Gift shop, cafeteria, space hire, maritime documentation centre, centre with educational resources on the sea.
Monday to Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm.
General admission: €5.40; concessions: €2.70;
children under 7: free. The tour of the Vaixell Santa
Eulàlia: €2.40; concessions: €1.20. The Planetari
Sphaera: €1.80.

Museu Marítim
(+34) 93 342 99 20
Av. Drassanes, s/n
08001 Barcelona, Barcelonès,
www.diba.es/mmaritim
m.maritim@diba.es

Tuesdays to Saturdays 10.00 – 19.00
Sundays and public holidays 10.00 – 14.30

One of the largest collections (11,000 pieces) of work by Joan Miró anywhere in the world and an active contemporary art centre. A visit to view the permanent collection of work by this Catalan artist is complemented by adding other activities such as the Musical Evenings in summer, temporary exhibitions and an array of other possibilities that offer small children the opportunity to discover and enjoy art.

The Fundació Joan Miró, Centre d’Estudis d’Art Contemporani (Joan Miró Foundation) is a museum of modern art honoring Joan Miró and located on Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia.

The building housing the museum is itself a notable example of modern design drawing from regional traditions. It was completed in 1975 by architect Josep Lluís Sert, who conceived it like an open space, with big terraces and interior courtyards that allowed a correct circulation of the visitors. The building was broadened in 1986 to add the library and the auditorium.

The Foundation has also a space named “Espai 13″, dedicated especially to promote the work of young artists who experiment with the art. Also temporary exhibitions of works of other painters are carried out. Moreover, the foundation carries out itinerant exhibitions to introduce the work of the Spanish artist.

This enormous, stunning collection housed in the Palau Nacional consisting of 1,315 works on permanent display includes paintings and sculptures from the medieval period, Germanic, Italian Renaissance and Baroque, including Fra Angelico, Cranch, Titian, Tintoretto, Rubens, Canaletto and the Colección Thyssen-Bornemisza, moved from the Monastery of Pedralbes to the MNAC (mnac.es) in ’05. If you’re an art lover, this is not to be missed! The Thyssen collection is one of Europe’s most valued private collections, given to the autonomous government by the late Baron Heinrich Thyssen, one of the world’s great private collectors who sold a portion of his collection to the Spanish government to create the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid and the smaller collection now housed here. I like to tour the Gothic side first, as it takes longer to enjoy because it’s so chock filled with European masters, including the 17th century Spanish greats and two Goyas. On the Romanesque side you’ll see the apses of several Romanesque churches from the Catalonian Pyrenees-one of Europe’s greatest collections of Romanesque art.

There are also 22 rooms dedicated to the 19th and 20th centuries that have been transported from the Museu d’Art Modern. Admission: €8.50. The joint MNAC and Poble Espanyol ticket costs €12, but MNAC is also one of seven museums included in the €20 Art Ticket (articketbcn.org). Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00 – 7:00, Sunday and holidays from 10:00 – 12:30 pm. Closed Mondays, January 1, May 1 and December 25.

The Museu Picasso – This gem of a museum is housed in a series of medieval stone mansions on the very atmospheric, mansion-filled Carrer Montcada in La Ribera district, to the east of the Barri Gòtic (museupicasso.bcn.es). The collection is strong on his very early works, produced as young as 12! Plus his blue period, a bit of his rose period and the series based on Velázquez’s Las Meninas. You can expect long lines, so go early, as it’s the city’s most popular museum. There is a pleasant Café-restaurant on ground floor with outdoor terrace and an expansive shop selling everything imaginable related to Picasso. Tickets cost €6 for general admission, or combo ticket for general admission and temporary exhibits for €8.50. Admission is free the first Sunday of each month. The museum offers guided tours in English (included in your entrance ticket) on Thursdays at 6:00 pm, and Saturdays at noon, and is now included in the €20 Art Ticket. (articketbcn.org). Open Tuesday to Sundays from 10:00 – 8:00. On our last visit we chose to visit on Sunday afternoon at 5:30 and found no line. Closed Monday, January 1, May 1, June 24 and December 25 & 26.

Take the metro to Parallel station and hop on the funicular railway to the vast Montjuïc park or simple take the Bus Turístic. Here you’ll find the MNAC, the Miró Foundation and the Anella Olimpica, the ring of sports installations built for the 1992 Olympics. Make your last stop on Montjuïc for your visit to the Fundació Miró, where you can take the funicular back downtown or hop back on the bus. The cable car, Telefèric, going to the Montjuïc castle, is currently closed for repairs.