Barcelona has dozens of museums, from the great names of twentieth-century art to Roman and medieval history, from design to science. Here are the main ones. For context see art in Spain.
Art
- Museu Picasso: in five Gothic palaces on carrer Montcada in El Born, it holds mainly the early works of Picasso, who lived in Barcelona from 14 to 23, and the 1957 Meninas series.
- MNAC: on Montjuïc hill, from Romanesque to modernisme, with its extraordinary Catalan Romanesque fresco collection.
- Joan Miró Foundation: the most complete collection of Miró's work.
- MACBA: international and Catalan contemporary art, in El Raval (see El Raval).
- Fundació Antoni Tàpies: works by the master of Informalism, in a building by Domènech i Montaner with a wire sculpture on the roof.
- CaixaForum, Fundació Joan Brossa and the Moco Museum, with temporary exhibitions and contemporary art.
History and the city
- MUHBA, Barcelona History Museum: in Plaça del Rei, it lets you walk underground among the remains of Roman Barcino.
- Maritime Museum, in the Drassanes, the great Gothic shipyards, with a replica of the royal galley from the battle of Lepanto.
- Museum of the History of Catalonia, in the Palau de Mar on Barceloneta.
- El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria, in the old Born market, with excavations of the district destroyed after 1714.
Gaudí and modernisme
Casa Batlló, La Pedrera, Palau Güell, Casa Vicens and the Gaudí House Museum in Park Güell, where the architect lived for twenty years (see Antoni Gaudí). The Palau de la Música Catalana and the Sant Pau Modernista Site can be visited with a guide.
Design, science and curiosities
- Design Museum, in the stapler-shaped building at Glòries, with fashion, decorative arts and graphics.
- CosmoCaixa, the science museum, with a reconstructed flooded Amazon forest.
- Egyptian Museum, Chocolate Museum and the FC Barcelona Museum at Camp Nou.
Tips
Many museums are free on the first Sunday of the month and on Sunday afternoons, and some on other days; in summer and on the Nit dels Museus some open in the evening. Many close on Mondays. The Articket BCN gives entry to six major art museums with one ticket. See also the 10 things to see.