Mataró's headline attraction is the Nau Gaudí, an early industrial building by Antoni Gaudí dating from 1878 — one of his first commissions, and the only surviving industrial work by the architect. It stands alongside the Can Marfà Knitwear Museum, which tells the story of the cotton and knitwear industry that shaped the city through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
In the old town, the Basílica de Santa Maria anchors the historic centre — a substantial baroque church with an ornate interior that took over a century to complete. A short walk away, the Roman Villa of Can Llauder preserves the remains of a prosperous first-century Roman estate, including well-preserved mosaic floors that are among the finest in Catalonia.
The Mataró Museum in the Renaissance building of Can Serra holds the city's art and history collections, including materials documenting the 1848 railway — Spain's first — and Mataró's role in Catalan modernisme.