Actually, my No.1 favorite place in Barcelona was neither Sagrada Familia nor Park Guell, it was Hospital Santa Pau! I was deeply shocked by how beautiful and gorgeous the hospital was built. It was like a palace! It was no doubt the most beautiful hospital in the world! If I were to be sick and stay in a hospital for long time, this is the one hospital I want to stay in!!! (Obviously, it is no longer in service. Haha!)
===== From Wikipedia =====
The former Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (English: Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul) in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, is a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Together with Palau de la Música Catalana, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It was a fully functioning hospital until June 2009, when the new hospital opened next to it, before undergoing restoration for use as a museum and cultural center, which opened in 2014.
Although the hospital’s current 26 buildings date from the 20th century, the Hospital de la Santa Creu (the last part of its name, “Sant Pau”, was added in honour of the banker, Pau Gil, who paid for the new buildings in the twentieth century) was founded in 1401 when six small medieval hospitals merged.
Hospital Santa Pau is also at the center of Barcelona city. It was only about 1km from Sagrada Familia, so we could simply walk there from our rented apartment. What I didn’t expect was, the hospital was so huge, comprises of many buildings, hallways, rooms, garden… We easily spent half a day, several hours in there. So, you should at least spare 2-3 hours for this special place!!
