Palauet Casades

The imposing neoclassical façade of the Palauet Casades, a centrepiece of the modernisme trail, is one of the few surviving examples of the early architecture of the Eixample. Standing at the junction of Carrer Mallorca and Carrer Roger de Llúria, just a short distance away from Passeig de Gràcia, the Palauet Casades was built in 1883 and is currently home to the Illustrious Association of Lawyers of Barcelona.

The businessman Pau Casades commissioned the master builder Antoni Serra i Pujals to design the Palauet Casades. The building is classical in style with a nod to palatine architecture. It has a rectangular floor plan set around a central courtyard with marble columns. When viewed from the street, its four storeys reveal the hierarchy of the different spaces, making it easy to distinguish between the Casades family apartments and the servants' quarters. The bedrooms were located on the first floor and the living rooms, office, dining room and chapel were on the ground floor. Both floors were connected by an imposing, elegant staircase. The decoration of the house is attributed to Eduard Llorens i Masdeu, and the original furnishings are by Francesc Vidal, one of Barcelona's pre-eminent cabinet makers.

During your visit, you'll be able to see one of the Palauet's iconic rooms: the library. Inspired by English libraries, with its wooden stacks and furniture, it specialises in law and social sciences, and, with more than 300,000 books, is considered the most important private law library in Europe.

During your visit to the Palauet Casades, you'll also be able to see the library.