Top 9 Museums in Barcelona
Heading to Barcelona and unsure what museums should be on your radar? Not to worry! We’re a tour company and it’s our job to stay informed. Check out our list of the top museums in Barcelona and choose for yourself.
Pro Tip: Bookmark this article and our page dedicated to planning your trip to Barcelona in your internet browser. This way you can circle back to it while you plan. Also, check out our tours in Barcelona. They have thousands of five-star reviews from customers that loved our tour guides.
Many people head to Barcelona to go to the beach, enjoy warmer weather than in your home countries (sorry UK, we love you), and generally have a good time. That said, Barcelona is a cultural hub for more than just food and drink. Our recommendation is to visit a museum or two either before or after the food and drink!
Check out our below list of the best museums in Barcelona for every type of traveler.
9.
Barcelona Zoo
Great for Families & Kids
Another great choice for families looking to keep their kids entertained. This is a pretty large zoo with tons to see from Lions to gorillas and huge anteaters. Spain’s warm climate and globally central location allowed them to amass quite the collection of animals from Africa, Eurasia, and N. America.
The location is very central in Barcelona’s Citadel Park which makes it an easy stop.
Address: Parc de la Ciutadella
Admission Cost: 21.40€ adult | 12.95€ children (3-12)
8. Casa Milà
Antonio Gaudí
Casa Milà is a luxury palace designed by Antoni Gaudí for Roser Segimón (rich widow) and Pere Milà (party-boy). They bought the building, demolished and commissioned Gaudí to create what would become Casa Milà.
The building was not intended for single-ownership but instead to be luxury apartments. It was nicknamed La Pedrera before construction finished which translates to “the stone quarry”.
This is ue to the unusual Flintstones style facade.
While the building received heavy criticism, it was extremely innovative for a turn of the century structure (1912). It offered open floor plans far before HGTV popularized them and even an underground parking garage.
Address: Passeig de Gràcia, 92
Popular Barcelona Tours
Best Selling Tour
Barcelona in a Day Tour with Sagrada Familia, Park Güell & Casa Batlló
Our Barcelona in a Day tour covers all the major attractions plus hidden gems. This walking tour includes Sagrada Familia, Casa Batlló, Casa Mila, the Gothic quarter, Park Güell, and a coach ride to reach the more remote sites.
(104)
See Prices
Customer Favorite
Barcelona Food & Wine Tour with a Local Sommelier
We can’t think of a better way to explore a city than to eat your way through it, and there will be enough tapas and wine to discover a lot of Barcelona! Join us on a delicious discovery of Poble Sec and Sant Antoni—some of Barcelona’s most vibrant foodie areas!
See Prices
7.
Museum of Natural Sciences
Great for Families & Kids
Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona or Museum of Natural Sciences is a great choice if you are visiting with children. They have a massive collection of artifacts, specimens, and even a botanical garden. I would mostly recommend this as a great choice for families traveling with children or for persons who do not have a natural history museum in their own town.
Address: Plaça Leonardo da Vinci, 4-5
Admission Cost: 10.50€ for full access
6. Museum of the History of Barcelona
For Ancient History Buffs
Did you know the city of Barcelona was established in antiquity? It was a Carthaginian settlement (Carthage in Africa) that passed hands between them and the Romans on a few occasions. The name of the city derives from the Barca Family, most notably Hannibal Barca who was considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time.
The city’s ancient ruins and older structures are best seen in the Bari Gothic area and that is why the Museum of the History of Barcelona is just two minutes away from the Barcelona Cathedral. That said, it is not the only site. There are 7 or so sites in Bari Gothic & El Raval and several other sites in other neighborhoods around Barcelona. The ruins are not as frequent as Rome but some are in good condition. This would without a doubt be our best ancient history museum choice in Barcelona.
Address: There are many locations. See MUHBA website.
Admission Cost: 7€ for all sites.
5. Park Güell
Antonio Gaudí
Park Güell, like much of Barcelona, is a colorful compilation of architecture and green spaces in the La Salut neighborhood of Barcelona. The park, one of Gaudi’s early works, is as colorful as it is architecturally rich.
The area was originally an unsuccessful housing complex brought to the city by Count Eusebi Güell.
There were two houses built. The first was for Count Güell and the second was to be a model home of sorts. After no buyers made offers Güell suggested Gaudi purchase it and he did in 1906.
There is much to be seen in the area and it is number 2 in Barcelona for a reason. You can join us on our Barcelona full-day tour which includes Park Güell.
Address: Park Guell
4. Casa Batllò
Antonio Gaudí
Casa Batllò, located within walking distance of the above Casa Milà, is another architectural wonder from Antonio Gaudí. Unlike Milà, Batllò is a renovation and not new construction.
The structure is incredibly innovative in almost every way imaginable. It almost looks as if a massive iguana is trying to hide in front of a perfectly normal apartment building. From the rainbow colors to the textures of the roof, it is a work of art… and possibly hallucinogenics.
The building was the personal home of the Batlló family until 1954 when an insurance company purchased it and set up offices.
The building was sold again to private owners and it is used for events as well as to be visited as a museum.
Significant restorations were done since the 1980s which is a gift to society. The vibrant colors and unique style make Casa Battlò one of Barcelona’s most outstanding attractions.
Address: Passeig de Gracia, 43
3. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
For Everyone
Museum Nacional d’Art de Catalunya is a well-rounded gallery to visit in Barcelona. It is by far the most comprehensive museum in Barcelona with art from the Romanesque period, Gothic, Renaissance & Baroque, all the way up to Modern and even Photography.
It is also located on Montjuïc which is a large hill and viewpoint in Barcelona in the historic Palau Nacional. This makes the visit all the better.
Address: Palau Nacional
Admission Cost: 12€
2. Picasso Museum
For Everyone
Pablo Picasso is one of Spain’s greatest artists if not the greatest.
Picasso didn’t invent modern art but he did elevate it significantly. The Picasso Museum of Barcelona has about 40 works of art by the famed artist and displays them in chronological order. This creates a sort of dialogue detailing how his style changed over the course of his life.
This is a must-visit museum in Barcelona. If you are not an art person you should go anyway – maybe it will change that. Barcelona is a fun city with beaches, bars and great food. You should definitely go to have a good time and visiting a great museum while you are there will balance your visit culturally.
Address: Carrer de Montcada , 15-23
Admission Cost: 12€
1. La Sagrada Familia
The Main Event
Sagrada Familia is more of an attraction than a museum but we feel so strongly about it that no Barcelona “top” list should go without it. Antonio Gaudi had his work cut out for him with this unique and iconic church – redifing what “gothic” means.
Definitely, something to have on your radar when traveling to Barcelona.
If you’re going to visit Sagrada Familia consider taking a guided small group tour of Sagrada Familia. The history behind this structure goes far beneath the surface. Passionate local guides will explain the meaning and why it has taken so long to construct!
Address: Carrer del Mallorca, 401
The Best Museums in Barcelona, Spain
START
These must-visit museums showcase some of the best art in Barcelona.
Spain is known for its artistic creativity and incredible history and much of that art and spirit is on display in Barcelona, in some of the country’s top museums. From the early works of Picasso to historical artifacts to Modernist sculpture, you can experience the artistic creativity of Spanish and Catalan artists in Spain’s most popular city.
1 OF 8
Museu Maritim de Barcelona
Spain’s reputation as a seafaring nation is legendary and–for better or worse–Spanish explorers crossed the globe and established a powerful empire.
Venture inside this museum’s enormous vaulted chambers and you’ll find a veritable shrine to the country’s maritime history. The collection houses both art and artifacts in all forms, including navigational tools, nautical maps, paintings, and even entire ships. Keep an eye out for the exhibit on the Ictíneo I and Ictíneo II, two wooden submarines built in the 1800s.
2 OF 8
Museu Picasso
While Pablo Picasso the man is an increasingly controversial figure, his art remains iconic both in terms of skill and originality of vision. The Museu Picasso, housed in five adjoining medieval stone mansions, has over 4,000 works in its permanent collection, making it one of the best places to explore the artist’s legacy. The collection features a substantial number of early works and highlights how Barcelona as a city influenced the artist.
3 OF 8
Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)
Like nearby Poble Espanyol, the palatial Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) was built as part of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition to showcase Spanish art and culture to the world.
Today, the classical-style building–whose dome was modeled after St. Peter’s Basilica–houses a massive and diverse collection of Catalan and Spanish art from multiple styles and centuries, including medieval, Renaissance, and Modernist. At more than 50,000 square feet, there’s a lot of ground to cover so you’ll want to stay awhile.
4 OF 8
Fundació Joan Miró
Located on Montjuïc hill (with a stunning city view from its terrace), and designed by architect Josep lluis Sert with surrealist artist Joan Miró, the minimalist Fundació Joan Miró building houses hundreds of paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and tapestries from the icon.
5 OF 8
Fundació Antoni Tàpies
Atop the Catalan Modernist building which houses Fundació Antoni Tàpies and foundation sits Cloud and Chair, an enormous nest of steel and aluminum designed to represent a chair emerging from a large cloud. This work, as with the collections inside the museum–both permanent and rotating–reflects the abstract and avant-garde sensibilities of the artist, which are said to have been birthed during two teenage years spent recuperating from a tuberculosis-related heart attack.
This museum’s role as both an exhibition spot for other artists, and a place to see its founders’ work, makes it an important center of art in Barcelona and a must-stop for those interested in Catalan Modernism.
6 OF 8
Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)
A temple of modern Spanish and Catalan art, the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) houses a rotating collection of approximately 5,000 pieces of art representing three distinct eras beginning in the mid-20th century. While the collection itself is noteworthy, the same can be said for the large “fridge-like” building whose enormous glass front is both an architectural feature and a way of allowing in natural light. The MACBA is a distinctive museum perfect for those looking for broad exposure to Spanish Modernism.
7 OF 8
Fundación MAPFRE
While MAPFRE is an insurance company based in Madrid, the company’s associated nonprofit–Fundación MAPFRE–maintains museums and exhibition halls featuring a rotating array of artists.
The Barcelona Exhibition Hall, Casa Garriga Nogués, an exceptionally grand and elegant space, focuses on the early stages of modern painting (1850-1950) and on major photographers.
8 OF 8
Museu d’Història de Catalunya
Dedicated to the history of Catalonia, the Museu d’Història de Catalunya’s exhibits examine the cultural, social, and political evolution of the region, from the Paleolithic era to contemporary society. Housed inside a former warehouse, this museum’s focus on photographs, artifacts, and historical recreations makes it an interesting departure from other museums in Barcelona. If you’re curious about what it means to be Catalan and to be from this part of the world, including during the era of the brutal military dictator Francisco Franco, this museum is a worthy stop.
Talk to us!Login or create an account to comment
LoginRegister
Barcelona Museums: list with addresses
Carrer de Mallorca, 401
Built with donations designed by Antoni Gaudí.
At the moment (summer 2022), the church is not fully completed. This is the most visited place in Spain. Ticket price 15 euros.
Carrer d’Isaac Newton, 26
You can go with children. Ticket price 4 euros. Favorite museum of Barcelona schoolchildren.
Carretera de Montjuic, 66
The idea of the museum is to reflect on the military past in order to prevent future armed conflicts.
Placa de Sant Iu, 5-6
Price €4 . You can save money and pay 1 time for 3 days. How to do this, read the article.
Passeig de Gracia, 43
Created by Antonio Gaudí. There are always a lot of tourists. Entrance ticket expensive – 22 euros .
Placa del Rei, s/n. Barri Gotic
MUHBA is the City Museum of Barcelona. Entrance ticket 8 euros .
There are free days to visit.
Parc de Montjuic
In total, the fund’s expositions include more than 14 thousand exhibits: 178 of them are sculptures, 217 paintings and about 8000 drawings belong to Miro himself.
Passeig de Gracia, 39
The museum has about 9000 exhibits: labels, advertisements, photographs and over 5000 bottles for various fragrances. “Red Moscow” is also found here.
Pza. Leonardo da Vinci, 4-5
There are free days to visit, and you can also take children here – they will be very interested! Only living plants are represented here by 1597 species – a total of 17672 specimens.
L’Auditori Carrer de Lepant, 150
Museum of Musical Instruments. The museum building is very comfortable, you can escape from the heat. There are about 500 exhibits in the exposition. Here you can see Stradivarius violins.
Av. Aristides Maillol
The museum is located in the stadium of the football club. Here are the golden boots of Leo Messi, the T-shirt of Diego Maradona and many other rarities.
Avinguda de les Drassanes, 08001
The museum is free to enter. See the dates of free visits at the bottom of this page. The Maritime Museum is dedicated to the glorious maritime past of the capital of Catalonia.
Carrer del Comerc, 36
They will give you a ticket in the form of a chocolate bar. The museum is worth visiting with children. Please note that the museum is cool. This is to keep the chocolate from melting.
Carrer Montcada, 15-23
4249 are on permanent displayworks by Picasso. Basically, the museum exhibits the early works of the artist. The museum will turn 60 in 2023.
Avinguda Francesc Ferrer i Guardia, 13
By visiting this museum you can see the most beautiful and famous buildings in all of Spain in about 2-3 hours.
Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuic, s/n, 08038
Tourists love this museum. It can be accessed for free on certain days. Look a little lower on this page for the dates, suddenly you arrived in Spain on such a day.
Barcelona History Museum – September 24, May 18, every Sunday from 15:00 to 20:00, the first Sunday of each month
Picasso Museums – September 24, May 18, every Thursday from 18:00 to 21:30, the first Sunday of each month
Maritime Museum – May 18, September 24, every Sunday from 15:00
Natural History Museum – May 18, September 24, the first Sunday of each month, every Sunday from 15:00
Music Museum – February 12, 18 and 20 May, June 21, September 24 and 25, November 22, the first Sunday of each month
”
}
}, {
“@type”: “question”,
“name”: “What are the best museums in Barcelona to visit with kids?”,
“accepted Answer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: ”
Science Museum CosmoCaixa
National Art Museum of Catalonia
Chocolate Museum
Natural History Museum
”
}
}
]
}
Frequently asked questions about Barcelona museums
Which artists can be seen in Barcelona?
El Greco
Diego Velazquez
Pablo Picasso
Salvador Dali
Mariano Fortuny
Which Barcelona museums are free to visit?
What are the best museums in Barcelona to visit with children?
Science Museum CosmoCaixa
National Art Museum of Catalonia
Chocolate Museum
Museum of Natural History
What attracts tourists to Barcelona?
Barcelona is one of the most attractive places for tourists from all over the world.
The reason for this is the presence of a large number of various attractions, including the most interesting architectural and historical monuments, numerous museums, most of which are truly unique.
The heart of the city is Rambula boulevard, at the beginning of which you can see a huge bronze statue of Columbus, and after walking a kilometer-long pedestrian zone to the end, you can admire a beautiful Jesuit church. Along the way, you can have fun watching the “reviving” sculptures, the role of which is played by students dressed up in an appropriate way. Some street performers are very entertaining.
If you want to get acquainted with the ideal of the Catalan Gothic, the Cathedral of Barcelona is an excellent example of this style of architecture. Nearby is the museum of the famous painter Pablo Picasso, which is sure to be visited by every tourist who comes to Barcelona, even if he is not a fan of the work of the world famous surrealist.
Almost in the center of Barcelona rises the extraordinary beauty of the Sagrada Familia, the construction of which was supervised by Gaudí himself. The façade of the Nativity is one of his most significant works, with four richly decorated towers. The Spanish Village and other equally interesting Barcelona sights are also very popular with tourists.
Discover something new!
Interesting with us
Subscribe to updates
11 best museums in Barcelona – barcelona-excursii
In this article, we have made a selection of the most interesting, in our opinion, museums in Barcelona that definitely deserve a visit. The need for this “top” is dictated by quite understandable considerations:
Barcelona is a large city (the largest in the Mediterranean), and, consequently, there are also a lot of museums in the Catalan capital – about 60, according to the most conservative estimates.
In other words, even the most notorious museum lovers will not be able to visit everything in one or two visits to Barcelona. And is it necessary to “visit everything” – if you can concentrate on
the very best? So, the 11 best museums in Barcelona!
This is perhaps our most favorite museum in Barcelona of all dedicated to art – it so happened that each of our visits to this glorious institution turns into a lot of pleasant surprises – the exposition
The museum is “alive” and constantly changing so that, God forbid, it does not become outdated – the museum is still dedicated to contemporary art!
The recently opened European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) is not so easy to find.
The old town, the Born district, where the curvature and narrowness of the streets take us straight to the Middle Ages – even an experienced Barcelona resident can get lost here in two
accounts. It is in one of these corridors, at Barra de Ferro, 5, that one of the most interesting, in our opinion, museums of glorious Barcelona is located… read
detail
Being in Barcelona and not visiting the Picasso Museum is like going to Amsterdam and not visiting the Van Gogh Museum. Maybe Picasso was born in Malaga – but he became an artist in Barcelona. IN
In this respect, as in many others, Picasso is absolutely “our man”!
The Pablo Picasso Museum in Barcelona, located in the old city district of Born and occupying several medieval mansions of the Barcelona nobility at once
on the famous street of Montcada, is now the most visited museum in the Catalan capital: about 1,300,000 visitors come to enjoy the masterpieces of the loving and furious Pablo
year.
The fact that this museum is located in Barcelona is quite natural: it was this city that made Picasso an artist…read more
“More than a club!” – it is under this slogan that the Barcelona football club, our famous Barça, exists and, as we all know, flourishes. What,
it’s true: Barcelona is not a club – it’s a way of life.
Religion, for that matter. And the main temple of this amazing, absolutely international sect – football fans – is the native stadium
“Bars” – Camp Nou with the museum of the same name…read more
detail
An unexpectedly good and interesting museum with a huge number of exhibits from different eras, covering almost the entire history of perfumery – from antiquity to the present day.
The Perfume Museum in Barcelona can be found (or not found) at Passeig de Gracia, 39 – on the so-called “Golden Mile” of Barcelona.
Why “or you will not find”?
Yes, because, firstly, it is located in the famous Quarter of Discord, where three stunningly beautiful modernist buildings are located side by side (including Antoni Gaudí’s Batllo house), and secondly –
outwardly, from the street, the perfume museum looks like the most trivial perfume shop, which, in combination, is. ..read more
The National Museum of Art of Catalonia is the purest classic of the museum genre: a comprehensive collection, absolute masterpieces, time-honored, and – three hours of total pleasure.
Despite the words “art of Catalonia” in the museum’s name, the MNAC collection is much more thematically and geographically extensive.
The funds of this museum institution, which, by the way, is one of the hundred most visited museums in the world, has more than 230,000 art exhibits and covers more than
10 centuries of Catalan, Spanish and European art, from the Romanesque period to the middle of the 20th century…read more
detail
The Museum of the History of Catalonia is located at the very beginning of the seaside area of Barceloneta, in an impressive complex of buildings, now known as “Palau de Mar”.
(Palace of the Sea).
In fact, the museum building is a former transit warehouse of the port of Barcelona.
Despite the fact that the exposition had to be created relatively recently from scratch, the museum turned out to be informative, rich and will certainly be of interest to anyone who wants to take a closer look
into the history of this amazing region – Catalonia…read more
We must not forget about our beloved children – since we have given birth to them.
The Big Fun Museum in Barcelona, which recently opened on the famous Ramblas, is perhaps the most interesting museum institution in the city where you can go
together with your children – and be firmly convinced that neither you nor your kids will be bored!
Big Fun Museum is part of Big Creative, a worldwide organization of interactive museums located in the USA, the Netherlands and Russia among others…read more
The Design Museum in Barcelona is one of the most interesting museums in the Catalan capital.
Opened relatively recently – in 2014, located at some distance from the center, on Glories Catalanes Square, between the Agbar Tower and the mirror roof of the Encants Vells market, in one of
of those ultra-modern buildings that embody the dubious face of today’s architecture – we liked the Barcelona Design Museum from the first visit and turned out to be surprisingly good! . .read more
The museum, which we decided to include in the Top because of the undoubted originality and educational value of the collection presented in it.
Among the many museum institutions in Barcelona, imagine, there is also the Museum of Erotica, moreover, it is located not somewhere in the “backyard of the empire”, but in the most crowded and central
place of Barcelona: on the Boulevard
Rambla.
Many of those who were already in Barcelona probably even passed by, not really reading the inscriptions – but they probably noticed the blonde in the style of “Marilyn Monroe”, invitingly
flickering on the balcony of one of the buildings… read more about the Museum of Erotica in Barcelona
The Marijuana Museum in Barcelona (Hash Marihuana Cáñamo & Hemp Museum Barcelona) is one of the most unusual museums in Barcelona,
definitely worth a visit.
For thousands of years, the history of cannabis has matched the history of human civilization, becoming an integral part of our daily lives.