Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hospital de la Santa Creu
Entrances onc/del Carme andc/de l'Hospital •
Garden
Daily 8am-dusk•Free•
LaCapella
c/de l'Hospital 56
• Tues-Sat noon-2pm & 4-8pm, Sun & hols 11am-2pm •
lacapella.bcn.cat
• Liceu
The neighbourhood's most historic relic is the
HospitaldelaSantaCreu
, which occupies a
large site between c/del Carme and c/de l'Hospital. The attractive complex of Gothic build-
ings was founded as the city's main hospital in 1402, a role that it assumed for over 500
years. Antoni Gaudí, knocked down by a tram in 1926, was brought here for treatment but
died three days later. The hospital shifted site to Domènech i Montaner's new creation in
the Eixample in 1930 and the spacious fifteenth-century wards were subsequently conver-
ted for cultural and educational use; they now hold the Royal Academy of Medicine, an art
and design school and two libraries, including the Catalan national library, the Biblioteca de
Catalunya. Visitors can wander freely through the charming medieval cloistered
garden
(ac-
cess from either street), while inside the c/del Carme entrance (on the right) are some superb
seventeenth-century decorative tiles of various religious scenes. There's also the rather nice
open-air
El Jardí
café
in the garden at the c/de l'Hospital side, while the hospital's former
chapel,
La Capella
(entered separately from c/de l'Hospital) is an exhibition space for new
contemporary artists.
HIGH SOCIETY AT THE HOTEL ESPAÑA
There's a hidden gem tucked around the back of the Liceu opera house, on the otherwise
fairlyshabbyc/deSantPau.Here,inthelowerreachesoftheRaval,someofthemostinflu-
entialnamesinCatalanarchitectureanddesigncametogetheratthebeginningofthetwen-
tieth century to transform the
Hotel España
(c/de Sant Pau 9-11,
hotelespanya.com
;
Liceu) - originally built as a simple boarding house in 1860 - into one of the city's
mostlavishaddresses.WithawonderfullytileddiningroomdesignedbyLluísDomènechi
Montaner,abarwithanamazingmarblefireplacebyEusebiArnauandabathingareawith
glass roof (now the breakfast room) whose marine murals were executed by Ramon Casas,
the hotel was the fashionable sensation of its day. A century later it's back in vogue, since
aremarkablecontemporaryrestorationhashighlightedtheclassy
modernista
publicspaces
and brought the rooms up to scratch. Lunch or dinner here is a real in-the-know treat, with
the original
modernista
dining room (known as the Fonda España) now under the helm of
Michelin-starred Basque chef Martín Berasategui, while the classy bar welcomes passing
visitors.
Reial Acadèmia de Medicina
HospitaldelaSantaCreu,c/delCarme47entrance•Wedonly10am-noon;closedAug•Free• 933171686
•
ramc.cat
• Liceu
