Thoughts about visiting the Mondernista complex of San Pau in Barcelona

Without checking my records , I don't recall the admission fees , but on a trip I don't pay much attention to that . If I am going to incur the costs of a trip , I will watch food costs ( not eating in expensive restaurants ) but I won't stint on the things I came so far to see . In any event I don't recall the entry fee to be onerous . Absolutely Do not miss Sant Pau ! The architecture is breathtaking , and the information about the hospital complex is particularly interesting . We spent a major part of a day there , and would not have missed it for anything .

Hello from a fellow Austinite! Saint Pau is totally worth it. It's like being in a modernista village.

We visited Saint Pau in October 2017 and, unexpectedly, it was a highlight of our trip. I won't rehash the information available online, but the old hospital complex designed by Montaner is fascinating.

We walked to Saint Pau when we were finished with Sagrada Familia. After the crush of the Sagrada Familia, Saint Pau was a much more intimate and personal experience. The historical medical exhibits could stand on their own.

If you are interested in seeing more of Montaner's work, consider the Palace of Catalan Music - especially for a concert.

prices here - https://www.santpaubarcelona.org/en/tarifes 14 EU adult admission is not high at all , about average for entry to museums in large European cities , hoping you go , you won't be sorry

Absolutely , The Palace of Catalan Music , is also a must .

Fabulous place. And I'm guessing you haven't looked at other entry fees in Barcelona, which tend to be 20-25 euros.

An additional advantage of Sant Pau is that, up to this point, it hasn't gotten so crowded that you have to buy a timed entry ticket ahead of time. Barcelona is rather difficult to manage on a short visit, because you have to guess how much time to block out for the sights preceding each of your timed tickets, so you know what time slot to purchase. Sant Pau can happen when it happens. It is a large site, though, so allow plenty of time to see it. I think I had 2 hours and was rushing through the last bit, and I believe they've opened an additional building since my visit.

You will be moving around outdoors from building to building, and the grounds are pretty, so try to choose a day with pleasant weather.

You might like to choose between ...
Casa Mila at 22,00 €
Casa Batllo at 24,50 €

A few thoughts on Casa Mila and Casa Battllo - The focus on these two famous Gaudi creations is different . Casa Battllo has an emphasis on the sinuous and sexy architecture both in the interior and on the exterior , somewhat similar stylistically to some of the French designers like Lavirotte , Guimard and Majorelle , quite a stunning site to behold . La Pedrera ( Casa Mila ) has an undulating roofline , quite striking ( view it from about a half block away to get the full effect ) . While the interiors are relatively simple ( They were designed to be altered according to desire and need ) It is the roof that is the star here . Spending a fair amount of time in the attic space , which is a museum area , shows Gaudi's true genius and how he contrived the mathematical formulae required to actually build this . ( There is a similar display of his scientific grasp in The Sagrada Familia ) And , of course , walk on the roof of Casa Mila , to appreciate how this was done and how it incorporates a brilliant ventilation system , essential in Barcelona in a time before air conditioning .

Hi Steven,

Thank you so much for all of your information about the Mondernista complex of San Pau!

We have the same philosophy as you.....we are much more interested in using our money to travel to amazing places like Barcelona and seeing great sights like San Pau rather than eating in expensive restaurants or buying souveniers, clothes, or anything else that we have to lug around. We always try to eat a big breakfast at our hotel, and then buy snacks at markets like Santa Caterina to keep us going until having supper at night. We don't like to use our small amount of exploring time sitting in restaurants. Traveling is our 'splurge' in life......We try to buy most of our clothes, presents, and necessary items from thrift stores so that we can put the money we save towards travelling.

I just had not paid much attention to the entry price of places before I looked at San Pau. It just surprised me. You and the other folks responding to this topic certainly are right......San Pau's 14 EU adult admission is not high at all compared to the more popular items such as Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, The Palace of Catalan Music, etc. In fact, we just purchased our tickets to the Palace of Catalan Music last night. And we will be buying our tickets for the Picasso Museum, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, and the Sagrada Famillia as soon as possible (it seems like you can not purchase them earlier than 60 days before your visit).

Speaking of tickets, we weren't planning on purchasing tickets to San Pau early. The post from 'acraven' on this topic makes us think that there is no need to purchase tickets early. I just wanted to check with you also regarding buying ahead. Do you think we will be OK waiting to buy the tickets until we arrive? We plan to visit April 19th or 20th.

We can't wait to see the architecture and learn all about the place!

Thank you also for your comments regarding Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. I had gotten a similar impression about these places from my research (that the focus of Casa Mila is on the rooftop while Casa Batllo is exquisite on both the interior and exterior), but I appreciate having my impressions confirmed. I believe that Casa Mila is certainly a sight to see, but it seems rather plain in comparison to Casa Batllo. I have had a gorgeous picture (interior shot looking to the outside through a beautiful window of blue glass) as my computer's screen saver for almost a year now. I am so excited about seeing both of these places!

Thank you again for all of your very helpful information!

Regards,
Virginia

Hi traylaparks, fellow Austinite!

Thank you so much for your comments regarding the Mondernista complex of San Pau! My husband and I just rather stumbled across this in our research for our upcoming trip in April. This place looks and sounds magnificent!!! It will be good to see the work of a modernista architect rather than Gaudi. We look forward to visiting a place that is not as super popular, and we are assuming crowded, as La Sagrada Familia.

We really appreciate your telling us that it is an easy walk from La Sagrada. After reading your note, my husband and I 'walked' the route between these two places using Google Street View. It looks like a marvelous street.

The Palace of Catalan Music looks marvelous also! Thanks for telling us that it was also done by Montaner. We just purchased tickets for this beautiful place last night. What did you think of the tour?

Thanks again for all of your information.

Regards,
Virginia

Hi acraven,

Thank you so much for all of your very helpful information about San Pau!! It's really good to know that we don't need to buy our tickets ahead of time!!

It will be good to visit a place that is terribly crowded!

Thanks again,
Virginia

Hi djp_syd,

Thanks very much for your helpful information about the prices of the different places.

As I mentioned in my response to Steven, I just had not paid much attention to the entry price of places before I looked at San Pau. It just surprised me. You and the other folks responding to this topic certainly are right......San Pau's 14 EU adult admission is not high at all compared to the more popular items such as Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, The Palace of Catalan Music, etc. In fact, we just purchased our tickets to the Palace of Catalan Music last night. And we will be buying our tickets for the Picasso Museum, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, and the Sagrada Famillia as soon as possible (it seems like you can not purchase them earlier than 60 days before your visit).

Thanks again for all of your helpful information!

Regards,
Virginia

Hi Virginia - We didn't take the tour, we saw a concert, "Flamenco y Opera".

The building was so amazing that I wish we had also taken the tour to see more of it. Truly, the pictures don't do it justice.

Here is a link to their April schedule:

http://www.palaumusica.cat/en/programme_314?month=2018-04&subset=upcoming

Virginia , Thanks for your very kind letter ! I just looked at the April schedule that Traylaparks posted , a lot of great choices , what are you going to see ?

Virginia , we visited in September 2016 , and while some sites , i.e. monumental component of Park Guell , and particularly Sagrada Familia were busy , Sant Pau was a walk in . My guess is that it isn't on the radar of the average visitor , mostly architecture buffs . A quick story - After visiting Casa Battllo , we were sitting on a bench outside for a bit , and another visitor sat down beside me , a lady who spoke English , " WOW " she said , " I wonder what drugs he was on , to come up with this !! " In response I answered " Nothing , just his own great scientific grasp " . It is a continuing source of wonder and amazement to me , when looking past the obvious beauty of all works of art ( Music , Architecture , Painting , Letters , et al ) the depth of the craft and science that underlies it all .

If you can make it work with the rest of your schedule, I recommend visiting La Sagrada Familia first thing in the morning. If you choose the first time-slot and arrive just a bit early, there will be few people in the church when you walk in. Leave the small museum area till last (not many people go there), and don't enter the gift shop until you're ready to leave. You cannot backtrack from the shop into the church.

If you want to ascend a tower, it may get trickier. The towers are timed, and I'm not sure you can get into the church at the first entry time and do the tower later.

I don't think you need to rush to buy Casa Mila and Casa Batllo immediately unless you have an extremely tight schedule. Be careful to figure out the timing so you can fully enjoy those $$$ sites. I'd put one of the difficult sites first thing each day, since that's the only time you can be sure you'll have no difficulty being on schedule. I think at least one of the Casas offers a sort of "wildcard" ticket that doesn't pin you down to a specific entry time. It costs extra, but if your time in Barcelona is short, it might be worth the euros. It's hard to be an efficient sightseer when so many attractions need timed tickets purchased in advance.

Of the Modernist sights I think these are MUST DOS ...
•Sagrada Familia - BOOK IN ADVANCE
•Palau de la Musica Catalana - BOOK IN ADVANCE
•Hospital Sant Pau
•Park Guell - BOOK IN ADVANCE
•Casa Mila OR Casa Batllo (Entry is expensive at both so choose just one to experience examples of Gaudi’s unique interiors. Go late in the day once crowds have died down.)

These maybe for dedicated fans only who have the time ...
•Palau Guell
•Casa Amatller
•Casa Lleo Morera

•Caixa Forum is a FREE sight worth considering.