Architecture beyond the guidebook
Architectural tours
These tours are for architects, planners, engineers, designers, students and anyone interested in modern architecture, urban history and the ideas that shape cities. Rather than simply identifying buildings, they examine the historical and cultural forces that produced them, and why they still matter today.
I lead small-group architectural walking tours through some of Europe's most fascinating cities, focusing on the buildings, ideas and urban history that have shaped each one.
Drawing on years of research, writing and tour leadership, each tour places architecture in its wider historical, social and cultural context.
From Barcelona's rationalist modernism and Art Deco on the French Riviera to Madrid’s twentieth-century architecture, the emphasis is always on understanding why buildings matter, not simply when they were built.
About Jonathan Duff
Jonathan Duff FRSA is a writer, architectural commentator and tour leader based in Spain.
He has led architectural study tours for the Twentieth Century Society and The Architecture Club, and has contributed book reviews, essays and Buildings of the Month to Twentieth Century Society's publications. His interests include modernism, rationalism, social housing, brutalism, adaptive reuse and the relationship between architecture and urban life.
Tours combine architectural insight with the broader historical, political and cultural forces that have shaped the built environment.
What guests have said
"Such a memorable trip, so absorbing, enlightening, inspirational, and always so funny."
— Delegate, The Architecture Club Barcelona study tour
"Our group of architects and planners found the tour to be exceptional."
— Private client study tour
“Thank you for such an uplifting and inspirational visit. Your erudition is to be admired Jonathan!”
— Participant, The Twentieth Century Society trip
Madrid (in development)
A new tour examining Madrid's twentieth-century architecture, urban transformation and contemporary design.
Following my move to Madrid, I am developing a new programme exploring the city's modern architecture, including localised Madrilian rationalism, organic brutalism, urban transformation and overlooked twentieth-century heritage.
Modern Riviera
From Art Deco and Eileen Gray to Le Corbusier, post-war modernism and the contemporary Kenzo Tange, this tour explores one of the defining landscapes of twentieth-century architecture.
Current tours
Explore Barcelona, Madrid and the French Riviera through tours that combine architectural insight with social, cultural and urban history.
Barcelona: Rationalism beyond La Rambla
A walking tour beyond the city’s most familiar landmarks.
Barcelona is often defined by Gaudí and the Gothic Quarter. This tour looks beyond both, to a quieter, more disciplined modernism, one that shaped the city’s twentieth-century character.
The walks explore works by Josep Lluís Sert, Antoni Bonet and Mies van der Rohe, alongside contemporary cultural institutions, adaptive-reuse projects and lesser-known buildings that reveal Barcelona's continuing architectural evolution.
Available as private tours, study visits and small-group walking tours.
Summer 2026
During the UNESCO-UIA World Congress of Architects in Barcelona, I will be offering a limited number of specialist architectural tours for delegates and accompanying guests.
These tours focus on aspects of Barcelona often overlooked by visitors, including rationalist modernism, social housing, urban regeneration and contemporary architecture.
Please get in touch if you are attending the Congress and would like further information.
Formats
Walking tours (2–3 hours)
Full-day architectural tours
Multi-day study visits (can include coach travel)
Bespoke programmes for professional and institutional groups
Talks and presentations.
Enquiries
For private tours, study visits or speaking engagements, please contact:
or connect with me on LinkedIn.