Barcelona fine tuning itinerary help needed!

Near the Sagrada Familia you'll find the Hospital de Sant Pau, another example of the architecture for which Barcelona is famous. It's maybe a 15-minute walk along a leavy street which leads directly to it. (Near the hospital you'll find another metro station.)
Near the medieval centre, on a narrow side street, you'll find the Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall, of the same architect. Another example of wonderful creativity and also on the UNESCO list of World Heritage. It can be visited on a guided tour at the hefty price of EUR 18 per person. The outside is already wonderful enough.

3 days will keep you busy in Barcelona itself as a a first time visitor.
Montserrat, while lovely, is a huge chunk of your day lost in logistics getting there.
I will message you with my 3 day schedule.
Enjoy.

Please order your Sagrada Familia on the site well in advance. We ordered before leaving the U.S., and several friends who did not were not able to get in. :<

I don't want to be fussy @tonfromleiden... but it's no longer called the Hospital de Sant Pau, it's the Sant Pau Recinte Modernista as there's no longer a hospital there. And yes, many of us locals still refer to it as the "Hospital de Sant Pau" but it's no so... so it's best to start changing the mindset and setting the record straight, otherwise if any visitor does really need to get to the real hospital, he/she'll be confused :)))

Darlina, unless you share a bit more about your interests it's difficult to recommend... Barcelona it's a city that caters most tastes: architecture, history, art, etc. but the list of places AND things to do would be too long to list here. In any case, do have a look to these to get ideas: www.barcelonaturisme.com , www.infocatalonia.eu , http://lameva.barcelona.cat/en/ , www.timeout.com/barcelona

Enric, this may be a rare occasion where our views may diverge.
As an important heritage site that has been faithfully restored, why then do we not respect the heritage of its original use by keeping the name? I find it a little incongruous to the mission of restoration, but I also understand the need for differentiation.
Just a whimsical personal observation.

Here are some ideas:

1. Take a walk though the downtown area (e.g. gothic quarter and adjacent areas). In this part of Barcelona the cathedral is worth a visit and the views from the roof are nice. The Picasso museum is also quite good. There are other sites scattered about (old aquaduct section, history museum, maritime museum, etc.).

2. Everyone will ask if you walked La Rambla, so you should do that.

3. Barcelona = Gaudi. You'll pick up the top site with the Sagrada Familia. Parc Guell is interesting (buy tickets in advance) and Gaudi's house is right next to it. There are other modernist buildings around you might work into your day (e.g. La Padrera, Casi Mila).

Have fun!

Hi djp_syd... while in principle I could agree with you, it's not really a matter for discussion... the Hospital de Sant Pau is a real hospital located somewhere else, what's being mentioned above it's called Sant Pau Recinte Modernista :))))))

Just for those curious about history, the Hospital de Sant Pau --which full name is in fact: Hospital de La Santa Creu i Sant Pau (The Holy Cross and Saint Paul's Hospital in English)-- was originally known as Hospital de la Santa Creu as it was a facility founded by the Templar Knights back in 1401. It was commissioned by Catalan King Martí the Humane that decided to merge six existing small religious entities around Barcelona dedicated to heal and take care of ill citizens. The embryo of these had been founded in the 13th century by canon Joan Colom (Colom, as in Columbus the discoverer, this lastname is very common in Catalonia) being personal treasurer of King Jaume The First (1208-1276). Alongside the hospital, it was also established one of the first 'universities' -as we know now- in Europe dedicated to the study "of the human body and the illnesses" (a.k.a. 'medicine'!! ;). Initially it was located in Carrer Hospital (duh!) in the heart of El Raval neighbourhood in downtown Barcelona.

Today that complex of buildings is used for different purposes: the spectacular National Library of Catalonia, the Massana Design School, the Royal Academy of Pharmacy and the Royal Academy of Medicine, among other. It has also a tiny, quiet and cozy garden worth stopping by, especially in hot summer days. On Wednesday, from 10 to 12am, one can also visit the anatomical amphitheatre (built in 1762) located in the lavish premises of the Royal Academy of Medicine.

By the 19th century the hospital had grown including neighbouring buildings in the area but it was clear that it was needed to re-centralize its premises into a bigger facility so it was decided to move to the current site of the Sant Pau Recinte Modernista. It's a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The hospital added then the words "Sant Pau" to its original name to honour one of the patrons that made possible the new facilities. Barcelonian banker Pau Gil made a donation in his will in 1896 of 3 million pesetas (equivalent to today's US$20,000) to help to build the complex.

In 2009 these premises ceased to operate as a hospital and Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau was, once more, moved to a bigger complex in Carrer de Sant Quintí -not too far from the Sant Pau Recinte Modernista- and has become one of the six reference hospitals in the city. In 1978 the old site was designated as a Historical Monument and opened to the public as an outstanding landmark of Barcelona's heritage and culture in 2013.

For more details on the exciting story of this hospital check this page which is full of details and anecdotes -it's in Catalan only, do use Google Translate!

Enjoy!

Fair point Enric - a bit like the multiple Queen Elizabeth II Hospitals here !!!

If you happen to forget to order your tickets for Sagrada Familia here, you can get them at the TI in Placa Catalunya. I did the day prior to visiting.

La Rambla is a tacky strip of tourist trash and mediocre restaurants. Avoid.

The Ramblas do come with a few caveats, but it's from the Ramblas that you will see La Boqueria markets, Palau Guell and Placa Reial.