Culture and traditions

Getting away with your friends for a couple of days is one of those plans that brightens up your life. It is hard to agree on a weekend, a place, a budget, and it is even harder to get all your obligations taken care of: work, kids, parents and the never-ending to-do list ..., but when you finally manage to do it and suddenly have 24 or 48 hours to share, take care of yourself and celebrate your friendship, you rediscover yourself and relish the happiness of doing what you love most. This is what Gemma and her friends do, as each year one of them takes charge.

World Book Day or Sant Jordi on 23 April is the perfect time to explore the amazing Art Nouveau heritage of the regions around Barcelona. Using roses as our inspiration, we suggest a tour of five places that are a must-see if you love Catalan Modernisme, floral motifs and legends. 

At the beginning of the last century, Art Nouveau was all the rage in Paris: wavy facades, floral motifs on signs, wrought-iron staircases ... This new aesthetic depicted modern city life and had a huge impact in Catalonia. However, when the winds of Art Nouveau blew across the Pyrenees, Catalan architects reinterpreted it in their own way. This is what we know as Catalan Modernisme.