Avenida Tibidabo historic street and Grand houses

About Avenida Tibidabo

Avenida Tibidabo is a street that runs from Plaza de John F. Kennedy to the the Parc de la Font del Raca on the foot of Tibidabo mountain in the Collserola Natural Park and is built in the style of a Parisian boulevard.

Aveninda Tibidabo should not be confused with the Tibidabo summit where you will find the amusement park, although it serves as the gateway to the amusement park via the Tibidabo Funicular.

Aveninda Tibidabo History

The Aveninda Tibidabo residential project was the idea of Dr. Salvador Andreu, an entrepreneurial chemist who envisioned a broad tree-lined avenue of luxurious buildings orientated towards his Amusement Park at Tibidabo.

The land upon which the avenue was built had been a vineyard and was bought by Dr. Andreu's Tibidabo Corporation in the 1900's in order to develop the approach to the amusement park as a residential area for the wealthiest inhabitants of the city. The Tramvia Blau, (currently being refurbished) was inaugurated in 1901 at Andreu's request to link Carrer de Balmes with the Tibidabo Funicular.

Aveninda Tibidabo is a broad avenue over one and a half kilometres long and has mansions and gardens on each side where Barcelona's affluent families could live outside of the Eixample grid and the dirty air of the factories. Dr Andreu was a Barcelona doctor who had made a fortune from his famous cough sweets.

Today, many of the houses are now private medical clinics, a few Consulates and University buildings. At the bottom is a recently restored building called La Rotonda. It is not open to the public but there are restaurants on the ground floor.

Image Gallery for Avenida Tibidabo

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Visiting Avenida Tibidabo

Aveninda Tibidabo contains many grand modernist houses that can be admired from the street.

• Torre Andreu La Rotonda: Recently refurbished in 2019, this building has a beutiful ochre stucco facade with decorative wrought-iron balconies and window frames. On the roof is a stunningly ornate tower pagoda that is best seen from the FGC Aveninda tibidabo station exit. The building was constructed in 1906 by architect Adolf Ruiz i Casamitjana. The ornate pagoda was added in 1918 by architect Enric Sagnier. Formally a luxury hotel named La Rotonda but by the 1970s had fallen into disrepair and was facing demolition.
  Designated a Historical Monument of Barcelona in 1976, and so saved from demolition. However nobody was sure what to do with the building so reconstruction was delayed. Today the bulding has shops and restaurants on the ground floor with the remaining floors being private offices. Unfortunately at the moment it is not possible to visit the interior but can be viewed and appreciated from the street.
  Aveninda Tibidabo 2-4 barcelona. 08022.
• Torre Ignacio Portabella: Grand Vila by master builder Jose Perez Terraza constructed 1905. Ochre stucco stone facade with beautiful frescoes around the windows of the upper floor. Private residence so can only be viewed from the outside.
  Aveninda Tibidabo 27 barcelona. 08022.
• Casa Roviralta Frare Blanc:White Vila with red brick window frames and balconies designed by architect Joan Rubio and built 193 to 1913 on the site of a farmhouse which had belonged to a Dominican convent. The buildings nickname Frare Blanc means white friar. Today it houses the Restaurant El Asador de Aranda, famous for meats slow-cooked to a traditional method in wood burning ovens. You can appreciate the interior of this building by eating there for lunch.
  Aveninda Tibidabo 31 barcelona. 08022.

I recommend visiting Aveninda Tibidabo as part of a circular route thet includes Gaudi's Torre bellesguard and the Cosmo Caixa science Museum, finishing in Tamarit Gardens. See the wikiloc section for the route.

Getting to Avenida Tibidabo

Address: Avenida Tibidabo, Barcelona. 08022

Nearest FGC is Avenida Tibidabo on the brown (L7) line. Use a T-Casual or Hola-Barcelona travel card.

Documents for Avenida Tibidabo

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Where to stay overnight in the Avenida Tibidabo Historic Street