During a recent three day, pre-cruise stay in Barcelona, we took a guided tour of the Palau de la Musica Catalana (the Palace of Catalan Music.)The Palau concert hall is located on a narrow street in Barcelona’s La Ribera neighborhood. Outside, the building is decorated with a massive sculptural group symbolizing Catalan music by artist Miguel Blay.
Seeing pictures of the stained glass skylight inside the concert hall made us want to take the 55-minute guided tour, which is offered daily between 10 am and 3:30 pm (sometimes longer.)
We knew that the Palau de la Musica Catalana has been designated as one of the nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Barcelona, and that it was designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and opened in 1908.
What we learned on the tour was that the building was built for and is still mainly owned by the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891. This choral society was not just a group of singers. It became a leading force in the Renaixença Catalan cultural movement, and promoted music of all kinds. The project was funded by the coral society and private donations from Barcelona’s wealthy industrialists and newly rich.
Today, more than 500,000 people attend musical performances in the Palau each year ranging from chamber music to jazz to organ concerts, along with Cançó (Catalan song).
The tour starts in the Rehearsal Hall of the Orfeó Catala, where the foundation stone of the building was laid in 1905. The Rehearsal Hall is where the choir of the Orfeó Català rehearses regularly, as it has for more than 100 years.
Next, our tour took us up the grand staircase to the Lluís Millet hall on the second floor of the Palau. Here our guide explained the symbolism present in the sculpture, mosaic, stained glass and ironwork found throughout the building.
From this two-story high salon, we got to step outside on the balcony with columns for a close-up view of the intricate mosaics that are a tribute to nature.
Since a concert rehearsal was in progress, our guide explained the details of what we would see in the Concert Hall from a photo.
Finally, we got to go inside the magnificent Concert Hall. It is an overwhelming explosion of color, light and decorative details. The Palau, which seats about 2,200 people, is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated during daylight hours entirely by natural light.
As we were visiting on November 1st (All Saints Day in Spain) and the day after Halloween, the afternoon concert was going to be an organist playing music to accompany early horror movies, hence the movie screen for rehearsal.
Photos do not accurately convey the beauty of the famous stained glass skylight designed by Antoni Rigalt.
It is an inverted dome in shades of gold surrounded by blue that suggests the sun and the sky, or a drop of honey in a sea of water.
There are many details to take in while sitting in the concert hall. On the left side of the stage, under a stone tree, is a bust of Anselm Clavé, a famous choir director who was instrumental in reviving Catalan folk songs.
The sculptures of winged horses are said to honor Pegasus, the horse of Greek mythology that is the symbol of high-flying imagination. P
Everywhere you look around the concert hall, there are hundreds of unusual details that capture your attention. (I would never be bored at a daytime concert here.)
Even the stairways outside of the concert hall are ornate and unusual in their design.
Guided tours to the Palau de la Música Catalana cost 18 Euros per person. Children 10 and younger are free when accompanied by an adult.
The concierge at our Barcelona hotel, the Cotton House, booked our tickets in advance for us. You can book the guided tour via the Palau de la Música Catalana website. You can view the concert schedule and buy tickets here.
Have you visited the Palau de la Musica Catalana?
Plan your visit to Barcelona with this in-depth guide:
DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Barcelona & Catalonia
Barcelona is one of our favorite cities to visit in Europe. Check out these other posts:
- 32 Fun Facts About Barcelona, Spain
- A Peek into Room 207 of the Cotton House Hotel in Barcelona
- Destination Discovery: Casa Milà, Barcelona, Spain
- Destination Discovery: Mercat de La Boqueria in Barcelona
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