Barcelona · Spain
Casa Milà (La Pedrera)
A practical guide to Casa Milà, La Pedrera, in Barcelona: which ticket to buy, why to go up to the rooftop first, what to see in the attic and the apartment, and what to avoid on the Passeig de Gràcia.
It's the most interesting of Gaudí's houses as architecture and the least spectacular at first sight. If you're after color, Casa Batlló is more striking; if you're into ideas, this is the one for you.
Casa Milà, which everyone in Barcelona calls La Pedrera, is a luxury apartment building that Gaudí built between 1906 and 1912 on the Passeig de Gràcia. It’s his last major civic work. The limestone facade ripples like a cliff, and on top there’s a rooftop crowded with chimneys shaped like warriors.
Our visit
It was the second stop of our Gaudí day, after Park Güell and the walk down through Gràcia. We bought the Essential ticket for 12:00 on the official website, with the flexible option in case we had to change the date. We arrived at 11:35 along the Passeig de Gràcia and went in through the Provença door.
We had one rule: rooftop first. Crowds build up over the course of the visit, the route doesn’t let you go back, and if it rains the rooftop closes with no refund. After that we went down to the attic, the re-created apartment and the courtyards. It took 90 minutes, which is what the visit asks for.
What we read beforehand prepared us: the facade has no color or ceramics, and the apartment is in earth tones. The strength here is the ideas, not the spectacle.
A little history
It was commissioned by Pere Milà and his wife, Roser Segimon, widow of a coffee fortune made in Guatemala. They wanted to live on the main floor, rent out the floors above and have an underground garage, something new in the city. The construction was a fight: the city stopped it over a pillar that encroached on the sidewalk and later fined it for exceeding the height limit, and Mrs. Segimon clashed with Gaudí over almost everything. The story goes that when she complained there wasn’t a single straight wall for her piano, Gaudí answered: “Then play the violin.”
The facade carries the building, so inside there are no load-bearing walls and the apartments can be rearranged. It’s the open floor plan, some seventy years before it became common. The press mocked it and called it “the quarry.” After this building, Gaudí didn’t accept another civic commission and devoted himself only to the Sagrada Família. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
How it fits into your day
When you leave, Casa Batlló is about a seven-minute walk down the Passeig de Gràcia, and Cervecería Catalana is on the way for lunch. The full schedule is in our Gaudí day.
What to see, in order
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The rooftop
28 chimneys shaped like helmeted warriors, all different, plus the stairwell exits. Some have pieces of green champagne bottles. To the northeast you can see the towers of the Sagrada Família.
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The wavy parapet
The edge of the rooftop rises and falls just like the facade below. The roof echoes the stone.
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The attic, Espai Gaudí
270 parabolic brick arches, all different, with hanging-chain models and plans. This is where you understand how Gaudí did his calculations.
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The Pedrera apartment
A re-created early 20th-century bourgeois apartment, with curved walls, corners without right angles and the kitchen with its tiles.
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The Butterfly Courtyard
The courtyard on the Provença side, with iron beams radiating from the center like the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
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The Flower Courtyard
The one on the Passeig de Gràcia side, with floral murals restored in 1990. It's the exit.
Tips we wish we’d known
Tips
- Take the elevator to the rooftop as soon as you go in. The route is one-way and you can't go back to a level you've already passed.
- If it rains, they close the rooftop and there's no refund. You can reschedule as long as you haven't started the visit.
- At midday the light on the rooftop is harsh: look for the chimneys in shade against the sky. In the attic, turn up your phone's exposure.
- The included audio guide runs about 90 minutes and is good; with it you don't need a guide.
Do
- Arrive 20 to 25 minutes early for the line on Provença.
- From the sidewalk, take a look at Jujol's iron balconies: no two are alike.
- When you leave, Cervecería Catalana is 200 meters away and Casa Batlló about a seven-minute walk.
Don’t
- Don't stop at the temporary exhibition on the ground floor if you're short on time: go straight to the elevator.
- Don't follow anyone on the Passeig de Gràcia who offers to walk you to the entrance for free: you end up at a resale booth with a €10–15 markup.
- Don't buy "express tickets" in the lobby: your timed ticket already is your skip-the-line ticket.
- Don't have coffee at the place on the Passeig corner next to the entrance: they charge tourist-trap prices.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the Casa Milà visit take?
90 minutes with the Essential ticket. In an hour you see the rooftop and the attic, but you're rushing.
Why is it called La Pedrera?
It was a mocking nickname from the press of the time: they said the facade looked like an unfinished stone quarry. The name stuck.
Which ticket is the best choice?
Essential covers everything important, with an audio guide. Premium, from €120, only makes sense if you're an architecture professional.
Is it true the chimneys inspired the Star Wars soldiers?
It's an often-repeated legend that George Lucas never confirmed. The resemblance is real, though.
La Pedrera or Casa Batlló?
If you can only do one: Casa Batlló for color and impact, La Pedrera for understanding the architecture. We did both on the same day.