Yes, it is a hospital, but one that will make you rethink what hospitals should actually look like. Built in the early 1900s, Hospital de la Sant Pau is architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner’s most important work (though we love the Palau de la Música Catalana as well), and functioned as a hospital until as recently as 2009.
What is now the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site is home to a number of workspaces for entities focused on social impact, as well as being a showcase for Montaner’s modernista vision. It’s well worth the visit, and pleasantly uncrowded compared to La Sagrada Familia, which you can see from its entrance.
It is one of my top five alternatives in Barcelona for people wanting to avoid the tourist crowds.
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