There is a hill in Barcelona that most visitors reach by accident, on the walk from the Sagrada Família down a long avenue named after Gaudí. At the end of it stands the Hospital de Sant Pau, one of the greatest works of Catalan Modernisme, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built between 1902 and 1930 with money left by a banker called Pau Gil. The architect rejected the idea of a single block. Instead he built a garden city of pavilions, joined by underground tunnels, each with brick walls, tiled roofs and mosaics, so that patients could look out on trees and sky. It worked as a hospital until 2009, and has since been restored as a museum and cultural centre. UNESCO listed it in 1997 together with the Palau de la Música Catalana, also by Domènech.
Inside, the colours are the surprise. Sunlight comes through stained glass, domes glitter with tile and the sculpture is full of flowers and birds. The administration building has a grand staircase, and the pavilions are decorated with the names and arms of donors. The idea behind it was that beauty heals, which is as good a theory as any, and the place feels like a palace for the sick.
Riding in Barcelona is a matter of patience. The city is dense and busy, with a grid of one-way streets, tram lines, and fast-moving scooters, and parking for motorbikes is common on pavements marked for it, though rules vary and fines are real. Low emission zone rules apply to older vehicles, so check before entering. The surface is decent, but manhole covers and painted lines are slippery in the wet. On a weekday morning the traffic is heavy, and Sunday morning is calmer.
Fuel is available at stations around the edge of the central area, and the neighbourhoods around Sant Pau, Guinardó and Clot, have cafés and bakeries in every street. A coffee and a pastry in a local bar is the best way to recover. The hospital is open to visitors daily with some exceptions, and queues build in the middle of the day, so plan for the morning. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with mild temperatures and clear light on the tiles.