Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

When you think of beautiful places in Barcelona, a hospital might not be the first thing that comes to mind. And to be fair, it took us several visits to Barcelona before we visited Hospital de Sant Pau.

When you think of a city trip to Barcelona, you think of Gaudi and so most city trippers go first to, for example, Casa Batllo, the Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell. But to be honest I felt a bit stupid that it took us so long to visit Hospital de Sant Pau. Hospital de Sant Pau is truly one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. The vaults, the colours, the stained glass windows, everything is beautiful about this hospital.

It is the first hospital visit that got me excited.

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The colorful buildings of Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

The old hospital, Hospital de Sant Pau, is located in the heart of Barcelona, just a 10-minute walk from the Sagrada Familia. When you walk past these colorful buildings you would never think that this group of cheerful buildings forms a hospital.

Hospital de Sant Pau was a dying wish of a Catalan Banker

The architect of Hospital de Sant Pau is Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The construction of the hospital was financed by a Catalan Banker. In his will he had described that a new hospital had to be built. This hospital had to become the best hospital in not only healthcare, but also technology and architecture. The architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner was commissioned to make this last wish come true.

It took 30 years to build Hospital de Sant Pau

Hospital de Sant Pau was designed in the typical Catalan Art-Nouveau style. The design is inspired by the nature and history of Catalonia. It took no less than 30 years to complete the construction of Hospital de Sant Pau, resulting in a unique building with beautiful gardens. Barcelona certainly had one of the most beautiful hospitals in the world with Hospital de Sant Pau.

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The different buildings of Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

The hospital consists of a main building and several pavilions. The outbuildings are all beautiful and unique and each served a different purpose. But the main house is truly breathtaking with the wide open spaces, the vaulted and colorful ceilings and the beautiful stained glass windows. You can spend hours wandering through the hospital here, because there are so many beautiful details and pieces of art. But you can also take a moment of rest in the gardens and take in the surroundings.

Fun facts about Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

The underground corridors of Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona

All the outbuildings of Hospital de Sant Pau are connected by underground corridors. You will walk through these long white corridors quite early in the tour. To give you a sense of how it used to be here, they have video images projected onto the walls. And although these corridors are actually beautiful, It also felt a bit creepy with the projected moving images.

Hospital de Sant Pau is the place where Gaudi died

Gaudi is Barcelona's most famous architect. Unfortunately, his life ended prematurely when he was run over by a tram. Hospital de Sant Pau is the hospital where he was taken after his accident and where he sadly died of his injuries.

Hospital de Sant Pau would actually be much bigger

Originally, Hospital de Sant Pau was to consist of 48 pavilions. In the end, only 27 of these pavilions were built. 4 of these 27 pavilions were designed by the architect's son.

Hospital de Sant Pau is on the UNESCO World Heritage List

In 1997, Hospital de Sant Pau was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. And we completely understand that, because this historic building is so unique and still so well preserved.

Hospital de Sant Pau has only been open to the public for a few years

Hospital de Sant Pau was used as a hospital for a long time. After that, it took years before this hospital was opened to the public. The hospital has only been open to the public since 2014.

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