What is Colonia Guell?

Colonia Guell is a 19th century 'industrial colony', a purpose-built town designed as a home and workplace for local manufacturing workers.

More: Colonia Guell Pictures

A visit to the museum at Colonia Guell will teach you about the uniquely 19th century viewpoint of the architects behind the sight. As socialist ideas spread around Europe in the latter part of the century, Colonia Guell was designed to safeguard the existing social hierarchy by giving workers the best lives possible.

If workers were happy, they wouldn't rebel. If their physical material and moral needs were fulfilled, those living even higher up the social ladder would continue to live even better. Status quo maintained, it would a win-win situation for everyone - the workers would stay happy enough and the landowners be would even happier: a fascinating perspective that will keep politics students debating for hours.

The most enduring element of their project was the modernist buildings that many of Catalonia's most famous designers helped build. Most famously, there is a crypt designed by Antoni Gaudi.

When I visited Colonia Guell, I was one of only three tourists in the town. Colonia Guell is perhaps the last truly fantastic undiscovered day trip from Barcelona. Easy to visit on the way to Montserrat, it's a no-brainer to spend an hour or two here. 

See also: Colonia Guell Official Site and the Church of Colonia Guell on Wikipedia

How to Visit Colonia Guell

Colonia Guell is on the same train line as Montserrat (more or less - see below for more details), so taking the train is the smartest way of visiting.

The train leaves from the Espanya metro stop in Barcelona. Look for the FGC signs or directions for Montserrat, as the train line you want is not actually a part of the Barcelona Metro.

You can get 20% off entry to Colonia Guell with the Barcelona Card.

Colonia Guell by Train

You can get a combined ticket with transport entry to the museum, the Gaudi crypt and an audio guide. But as the town is still in use (people still live there), you can simply walk around the town without entering the buildings. However, the church in particular is worth seeing, and without the audio guide you'll miss much of what is interesting about the colony.

Colonia Guell Guided Tours

One of the most popular ways of visiting Colonia Guell is by guided tour, combining the visit with the nearby Montserrat mountain. With this eight-hour tour, you get a guided tour of Gaudi's crypt and the monastery at Montserrat, with time by yourself to explore the rest of both sights. Transport is by bus and rack railway. The tour is excellent value for money and a great way to see two sights in one day: Colonia Guell and Montserrat Guided Tour

Alternatively, you can also do a tour that takes you to Parc Guell, Colonia Guell and Montserrat all in one day. This is a private tour so it can cost more, but if there are enough of you it can work out to be good value for money. Colonia Guell, Park Guell and Montserrat Private Tour.

Visiting Colonia Guell and Montserrat at the Same Time 

You don't have to take a guided tour to visit both of these sights in one day... but it will help. Colonia Guell is on the way to Montserrat, it's on the same train line, but (frustratingly), there are no trains that stop at both. To get from Colonia Guell to Montserrat, you need to change at Martorell central. Note that there is only one train an hour to Montserrat, so time your connections wisely. See also: 7 Things You Need to Know Before Visiting Montserrat.