{"id":31581,"date":"2026-05-29T17:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T17:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/31581\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T17:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T17:44:09","slug":"3-lesser-known-cities-in-spain-for-gaudi-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/31581\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Lesser-Known Cities in Spain For Gaudi Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"

Any serious list of history\u2019s most influential architects includes Antoni Gaud\u00ed, the Spanish master of form and function. This year, on the 100th anniversary of his death, the pilgrimage most travelers will make is to Barcelona<\/a>, home to the greatest concentration of his works<\/a>\u2014although they will be sharing the city with millions of other visitors<\/a>. Fortunately, there are other ways to honor Gaud\u00ed\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n

Scattered across the north of Spain<\/a> are three of the architect\u2019s most underrated works, all close enough to one another to visit in a single road trip<\/a>. They offer something Barcelona increasingly cannot: the chance to stop, linger, and quietly appreciate Gaud\u00ed\u2019s lesser-known works, revealing a developing genius.<\/p>\n

Comillas: El Capricho<\/p>\n

Location: Bo. Sobrellano, s\/n, 39520 | View on Google Maps<\/a>
Opening hours: Daily, 10 a.m.\u20135:30 p.m. (Jan, Feb, Nov, Dec); 10 a.m.\u20138 p.m. (Mar\u2013Jun, Sep, Oct); 10 a.m.\u20139 p.m. (Jul\u2013Aug)
Tickets: Self-guided tour from $8; guided tour from $12<\/p>\n

]Although Casa Vicens is often mistaken for Gaud\u00ed\u2019s first residential work, he completed El Capricho<\/a> (\u201cthe whim\u201d) in Comillas three years before the Barcelona mansion. The property is a playful experiment in color, form, and Arabic influences located on a wooded hilltop not far from Spain\u2019s rainy, wildflower-strewn northern coast. <\/p>\n

Just as a sunflower tracks the arc of the sun, Gaud\u00ed designed the home so that rooms are ordered from east to west, with rooms used in the morning catching first light and those used in the evening facing the setting sun. A central glass greenhouse captures that solar warmth and disperses it throughout the house.<\/p>\n

The team working to preserve El Capricho revels in its free-spirited character. They\u2019re even planning a party (with cake) for the anniversary on June 10. \u201cWe want to make culture fun,\u201d says director Carlos Mirapeix.<\/p>\n

Other things to do in Comillas<\/p>\n

Comillas is home to several historic homes originally built for Indianos\u201419th-century Spaniards who made their fortunes overseas in the Americas. Sobrellano Palace<\/a>, built by Gaud\u00ed\u2019s mentor Joan Martorell and completed in 1888, is the grandest. Book a tour so you can see inside its chapel, which features benches and carved chairs designed by Gaud\u00ed.<\/p>\n

Astorga: Palacio de Gaud\u00ed<\/p>\n

\"Exterior<\/p>\n

The Episcopal Palace of Astorga houses the Museo de los Caminos, a small museum housing artifacts relating to the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.<\/p>\n

Photo by Fernando Valero Lopez\/Shutterstock (L); photo by tichr\/Shutterstock (R)<\/p>\n

Location: Pl. Eduardo de Castro, 15, 24700 | View on Google Maps<\/a>
Opening hours: Daily, 10 a.m.\u20132 p.m. and 4\u20138 p.m. (May\u2013Oct); 10:30 a.m.\u20132 p.m. and 4 p.m.\u20136:30 p.m. (Nov\u2013Apr)
Tickets: Entry from $10; guided tours from $14<\/p>\n

Outsized ecclesiastical residence? Disney castle? Forerunner of the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia? The Palacio de Gaud\u00ed<\/a>, also often referred to as the Episcopal Palace of Astorga, is a bit of all three.<\/p>\n

Gaud\u00ed worked on the palace project in Astorga between 1889 and 1893, building a replacement of the original, fire-damaged residence of Bishop Juan Bautista Grau. <\/p>\n

\u201cAstorga marked a turning point in [Gaud\u00ed\u2019s] life,\u201d says Victor Murias, director of the modern-day museum. \u201cThe friendship he formed with Bishop Grau, along with the bishop\u2019s thoughts and ideas, left a deep impression on the architect, inspiring in Gaud\u00ed a renewed faith in Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highlights of the four-story palace include private rooms and offices with majestic arches, as well as panoramic views of the city from the building\u2019s towers. The chapel features frescoes, kaleidoscopic stained glass, and examples of sgraffito, a decorating technique in which the artist carves through an outer layer of color to reveal a contrasting-color layer beneath.<\/p>\n

Spectacular as it is, Gaud\u00ed considered the Episcopal Palace a professional failure. After disagreements with the diocese and building council, he abandoned the project in 1893, asserting that he would never again cross Astorga, not even in a hot-air balloon.<\/p>\n

Other things to do in Astorga<\/p>\n

A onetime powerhouse of chocolate manufacturing, Astorga still has a number of landmarks dedicated to the sweet treat. Visit the Chocolate Museum<\/a>, then pick up snacks to take home at Pe\u00f1\u00edn Chocolatier<\/a>, Chocolater\u00eda La Cepedana<\/a>, and Confiter\u00eda Flor y Nata<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

Le\u00f3n: Casa Botines<\/p>\n

\"Front<\/p>\n

The team behind Casa Botines also run city tours connecting Le\u00f3n\u2019s wider architectural history to Gaud\u00ed\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Photo by Ivo Antonie de Rooij\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Location: Pl. de S. Marcelo, 5, 24002 | View on Google Maps<\/a>
Opening hours: Wed, 3\u20137 p.m.; Thu, Mon, and Sun, 10 a.m.\u20137 p.m.; Fri\u2013Sat, 10 a.m.\u20138 p.m.; Tue, closed
Tickets: Entry from $9; guided tours from $12<\/p>\n

Thirty miles northwest of Astorga, Le\u00f3n was the capital of an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages. The city\u2019s longstanding importance left behind a trove of Romanesque, Renaissance, and Gothic buildings. These inspired one of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s few commercial projects, Casa Botines<\/a>, a residential building within a former textile factory.<\/p>\n

The neo-Gothic building\u2019s design is more restrained than is typical of the architect but still includes many of his signatures: corner towers, lobulated arches over the windows and doors, stone carvings, religious imagery, and skylights that distribute light throughout the space.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe changed architecture forever because of his use of natural forms, and building using a new kind of geometry,\u201d says Carlos Varela, director of Casa Botines.<\/p>\n

Other things to do in Le\u00f3n<\/p>\n

For a dose of modern creativity, head to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Castile and Le\u00f3n<\/a> to browse 20th- and 21st-century art. <\/p>\n

Along the Bernesga River, which flows through the Spanish city, a 12th-century convent has been reborn as one of Spain\u2019s superb paradores<\/a>\u2014state-run luxury hotels housed in historic buildings. <\/p>\n

The sprawling structure is considered one of the most representative in Spain of the plateresque style\u2013a highly ornate architectural style. (The name means \u201csilversmith-like.\u201d) The hotel restaurant serves modernized Castilian cuisine.<\/p>\n

Gaud\u00ed beyond Spain<\/p>\n

Gaud\u00ed\u2019s influence has always traveled well beyond Barcelona. The Gaud\u00ed Foundation\u2019s new traveling exhibition, Back to the Origins<\/a>\u2014timed to mark the centenary of his death\u2014brings together immersive art and AI technology inspired by his visionary principles. It\u2019s currently in Osaka until June 28, with more cities to follow (but not yet confirmed) throughout 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Any serious list of history\u2019s most influential architects includes Antoni Gaud\u00ed, the Spanish master of form and function.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6360,12928,15547,17],"class_list":["post-31581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-comillas","tag-leon","tag-round-up","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}