Travel Journal: Palau de la Musica Catalana and the Arc de Triomf – Spain

Every two years or so, my organization holds a World Staff Conference (WSC), bringing together staff from all of our 15 offices that are located around the world. Our most recent WSC was this year in late August in Barcelona, Spain! For this trip, I also brought along my mom for a vacation after the conference was done and my friend Jodi, who was also attending the conference as a consultant, also joined us for a few extra days. As usual with my travel journals I have split up my blog posts in a way that made most sense to this particular trip. Enjoy! 

Catch up on my other posts about this trip here:
Intro – Barcelona, Spain
Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Pals and Calella de Palafrugell, Catalonia, Spain
Basilica de la Sagrada Familia
Montjuic and the Olympic Park
Gothic Quarter and the Mercat de la Boqueria
Doors of Spain
Park Güell
Montserrat

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When I travel, I like to do a lot of research beforehand. I like to plan a very loose itinerary that basically includes anything that is a must-schedule in advance experience and then a list of all the other things we are interested in doing with any important info about cost, business hours, tips, and tricks, helpful weblinks, location, etc. Then, we can choose what we want to do the day of or the night before on any given day of the trip. This is my way of “going with the flow” but also honoring my Type A personality because it takes the stress or anxiety out of travel. Organization and efficiency are my love languages, people.

When I was searching Pinterest for ideas for Spain, the Palau de la Musica Catalana was one of the top things I saw. Many dub it one of the most “Instagrammable Places in Barcelona.” So obviously we had to go!

Palau de la Musica Catalana

But seriously, look how pretty and unique it is!!!

The Palau de la Musica Catalana is a concert hall built between 1905 and 1908 by the modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner as a home for the Orfeó Català (choirs). The indoor hall, which includes the balcony and colonnade you see in the picture, is the Sala Lluís Millet (Lluís Millet Hall) and is often used for intermissions.

When visiting, you can join a guided tour, go the route we did, or go through it self-guided. I believe both options are 20 euros.

I might have gone for my Instagram photo of the columns, but the inside was STUNNING. Pictures really don’t do the colors and amount of detail any justice.

I would put the Palau de la Musica on a must-see list when visiting Barcelona. Regardless if art, architecture, or music aren’t your top interests, it’s too beautiful to skip.

Arc de Triomf

The Arc de Triomf (Acro de Triunfo) was built by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. We passed under it on our way to the waterfront for dinner one evening, which also took us through the Parc de la Ciutadella (a park). It was a beautiful evening, and with lots of street entertainers, it was just fun to people-watch.

Alright, I’ll be back tomorrow with more color and beautiful architecture with my post on the La Sagrada Familia.

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And just for fun, here are some of my other past Travel Journal posts:

Italy -Six Day Self-Guided Hike, Rome, Venice, Florence and More
Nashville, Tennessee – Girls Weekend
London, England
Estes Park, Colorado
Thailand and the Philippines
Tumon Bay, Guam
New York City – Girls Weekend
Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Antigua, Guatemala