Casa Vicens is where Gaudí began, and you can see him working out his ideas. He was in his early thirties when he took on the commission, between 1883 and 1888, for Manuel Vicens i Montaner, a stockbroker and ceramics manufacturer who wanted a summer house in what was then the separate town of Gràcia. The result is a small, colourful building with a Moorish air, built of rough stone and brick, striped with glazed tiles in green and white, and covered in tiles painted with marigolds, a flower that grew on the site.
The tile work is the signature. The yellow marigolds repeat across the wall, set among geometric patterns, and the iron railings echo the shape of the palmetto leaf. Inside, the dining room and smoking room have ceilings of moulded papier-mâché and painted walls, where Gaudí's love of nature is already at work. The house was extended and altered over the years, and it was opened as a museum in 2017. It is part of the group of Gaudí works that UNESCO listed.
Gràcia has changed from a village to a lively neighbourhood. It was annexed by Barcelona in 1897, but it has kept its own character, with small squares, narrow lanes, independent shops and bars where locals gather in the evening. The festival of Gràcia in August fills the streets with elaborate decorations, and it is one of the best street parties in the city.
Riding in Barcelona is easy and fast, with motorbikes parked in marked bays on the pavements and a grid of avenues, but Gràcia's streets are narrow, steep and often one-way, so leave your bike at a car park on the edge and walk in. Watch tram lines, painted road markings and manhole covers in the wet, and check the rules for the low-emission zone before you arrive.
With some hundred and twenty thousand people in the district, you will find everything within a few streets. The tapas bars of Gràcia serve patatas bravas, croquettes and grilled vegetables, and a vermouth on a terrace before lunch is a very good habit.
The ride links the house with the Abric de Can Ximet, an excursion into the countryside beyond the city.