Barcelona - Palau Güell (Closed until January 2007)

In 1886 the architect Antoni Gaudí was instructed by his patron, Eusebi Güell, to build an upper-class residence on a plot of land measuring only 18 x 22m/60 x 73ft, on the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, a narrow street in the old town.

Eusebi Güell was a great patron of the arts, and he wished to see this reflected in the palace: in the very center of the building a large domed hall - intended to be used for poetry readings and private concerts - extends from the first floor right up to the roof. Around it are grouped the living rooms; the ground floor, which opens on to the street through two parabolic portals with artistic wrought-iron grilles bearing the letters E and G, Eusebi Güell's initials, housed the stables. The entire