Q: My cruise ship docks on May 9th. I am taking a a taxi to the Las Ramblas. I very much want to visit Casa Batllo and need to know if it is in walking distance from the Columbus statue. I'm in good walking condition and have passed the building before, but have never been inside...especially the roof top. Any information would be appreciated.

A:  The walking distance from the Columbus Monument, at the foot of Las Ramblas, to the Casa Batllo is about 2.5 Km . Depending on your walking speed  it could take anything between  40 minutes to 1 hour at a leisurely walking pace and no stop offs. If you are in good condition and it is daylight then it is quite a nice walk along La Rambla. At the top of La Rambla walk across Catalunya square to Passeig de Gracia and continue walking up until you come to Casa Batllo at No. 43 Passeig de Gracia.

If you desire a shorter walk you can always take the metro from Drassanes - which is very close to the Columbus monument on La Rambla.  There are a number of  metro stops along the way and you can therefore determine how long you want to make your walk. The stops are in order from your starting point to Casa Batllo:

Drassanes
Liceu
Catalunya
Passeig de Gracia. 

If you take the correct exit at Passeig de Gracia, Casa Batllo is just outside the metro however Passeig de Gracia station is very large and very confusing and I have to admit that even I get a little disorientated finding the right exit for Gaudi´s Casa Batllo. It may be better to get off at Catalunya and walk 15 minutes to Casa Batllo if you only want a short walk.

Here are some links with more information about the walk you would have. I have arranged them in order from the Port Vell - near the Columbus monument all the way to Casa Batllo. Each of these  links will take you to a photo gallery of the area.

Port Vell (Near the Columbus Monument)

La Rambla walk

Catalunya Square

Passeig de Gracia

Casa Batllo

Barcelona Metro Map

Barcelona City Map