Passeig de Gràcia — Modernisme Facades (Manzana de la Discordia)

The Manzana de la Discòrdia, a block of Passeig de Gràcia between Carrer d'Aragó and Carrer del Consell de Cent in Barcelona's Eixample district, brings together three landmark Modernista facades side by side: Gaudí's Casa Batlló, Puig i Cadafalch's Casa Amatller, and Domènech i Montaner's Casa Lleó Morera. The frame works best from the wide pavement on the opposite side of the avenue, allowing enough distance to capture a full facade without severe converging verticals, or as a tighter architectural detail shot of Casa Batlló's bone-like balconies and mosaic-scaled roof. Morning light, roughly 9 to 11AM, is favored because the street runs largely north-south and the facades face east, receiving even illumination before the sun climbs high enough to create harsh, contrasty shadows around midday. Spring and autumn typically bring the cleanest air for crisp facade detail, while the Christmas period adds decorative street lighting that makes the block worth revisiting after dark. Passeig de Gràcia is one of Barcelona's busiest shopping streets, so keeping people out of a clean facade shot generally means shooting early on a weekday morning before pedestrian and vehicle traffic builds. There is no fee to photograph the exteriors from the public street, though entering Casa Batlló or Casa Amatller requires a separate paid ticket. A tilt-shift lens is optional but useful for correcting the converging verticals that a standard wide-angle produces when tilted upward toward the upper floors. Tripods on the pavement are legal but should stay clear of the busy sidewalk flow; drone flight over this dense commercial avenue is not permitted under Barcelona's urban airspace rules.