Hospital de Sant Pau

For over eighty years, this was a functioning hospital — and it's one of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona. Designed by Lluis Domenech i Montaner, the same architect behind the Palau de la Musica Catalana, the Hospital de Sant Pau is the largest Modernista complex in the world, covering more than 350,000 square metres. Construction began on January 15, 1902, just a thousand metres from the Sagrada Familia, and continued under Domenech i Montaner's son Pere until 1930.

The concept was revolutionary for its time. Domenech i Montaner believed that sunlight, fresh air, and beautiful surroundings could help patients heal faster. He designed standalone pavilions connected by underground tunnels, set in gardens rather than crammed into a single block. Each pavilion was lavished with stained glass, ceramic tiles, sculpture, and mosaic — making a surgical ward look more like a palace. Curved surfaces covered in ceramic tiles weren't just decorative; they minimized places where germs could hide. It was public health through beauty.

The hospital's origins go back much further than the Modernista building. The Hospital de la Santa Creu was founded in 1401 when six small medieval hospitals merged, making it one of the oldest medical institutions in Europe. The move to the current Eixample site came when the old Gothic hospital in the Raval became too cramped.

Healthcare operations moved to a modern building next door in 2009, and the Modernista complex was painstakingly restored and reopened as a cultural campus. Together with the Palau de la Musica, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Today it houses international organizations and hosts exhibitions in the restored pavilions.