Entrance to Sant Pau: pavilions, galleries, and gardens

Catalan modernism doesn't end with Gaudí, and Sant Pau is the biggest proof: the largest modernist complex in the world, the work of Lluís Domènech i Montaner. It's a set of separate buildings among gardens, linked by underground galleries that you also walk through. Above ground: mosaics, colored tile, domes, and greenery. UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1997. What you see inside It was built as a hospital in the early 20th century, and the visit explains how a hospital worked in 1920s Barcelona. You pass through the Hypostyle Hall, the Sant Salvador Pavilion, and the Sant Rafael Pavilion, which holds an exhibition on the surgical procedures of the time. Between the pavilions are the gardens, which here are not an add-on: the modernist architects drew much of their repertoire from plants, and here you see both at once. The tour ends at the Administration Pavilion, the most richly decorated of all, with stained glass, mosaics, and sculptures. Hours April 1 to October 31, Monday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. November 1 to March 31, Monday to Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Entry slots are every 30 minutes, and last entry is half an hour before closing. Good to know: visitors over 65 get in free on the first Sunday of each month. Free cancellation up to 12 hours in advance.