One of Puig i Cadafalch’s most striking flights of Modernista fantasy, Casa Amatller combines Gothic window frames and Romanesque flourishes with a stepped gable borrowed from Dutch urban architecture. Busts and reliefs of dragons, knights and other characters drip off the main facade. The building was renovated in 1900 for chocolate baron and philanthropist Antoni Amatller (1851–1910), and now also houses Modernisme-influenced jeweler Bagués-Masriera.
The 1st (main) floor, where Amatller and his daughter Teresa lived, has been converted into a museum, with period pieces and original furniture and decor; much of the furniture was also designed by Puig i Cadafalch, and artist Eusebi Arnau was also involved in the building. Amatller was a keen traveler and photographer; his absorbing shots of turn-of-the-20th-century Morocco are occasionally on show.
One-hour guided tours run in various languages, or you do a self-guided 40-minute visit with an audioguide. It's free to wander into the foyer and admire the staircase and antique lift.
