Technically, Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona IS accessible.

Technically.

It is indeed a very beautiful building.

But it’s an old building.

And unlike, say, the beautiful old (and listed) building of St.Paul’s Cathedral in London, where a tidy sum has just been invested in installing an aesthetically pleasing wheelchair ramp at the north entrance (DEFINITELY recommended for when you are in London), the owners of Casa Batlló in Barcelona have been unable to improve access in a similarly aesthetically pleasing way.

So it might not be suitable for you.

There are a couple of issues:

1. There’s a single step at the main entrance.

True, it’s only 6cm high. And is easily negotiated.

Definitely not step-free though. So if even just a single step of 6cm is an issue for you, you’ll have to ask for their portable ramp to enter the Casa Batlló building.

2. There is indeed a lift between floors .

It won’t give you step-free access to all of the roof though.

But there’s a bigger problem with the lift:

The lift is small. Very small. The door is only 90cm wide – but the lift is then only 107cm deep. So you’ll more than likely have to ride the lift side on (Casa Batlló does have it’s own small wheelchair that you can borrow though, and which does fit in the lift allowing you to access all floors within the building – if you’re anywhere above average height though, you might need to chop off your feet, to squeeze into the lift on it – even when riding the lift sideways).

In any case, only the wheelchair (and the wheelchair user too of course) can fit in the lift. The staff at Casa Batlló will be only too happy to help you in/out of the lift at each floor though.

The answer?

Casa Batlló looks great from the outside – as you pass by (possibly on the Barcelona Gaudi DIY Walking Tour).

And the money that you’ll save – will go towards a very nice Spanish meal in any of the best central Barcelona restaurants.