiting to get in, in what was a fine rain. When we entered we were advised to go straight to the roof as if it gets too wet then they close it to visitors and there is no refund. I was no too impressed that I was only told this after we entered rather than at the ticket desk however our visit was not hindered which was a good thing.
The first thing to check out on arrival is the art nouveau façade of the building, there are no straight lines instead the building ripples, dips, bumps and curves with great variety and depth. It really is an impressive sight which is accentuated by the more traditional structures either side of it. The dark rock frontage is topped off by the lighter coloured roof terrace and all of the windows are fronted by ornate metal work which give the impression of branches or mingled seaweed. In fact the oceans inhabitants and various other naturally occurring items or animal life provided some of the inspiration for Gaudi and some of these are exhibited in one of the exhibits.
As you queue (depending on the length of the queue) you may also pass by an impressive ornate door which was one of the main entrances and now is the exit to the building, it is a shame that there is a roped barrier and a rather grim faced Senorita posted at the front of the door who ends up in the tourist pictures of the door.
Everywhere you look there is something interesting to take in and once through the front entrance on your way to the lifts you can take a quick diversion to enter one of the interlinking patios and look up to see the inner circle around which the apartments are arranged to the sky above, in our case this meant a face full of rain however the detail on the inside of the building is just as detailed as that on the outside.
Our first destination was the roof terrace, reached by a lift and then a few stairs which might present the odd difficulty for those not good on their feet it is mind blowing sight. My first thought was to try and imagine what goes on in the mind of someone who would be able to visualise such a design and then bring it to life.
Again there is a lack of straight lines with curved arches through which you are able to walk and solid white stone sculptures dotted around the outside of the inner courtyard. There is a range of textures and colours with some of the pieces covered in broken pieces of ceramic whilst others are painted or left rough. The level undulates and there are more steps to climb in places some of which are quite high steps to navigate. There are clusters of chimney pots that resemble gapping mouths and in a couple of cases to my mind they looked like armoured head gear with slits for eyes. This is a great area to explore and you can go in either direction with no time limit on your visit. It is also worth taking the time to look out over the city and you can get a decent picture of the spires of La Familia Sagreda as well as the wide avenues of the Eixample area.
On the floor below the roof terrace which is effectively the attic there is a permanent exhibit which provides an insight into both the life of Gaudi and the building itself. There are two large models of the building one showing the completed structure and the other showing the skeleton and inside of the building; these are quite large and very detailed. There is a mix of displays from drawings, objects and video screens showing how the building was built and some of the inspirations that Gaudi used. On our visit this area was very crowded and you had to be patient while moving around, there were places to take a rest and it was very interesting.
Descending a couple of flights of stairs you come to an apartment which has been recreated to give an insight into the lives of a bourgeois family in the early decades of the 20th Century. This was also quite interesting and very detailed. The furnishing as well set out especially the children’s play room which had some lovely old toys in it. There is a small gift shop on this floor and a much larger one on the ground floor which had some really nice designed furniture and ornament although they all were at tourist prices as well as a large collection of books and posters.
In all we spent about three hours in the building and I though it represented excellent value for money. It is also located a short fifteen minute walk from Gaudi gothic unfinished cathedral La Famiglia Sagreda as well as being near to Park Gruell which hosts a number of his designs.
If you only get time to visit one of the Gaudi designed properties then for me this is the one I would recommend, it is the most touristy but it is tastefully done, there was a fair bit of scaffolding on the roof at the time of our visit which was a bit disappointing but this was something common to a lot of the sites we visited in Barcelona.
There are toilet facilities on the ground floor although when we visited they were closed for cleaning and there is a cloak room to deposit bags. Cameras were allowed on the roof and in the exhibits although you were not supposed to use flash photography inside however no one seemed to take any notice of this. Because of the number of steps and the crowds I would not rate this as something suitable for wheelchair bound visitors or those who are very unsteady on their feet.
For more information and some great pictures check out http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Casa_Mila.html or you can look at my pictures below.
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
