Museums in Barcelona

1. Picasso Museum: The Picasso museum was first opened to the public in 1963 and has an extensive collection of the popular works of the famous artist Picasso. The close friend of Picasso, Jaime Sabates had gifted a large collection of 4,200 artworks to the museum. This Barcelona museum is the best and consists of five Gothic palaces and is the highlighted section of the Carrer de Montcada street. The eye-catching interiors of the building would grab your attention other than the artistic masterpieces hung on the walls.

Location- Carrer de Montcada, 15-23, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 7 PM from Tuesday to Sunday ( Monday closed)

2. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya: This museum has an extensive collection of the Catalan visual art from the late 19th and 20th centuries including works of the Catalan modernism and noucentisme cultural movement. It’s the officially largest Barcelona museum with an extensive collection of 2,90,000 art pieces of romanesque art, gothic art, modern art, thyssen bornemisza, renaissance, baroque art and many others. The building of the museum is spread over an area of 50,000 square metres and constructed with an academic classical style.

Location- Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc, s/n, 08038 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 6 PM between Tuesday to Saturday;
10 AM to 3 PM on Sunday

3. Barcelona History Museum MUHBA: This museum is an effort in order to conserve, research, and exhibit the extensive historical collection about the history of Barcelona. This Barcelona museum has five museums that represent the culture and way of living of Barcelona through different eras and periods which you can explore according to your preferences. These five museums includes the Conjunt Monumental de la Plaça del Rei, Museu-Casa-Verdaguer, the Espai Santa Caterina, Centre d'Interpretació del Call and Refugi 307.

Location- Plaça del Rei, s/n, 08002 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 7 PM between Tuesday to Saturday;
10 AM to 8 PM on Sunday

4. Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona: This art and cultural centre is amongst the Barcelona museums presenting a wide collection of contemporary art. It also organises many programmes like exhibitions, events, debates, etc., while encouraging creations that use new technology, explore fusion of genres and promote both national and international artworks. The exhibition spaces of the museum are spread in an area of 4,000 sq.m out of a total 15,000 meter square. Inside the campus of the museum you would find Laie-CCCN bookshop, bar-restaurant with terrace and a documentation centre as well.

Location- Carrer de Montalegre, 5, 08001 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 11 AM to 8PM from Tuesday to Sunday ( Monday closed)

5. Maritime Museum: The dedicated royal arsenal shipbuilding infrastructure used from the 13th to 18th century was later converted into a Maritime Museum and is one of the best museums in Barcelona. It shows the history of the early days of the Spanish Navy and its collection has displays of several navigation instruments, weapons, portolans as well as paintings. The exhibitions at the museum cover incidents of catastrophes like the fuel oil spillover, the successful stories of Catalan shipping and about the manufacturing of boats.

Location- Av. de les Drassanes, 1, 08001 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 8 PM, throughout the week

6. Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art: It’s a contemporary art museum, opened in 1995 that displays a large collection of upto 5,000 artworks that dates from the mid of 20th century. At this Barcelona museum you would find the art pieces organised in three periods of modern art- from 40s to 60s; 60s to 70s and contemporary. Alongwith the post-1945 Catalan and Spanish artworks you could also look up at the work of the international artists.

Location- Plaça dels Àngels, 1, 08001 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 11 AM to 7:30 PM on Monday, Wednesday to Friday; 10 AM to 8 PM on Saturday and 10 AM to 3PM on Sunday

7. Museo de la Ciencia Cosmocaixa: Cosmocaixa is amongst the best Barcelona museums and is divided into various spaces dedicated for the different branches of science. There are several science spaces at the museum like the Universe Room and the Kosmos space which would expand your knowledge about the expansion of the universe. At the evolution section you would understand the biological aspects of life and in the Planetarium you would look at the stars. You would also get familiar with the flooded forest of Amazon and might understand the secret of Earth’s geology at the Geological wall.

Location- Carrer d'Isaac Newton, 26, 08022 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 8 PM, throughout the week

8. CaixaForum Barcelona: Among the Barcelona best museums, the CaixaForum Museum houses exhibitions related to different forms of arts like comics and tapestry paintings. The museum has a good collection of comics that reflects societal understanding through different perspectives. A collection of the works of the famous artists Joan Miro and Josep Royo that includes the seven monumental tapestries is up at display as well. Along With enjoying the collection you could also visit the modernist factory of CaixaForum, indulge in talks with musicologists, writers and educate yourself more about the social issues with comics.

Location- Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 6-8, 08038 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 8 PM, throughout the week

9. European Museum of Modern Art: Take a trip to one of best museums in Barcelona where you could explore the modern-day-art and figurative modern European art crafted by internationally acclaimed artists, sculptors, digital artists, etc. The museum also allows craftspersons to sharpen their skills under the guidance of the best tutors in the fields of painting, contemporary art and figurative arts. There is an opera at the Palau Gomis inside the building as well where visitors can enjoy music performances and concerts.

Location- Carrer de la Barra de Ferro, 5, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 11 AM to 7 PM from Tuesday to Sunday.

10. Gaudí House Museum: The Gaudi House, which was once the residence of Antoni Gaudi, a world renowned architect, is currently among the best Barcelona museums. Gaudi was also a proponent of Catalan Modernism which is apparent in the collection of the museum. The house has numerous memorabilia designed by himself between 1906-1925 which would allow you to learn about the inspirations of his work and how he utilised them to create masterpieces. The Gaudi House is one of his masterpieces, the others are the Casa Batllo, Casa Calvet and the Crypt of Colonia Guell.

Location- Park Güell, Ctra. del Carmel, 23A, 08013 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 9:30 AM to 8 PM

Here is the list of some of the best Spain attraction tickets that you can book via Thrillophilia:

• Moco Museum Tickets Barcelona
• Alhambra Tickets
• Generalife Tickets
• Museo Cuevas del Sacromonte Tickets
• Zoo Barcelona Tickets
• Guell Palace Barcelona Tickets
• Palau de la Musica Catalana Tickets
• Abadía del Sacromonte Tickets
• Plaza De Toros Seville Tickets
• Setas De Sevilla Tickets
• Park Guell Admission Ticket

1. La Virreina Palace: The 1772 built La Virreina Palace is currently the building for the city council’s Culture Institute and famously hosts numerous art exhibitions and cultural events. The architecture of the building has been designed in fusion of the baroque and rococo style and has superior window hoods and vases’ decorate the building's skyline. The cultural events held at the museum are highly engaging and of different fields like painting, writing, sculpting, video art, visionary women art, etc. You could also participate in several seminars, talks, courses, workshops that are being organised in short intervals at the museum.

Location- La Rambla, 99, 08002 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 11 AM to 8 PM from Tuesday to Sunday

2. Santa Monica Arts Centre: The art centre has been presenting its collection on contemporary art since 1988 and holds works of contemporary Spanish and international artists every year. The building of the museum has been standing since 1626 and was renovated to be converted into an arts centre. This Barcelona museum has an observation deck which acts like a corridor where you would find several other artistic expressions like cinema, theatre, music, dance, literature on display as well.

Location- La Rambla, 7, 08002 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 11 AM to 8:30 PM, from Tuesday to Sunday

3. Photography Archive of Barcelona: It’s certainly one of the best Barcelona museums which was created in 1931 and is placed in the building of the Convent of Saint Augustine. The extensive collection of the museum is home to over two million photographs that tell the story of different photography styles from the early days till present. The photographs present a snippet of the lives of the people of 18th and 19th century people. The huge collection of the museum has been possible due to the contribution of the professionals and amateur photographers, publishing houses, celebrities, institutions and others.

Location- Plaça de Pons i Clerch, 2, 2n, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

Timing- 10 AM to 7 PM from Tuesday to Saturday, Monday and between 10 AM to 2 PM on Sunday

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is one of the biggest and best museums in Barcelona. It was built in 1929 and has a varied and comprehensive collection of the Catalan art. The museum is spread over an area of 50,000 square metres and houses upto 290,000 art pieces on display.

The Barcelona museum is known for its collection of 5,000 art pieces from the post-1945 modern Catalan art phase. The museum is spread over a huge area of 153,923 square feet and features work of renowned artists like Keith Haring, Vito Acconco, Anish Kapoor, Donald Judd and others.

The city of Barcelona has more than 80 museums and they cover different ideas on culture and artistic expressions such as art, sculptors, comics, theatre and much more.

Yes, Barcelona museums are worth visiting as they present a range of items on different themes like modern or classical art, history, archeology, photography archives and much more. Not only could you see the impressive collection of the museums but also enrol yourself in several learning and mentoring programmes that would help you improve your skills in art, writing, sculpting and other art forms.

1. By Air- The nearest international airports to the city are Barcelona El Prat Airport; other airports suitable for locals are the Sabadell Airport and the Reus Airport.

2. By Road- The main bus services that connect the city are Megabus, Eurolines and Busbud.

3. By Train- Rail commuting is a very flexible option to commute intercity, Barcelona Sants and Barcelona Franca are the two main railway stations.

The most preferred time for a visit to Barcelona is during the summer season in June to August as there are several festivals and events being organised during these months. The city is very lively during the period and you’d be able to enjoy other activities than visiting museums like taking a night tour around the city, enjoying an audiovisual show at the Casa Mila building, etc.