Casa Sensat-Pagès

Casa Sensat-Pagès is a historic villa in El Masnou, a small Mediterranean coastal town just outside Barcelona. Listed as a local cultural heritage asset, the building stands out for its Arab-Moorish inspired facade — an unusual choice in this part of Catalonia — and today serves as the town's culture house and tourist information point.

What will you see?

The house rises over a ground floor and two upper stories. The facade is the main attraction: horseshoe-style arched windows, geometric ornamentation and orientalist architectural details set it apart from the typical Catalan seaside houses built around the turn of the 20th century. Inside, original period wall paintings have survived, hinting at the wealth of the first owners. The villa isn't a museum in the traditional sense — it operates as an active cultural venue, so a visit usually overlaps with a temporary exhibition, a local event, or a stop at the tourist office housed in the same building.

Where does the Arab-style facade come from?

The story of the house is tied closely to its first owner, Jaume Sensat i Sanjuan, who came from a family of sailors. He spent a decade commanding his own ship before settling in Buenos Aires, where he built a fortune working as a stockbroker. In the late 19th century, after marrying Rosa Pagès i Orta, he returned to his native El Masnou, and the couple bought and remodeled an existing house as their summer residence. Jaume Sensat, who had previously lived two years in Egypt, drew on that experience and pushed for orientalist elements to be worked into the facade design. Locals gave the house a nickname that stuck — "the house of the marquis of the hose" — after the owner's daily habit of watering the street in front of the building himself with a garden hose.

How did the house become public property?

The Sensat-Pagès couple had no children. After their deaths, the property passed to a niece, Maria del Carme Planas i Sensat, who in 1964 donated the building to the El Masnou municipality on the condition it be used for cultural purposes. The villa underwent a thorough restoration in 1988 and has since operated as the Casa de Cultura, combining exhibition space, community programming and tourist services under one roof.

How to get there and when to visit?

El Masnou sits on the Barcelona–Mataró–Blanes commuter rail line, so a train from central Barcelona takes roughly 20–25 minutes. From the station, Casa Sensat-Pagès is just a few minutes' walk toward the old town. It pairs well with a stroll along the seafront promenade and the town's marina — El Masnou is compact and easiest to explore on foot. Because the building functions as a working culture house, opening hours depend on the current exhibition and events calendar, so it's worth checking ahead, especially if seeing the painted interiors is the goal.

Frequently asked questions

Is Casa Sensat-Pagès a museum? Not in the traditional sense — it's a culture house with exhibition space and a tourist office, so access to the interior depends on what's scheduled at the time.

Why does the building have an Arab-style design? Its first owner, Jaume Sensat, drew on architecture he had seen during two years spent in Egypt and incorporated orientalist details into the 19th-century remodel of the villa.

Where does the nickname "house of the marquis of the hose" come from? It's a local nickname referring to the owner's habit of personally watering the street outside the house every day with a garden hose.

What's the best way to reach El Masnou? The easiest option is the commuter train from Barcelona, a ride of about 20–25 minutes, with the villa just a short walk from the station.