Why go

The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau is proof that Barcelona’s modernisme was about more than Gaudí. Lluís Domènech i Montaner, architect of the Palau de la Música, designed it in the early 20th century as a garden city for the sick: separate pavilions set among gardens and linked by underground tunnels, on the belief that light, fresh air and beauty helped patients heal. It worked as a hospital until 2009, and after a long restoration the historic pavilions opened to visitors.

The result is one of the most beautiful places in the city, with domes of glazed tiles, red brick, stained glass and sculpture everywhere you look. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and still feels like a discovery, because many visitors head straight past it to the Sagrada Família.

What to see

  • The Administration Pavilion. The grand entrance building with its clock tower, and inside a hall of pink and gold mosaic columns and a stained-glass staircase.
  • The Sant Rafael Pavilion. A restored ward showing how patients were cared for in the 1920s.
  • The underground tunnels. The network that connected the pavilions, so that patients and supplies could move unseen.
  • The gardens and domes. Walk the avenues between the pavilions, each topped with turrets and domes in green, yellow and blue tiles.
  • Avinguda de Gaudí. The diagonal avenue that links Sant Pau to the Sagrada Família, with views of both at either end.

Plan your visit

Tickets. The self-guided visit, with a map and staff on hand in the pavilions, costs €18 before 2pm and €17 from 2pm. Reduced tickets, for Barcelona residents, 12 to 24 year olds, over 65s and some others, cost €12.60 or €11.90. Guided tours cost €21, or €5 for children aged 3 to 11. An audioguide costs €4. Combined tickets with La Pedrera and the Palau de la Música Catalana are also sold.

Opening hours. From November to March the site opens every day from 9.30am to 5pm, and from April to October until 6.30pm. Last access is 30 minutes before closing.

Guided tours. Tours last about 75 minutes. English tours run on Saturdays at 10.30am, French on Saturdays at noon, and Spanish and Catalan tours at 11am and 12.30pm at weekends and on public holidays.

Getting there. Sant Pau | Dos de Maig station on metro line L5 is about three minutes’ walk away, and buses H8, 19, 47, 117 and 192 stop nearby. From the Sagrada Família, it is about 10 minutes’ walk up Avinguda de Gaudí.

Good to know. Allow 45 minutes to an hour for a self-guided visit, or longer if you like to linger over the details. The entrance and the whole visitor route are wheelchair accessible. It is usually quiet, even in high season, so it pairs well with a morning slot at the Sagrada Família and an unhurried afternoon here. Visitor staff in the pavilions are happy to answer questions, and a map comes with every self-guided ticket. If you visit the Palau de la Música as well, look for the combined ticket, as both buildings are by the same architect.