Excursion: Casa de les Punxes Location: Barcelona, Spain Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Hola my fellow adventurers! Hola from Casa de les Punxes!
Today my fellow adventurer this review comes to you all the way from Barcelona, Spain! More specifically, I am going to briefly describe my visit to Casa de les Punxes (also known as the House of Spikes), created by local modernist architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch!
Believe it or not, without knowing it, during my time in Barcelona, my friend and I who are visiting the city accidently stumbled upon The House of Spikes during our first day walking! Seeing as how the outside of the building appears to resemble a medieval castle (look at photo above), we were immediately drawn to the entrance in an attempt to learn more about this magnificent sight! Now since we both had our student IDs, my friend and I both only paid 8.50 Euros, equivalent to 10.49 USD, each for our entry ticket (regular adult ticket usually goes for 12 euros each), which not only included a free map of the building but also a free English auto headset to complete the experience!
Once we paid for our tickets and were given our maps and auto sets, we were led up a small staircase to the first floor of the 'house' (for it once was a house, constructed in the year 1905), and now is open to the public!
Upon arrival to the first floor, a door magically (automatically) opened to a small room with a screen where we were to begin our tour. At first I have to admit my friend and I were confused as to why we were only floating from one room to the next filled with digital screens, narrated by our auto sets, telling us the story of a medieval spanish folklore surrounding a dragon and a princess. Now in case you ever go, I won't spoil the story, but the reason behind the 25 minute or so folklore facade is to give you, the tourist, the inspiration/ background to the Casa de les Punxes architecture!
However I will say this, upon arrival to the first floor of the 'house', after being told the building was a house, my friend and I were expecting to see/walk though an exhibition of well, a house! Probably because we have been in Scotland for just over a month, by this point considering the fact that we have seen multiple English manors and Royal palaces, I think we were expecting Casa de les Punxes to look/be set up much like one of the mansions we have toured before. Yet to our surprise we were wrong, Casa de les Punxes, while it is described as a house, or at least it was to us, is set up more or less as a visual animation on the first floor that leads you to the second floor where you can then take some pictures of a few empty rooms (no furniture), and exit onto the rooftop of the building (a great spot for some scenic photos)! But nonetheless, the whole 'house' in my opinion falls just short of spectacular.
What does just short of spectacular mean? Well let me explain... in my opinion the whole house, while grand and exciting, lacked that bit of liveliness that one gets when visiting old English style mansions, filled with furniture, paintings and ropes that prevent you from touching the historic artifacts. In Casa de les Punxes, since there was no furniture, paintings or ropes to make you feel like you are in a special place, the whole experience lacked that authentic quality that I suppose I rather enjoy when I enter homes turned into museums.
Would I go again, probably not. Should I ever return to Barcelona someday I don't think I would make it a point to return to this specific house, but as a first time tourist to the city, I am glad I visited Casa de les Punxes so I could add it to my list of famous spanish architect buildings explored!
Don't get me wrong, the rooftop view of Barcelona that you get from the top is quite
stunning, so if anything I may return to the house just to take some more photos! (see photo to the right).
Now before I end this review, let me leave you with some fun facts about Casa de les Punxes that I learned while on my auto tour...
1. The house was once occupied by the Terradas Brutau family.
2. All three Terradas Brutau family members (children) died without producing any heirs themselves, leaving the ownership of the house up for debate.
3. The house was turned over to the country and declared a national Historic Monument in 1975.
4. Casa de les Punxes earned the nickname 'House of Spikes' because of its pointed turrets architectural design.
5. Last but not least, Casa de les Punxes has only been open to the public for tours since 2017! Thats right, I did say 2017, and considering the fact that right now I am writing this review on February 20th, 2018, means I am among some of the first people to visit the house in all its original glory!
So there you have it my fellow adventurer, my take on Casa de les Punxes! Should you ever decide to visit Barcelona someday, have a few hours to kill or want to explore all there is to see then the House of Spikes just may be worth your while to visit (just keep in mind that it's an open house with no furniture and requires you to wear an auto headset for the first part of the visit). Therefore the reason why I give this house a 3.75/5 stars review is because in comparison to other sites in the city, this building was not one of my favorites, HOWEVER, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be on your list to visit, as I believe beauty is all in the eye of the beholder, so perhaps this may end up being at the top of your favorite Barcelona house visits, for the only way to find out is to come and explore Spain yourself!
Until next time fellow adventurer,
Cheers,
Meghan Chayka
Excursion: Casa de les Punxes
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Rating: 3.75/5 Stars
Well, the beauty it looks like was the building on the outside and the rooftop view! I too think it wouldn't be my favorite because I do enjoy strolling through a house that has the furnishings of the time of when the people where living there. Beautiful pictures and good insight on the tour. Thanks!