Barcelona Museums & Attractions

As one of Europe’s most admired cities, Barcelona has a lot to offer its visitors. Culturally, there is so much to see and do, including the vast number of museums you can visit here. There really is something for everyone; Barcelona’s museums cover a huge range of interests.  

For the art lover, Barcelona has so many museums from contemporary art to some of Spain’s most famous Golden Age painters. The Muesu d’art modern is home to some of Picasso’s early work, including the series inspired by Velazquez’ Las Meninas. The Museu d’art Contemporani is another contemporary art museum, filled with modern works mainly from the latter half of the 20th Century. There is also a museum dedicated to Picasso’s works; with 3,500 Picasso pieces, the Museu Picasso was the only museum dedicated entirely to his works that opened in the artist’s lifetime. An hour away in the town of Figueres is the Dali museum, and his home town displays the artist’s work with pride.  
For sports fans, Barcelona has museums to cater to your interests too. The famous Camp Nou, home to Barcelona FC also has a museum on the grounds. With 1.2 million visitors a year, the FC Barcelona museum is the second most visited museum in Barcelona, after the aforementioned Picasso museum.  Housing memorabilia dating back 100 years, photos and the Camp Nou magic, this museum is a must-see for any fan of the club. After Barcelona was host to the 1992 Olympic Games, the Joan Antoni Samaranch Olympic and Sports Museum is actually located in the Olympic Stadium used during the games. Named after the former International Olympic Committee President who had a huge role in the Barcelona games, this museum has everything to do with sport.

Since Gaudi is such an important part of Barcelona’s style, there are several museums dedicated to the famous architect. The Sagrada Familia museum (which is free for those who can brave the long queues), is actually in Gaudi’s famous cathedral, and details the development of the building, as well as some insights into the man himself. Another of Gaudi’s works which is itself a museum is la Pedrera. This unique building houses renaissance drawings and modern painting. There is also the Gaudí museum, found inside his famous Park Guell, used to be the architect’s residence, but nowadays it is a museum for you to visit.

The botanic institute in Barcelona and the  jardi botanic are perfect places for nature lovers to learn more about the biodiversity of the region, and for anyone whose interests have yet to be mentioned, Barcelona also is home to the following; the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Maritime museum, an archeology museum, a geology museum, Catalonia’s science museum, and ethnology museum, the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture and even a Comic Book and Illustrations Museum!