Pau Casals Museum, museum in Sant Salvador, Spain
Pau Casals Museum is a house museum on the seafront of Sant Salvador in El Vendrell, Spain, dedicated to the cellist and conductor who lived here during his summers. The building was constructed in 1910 and later expanded, with bright rooms opening onto gardens that face the Mediterranean Sea.
The house was built as a summer retreat in 1910, designed by the architect Francisco Solà Gené, and Casals lived here until he had to leave Spain in 1939. After his death, some rooms opened to the public in 1974, and the whole building became an official house museum in 1976 under the care of the foundation he and his wife created in 1972.
Inside the house, the Music Room still holds the feeling of a private study where Casals practiced and composed, with his cello and personal notes close at hand. Visitors can also see the painting gallery, originally called the Room of Feelings, where works by artists like Picasso and Dalí hang alongside Catalan paintings and sculptures that Casals collected himself.
The house is set right by the beach, so a visit can easily be combined with a walk along the shore before or after seeing the rooms. The layout is simple and the gardens are open, but some older doorways and uneven paths may require care for those with limited mobility.
One corner of the estate still holds a tennis court that Casals added in the 1920s, a rare leftover from his daily routines beyond music. Nearby, a small gazebo looks out over the water, a quiet spot where he often sat and where visitors sometimes hear recordings of his cello playing carried through the garden speakers.
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