Hospital de Sant Pau
Hospital de Sant Pau
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
a beautiful modernist building
This bright and colourful modernista building was a fully functioning hospital until 2009, when the new building opened up next to it. The old part of the complex opened its doors as a museum in 2014.
My Rating:
The positives:
For architects and architecture fans, this modernist building is an absolute must. The former hospital is colorful and bright.
The negatives:
You don’t get a very clear picture of how the different parts of the building used to be divided up and used, but they are working on that. This attraction keeps on evolving and growing! Unfortunately, the price has gone up as the crowds have grown.
Tip:
It is definitely a good idea to buy a ticket in advance online...
Last Modified: 25.01.2023 | Céline
Hospital de Sant Pau
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Guided Tours
Public tours:
Weekends: Spanish: 11.00 a.m.
EUR 20
Private Tours:
Visits can be made in other languages. Reservation: visites@fundaciosantpau.cat
EUR 250 per Group
Barcelona Card
Reduced price with the Barcelona Card.
Available for 3, 4 or 5 days.
-> More about the Barcelona Card
Hospital de Sant Pau
Photo Gallery
What is there
to see?
Not many of the pavilions tend to be open to the public, but the main building has plenty of delightful rooms and halls.
As it stands, you can’t see much historical equipment inside. But there are plans to change that! Since medical professionals would no doubt find it interesting. They recently opened the operating room in the pavilion in the middle of the area.
One of the pavilions you can visit hasn’t been restored, so you can get an idea of what the facilities were like before the renovation work. That pavilion also provides the venue for the programme of temporary exhibitions.
Hospital de Sant Pau
A bit of History
Lluis Domènech i Montaner, a contemporary of Gaudí, worked on the hospital complex until his death in 1923.
The project was launched in 1902, but the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau itself has existed since 1401!
The bequest of banker Pau Gil made it possible for a new hospital complex to be constructed in 1902. The city was in real need of a facility of this scale given that the many small hospitals spread throughout the city needed to be merged and new demands were being placed on the healthcare system.
Although the plans included 48 pavilions, only 27 were finished, and 12 of those were designed in the art nouveau style by Domènech. You can still visit some of them to this day. The doors to the hospital didn’t officially open until 1930, seven years after Domènech’s death.
The rest of the complex, known as the “city within the city” by locals, is still used as a hospital. In fact, this is where my children were born!
Official website of the Hospital de Sant Pau (EN/FR/IT/POR): santpaubarcelona.org/en
Text and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2014 – 2023
other
Buildings of Domènech i Montaner
Palau de la Musica
find out more
Tapies Foundation
find out more
Dragon Palace at the Ciutadella Park
coming soon