Casa de les Punxes — Attraction in Barcelona

Fabulous exterior; don't bother with interior

This fantastical building by Puig i Cadafalch is definitely worth visiting -- on the outside. The exterior massing and details are amazing -- the wrought iron work, the tiles, the extravagant towers.

However, there is absolutely no point in buying a ticket to see the interior. Sadly, there isn't much to see -- just some moderately interesting tile floors and painted ceilings. No furnishings. No explanation of how the rooms were used. Even some of the interiors and stained glass that are visible in the Wikipedia article and the official web site are not open to visitors. The only exhibits of real material are a small number of encaustic tiles.

What there is instead is a painfully ridiculous and long audiovisual show about the legend of St George (Jordi) and the dragon, which you are forced to watch at length because the doors leading to the next room only open at the end.

On the roof, it is moderately amusing to walk into the towers, but all they contain is multiple explanatory panels. The museum shop is minimal.

What a wasted opportunity! Just don't waste your time and money on this poorly...

While the bulding is wonderful from the outside, the tour of the interior is a waste of money! We started off with a guided tour of the outside facade, when a guide explained a history of the house, which was quite interesting (although due to noise from the street it was hard to hear). Then you enter inside and that's where you get dissapointed. The part of the house you get to visit has almost no signs of being from the modernist period, it's just white walls and tiled floors. Also you get to see a bad film about the St George's legend (screened in parts in different rooms, which you can't escape once you've started) and enter terrace (which is just a regular terrace). We felt ripped-off. Definately not worth the money you have to pay. Maybe if it cost half of its price it could be considered, for the part you spend with the guide. There are other modernist houses you can visit in Barcelona which actually still have modernist features you can admire once you...

Wow, I never expected such a great, immersive audio-visual tour – it was like being in an episode of Game of Thrones! The first ~20 minutes were about the legend of St. George (the patron saint of Barcelona and the house) and how he saved the princess from the dragon. You walk from room to room and in each the story is continued. The production seems like from a Hollywood movie and the presentation is mind-blowing, too: sometimes the projections are on a semi-transparent screen with a mosaic behind it, sometimes the screen is surrounded by mirrors, ... After the legend has been told, the second part of the tour is about the house itself and about the architect, Josep Puig i Cadafalch. You can walk around on the rooftop-terrace and climb into all the beautiful towers, each of which hold their...