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Sant Pau Modernista while in Barcelona?

We will be spending 4 days in Barcelona.
We are planning to walk/visit the following:
Eixample
Ramblas
Catalunya Plaza
Gracia

Sagrada Familia
Picasso Museum
Palau de la Musica Catalana
Park Guell
Montjuïc

We are wondering if we should plan to visit Sant Pau Modernista if we have time? I don’t see any information about it in the Rick Steve’s tour book.

Posted by
416 posts

I assume that you’re seeing other things while in Barcelona so I think your list sounds like a very full modernista plate. I’d finish your day with a late afternoon/early evening tour of the Palau de La Musica and maybe splurge on a different night with the rooftop flamenco concert at Casa Batllo.

There are some good custom Google Maps out there for walking tours of the Modernista sites.

Posted by
2622 posts

Hospital Sant Pau pairs really nicely with Sagrada Familia. They are a straight shot one kilometer apart down a nice boulevard. We did Sagrada Familia in the morning since we needed timed entry tickets and when we were done, strolled the one km down to Hospital Sant Pau and it was mostly empty and a nice contrast to Sagrada Familia. The grounds are nice to walk and you can go into a fair number of buildings and see some extremely cool architecture and gorgeous tile work.

As to whether you have time for your list - with 4 days, you seem like you should be fine. You're not including any of the other Gaudi houses on your list - Casa Batllo is worth a visit. And if you're a big Gaudi fan, there are other less-popular houses too - Casa Vicens was really neat and way less crowded.

Posted by
109 posts

Hi, just for information, which may help you make decisions regarding your itinerary. You may not know but this year is the centenary of the death of Lluís Domènech i Montaner — the brilliant architect of both the Palau de la Música and the hospital Sant Pau, now known as the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. Being such it is possible to now buy combined tickets to visit the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site (the former Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau), the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Cafè Vienès of Casa Fuster for 32€ and a also combined ticket which allows you to visit the two most emblematic heritage spaces of Lluís Domènech i Montaner: Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site (former Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau) and Palau de la Música Catalana for 24€
Here's a link with an excellent short video which is well worth a look at: https://santpaubarcelona.org/en/noticia/2023-commemoracio-de-lany-lluis-domenech-i-montaner/
And here's a link (in English) to information about combined ticket 1: https://santpaubarcelona.org/en/noticia/new-combined-ticket-sant-pau-palau-de-la-musica-and-casa-fuster/
And a link to combined ticket 2: https://santpaubarcelona.org/en/noticia/new-combined-ticket-sant-pau-and-palau-de-la-musica/
The combined tickets will save you a good chunk and save you some hassle.
Enjoy your visit.

Posted by
3904 posts

Totally worth it, and I'm not just saying that because my mom used to work there when it was a working hospital. Just because it's not in the RS guide book does not mean it's bad 😂

Sant Pau is on par with the other Modernista sites in the city, but relatively undiscovered by the tourist masses, even being a short 10 min walk from la Sagrada Familia.

I was there a few weeks ago and had most of the complex to myself!

Posted by
416 posts

If interested, The Palau de la Musica Catalan has performances. Two caveats:

1) make sure you get to also see it during the daytime
2) make sure you aren’t mistakenly buying tix for the adjacent (less grand) performance space

Thanks for the info on the anniversary and the combined tickets as we would like to visit both the music hall and hospital.
I couldn't determine if when using the combined ticket, we needed to visit both on the same day or can visit one on one day and the other another.
Anyone know? Thanks