Barcelona’s must-see Museums

Barcelona’s museums are undoubtedly a fantastic representation of history and art through the ages, with legendary permanent exhibitions that deserve all the attention in the world.

The Catalan capital is home to some of the world’s greatest art, and the city’s museums and galleries pay homage to the long list of creative geniuses that this part of the world has produced.

Barcelona’s best museums:

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)

The MNAC is located in the Palau Nacional of Montjuc, also known as Montjuc National Palace, which was built for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona.

The palace itself covers 32,000m2 and was inspired by the Spanish-renaissance and academic classicism styles that were popular at the time.
The edifice dominates the view from Plaça Espanya and is a popular tourist attraction in and of itself.

The MNAC collection includes what is believed to be the largest collection of Romanesque art in the world, ranging from approximately 1000AD to the beginning of the Gothic era in the 13th century.

The Picasso Museum

The Picasso Museum is located among the narrow winding streets of Barcelona’s El Born neighborhood, and it houses one of the most extensive collections of work by the 20th century Spanish artist named Pablo Picasso.

The museum first opened its doors in 1963, and it was the first museum dedicated solely to the artist’s work.

Pablo Picasso was born in the southern Spanish town of Málaga, but his family relocated to Barcelona when he was a child.
Throughout the rest of his life, the city held a special place in the artist’s heart.

Museu Maritím

The Barcelona Maritime Museum, is dedicated to preserving and promoting the city of Barcelona’s rich maritime history, which dates back over 2,000 years.

The museum is housed in one of the city’s old military shipyards, just a short distance from the historic Port Vell, which is now home to yachts and fishing boats.

Like much of the architecture in the old town of Barcelona the building is largely Gothic in style and although it has undergone renovation and extensive work throughout the centuries, the original features of the building were carefully preserved. In this sense, the building itself is an important landmark and part of the maritime heritage the museum aims to preserve.

Disseny Hub Barcelona

Situated in the Disseny Hub Barcelona building, the museum holds 70,000 items, including decorative arts, ceramics, industrial design, textile and graphic arts from different periods.

The Museu del Disseny de Barcelona brings together the collections of four previous museums in the city: the Decorative Arts Museum, the Ceramics Museum, the Textile and Clothing Museum, and the Graphic Arts Section.
The exhibition is organized around four themes, showing the evolution of the decorative arts towards design, as well as the so-called “author” arts (ceramics, enamel, contemporary jewelry, etc.).

Museum of the Sagrada Familia

The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, one of Barcelona’s symbols, is the culmination of Antoni Gaudi’s and Catalan Modernist architecture.
Its construction, which began in 1882 and was entirely funded by donations from visitors, it is one of the city’s main tourist, cultural, architectural, and spiritual attractions.

In July 1926, a month after Antoni Gaud’s death, Joaquim Folch I Torres, general director of the Museums of Art of Barcelona, proposed the construction of a museum to preserve and disseminate the Catalan architect’s work.

The Sagrada Familia Museum was inaugurated in 1961 in the semi-subterranean of the Passion façade, following a fire in the workshop in 1936 and the recomposition of plaster models. Many details about the temple’s construction can be found here, including drawings, period photographs, furniture, and models.