MNAC
MNAC
MNAC
National Museum of Catalan Art
The MNAC (Museu National d’Art de Catalunya) sits enthroned on Montjuïc and looks like a royal palace. But it’s a museum. And this shows 1000 years of art history in Catalonia. In addition to the rather unknown artists, you will also find some works by Picasso, Gaudí and Rubens. But in terms of architecture alone, the MNAC is worth a visit!
Opening hours:
October to April:
Tuesday – Saturday, 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Sundays and public holidays 10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
May to September:
Tuesday – Saturday, 10.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Sundays and public holidays 10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
My Rating:
The positives:
The MNAC, which towers over the Plaça Espanya, has an amazing architecture and a collection of 1,000 years of Spanish and Catalan art history. You can spend so much time in the museum with the English language audio guide! You’re also rewarded with a great view.
The negatives:
With the exception of the "ascent" (which can also be done with escalators), I can only think of one little thing: If you expect many, well-known artist names here, you might be a little disappointed.
Tip:
Get on the roof terrace! That costs EUR 2 extra, but you can enjoy a great view of the city. And if you walk over the roof to the other side, you can see the Fundació Joan Miró, the Olympic Stadium and the gardens of Montjuïc!
Last Modified: 10.01.2025 | Céline & Jacqueline
MNAC
Tickets
The details
at a glance
Opening Hours
May – September:
Tuesday – Saturday, 10.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Sunday, 10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
October – April:
Tuesday – Saturday, 10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Sunday, 10.00 a.m. – 3.00 p.m.
Closed on Mondays
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Prices
EUR 12 for adults
incl. Expositions and Rooftop (!) included, valid for 2 days (during one month)
Prices
EUR 12 for adults
incl. Expositions and Rooftop (!) included, valid for 2 days (during one month)
Prices
EUR 8.40 Euro for students, Families, Groups
Free admission for children under the age of 16, senior citizens over the age of 65, every Saturdays after 3.00 p.m. and first Sunday of the month.
Exhibition only tickets have different prices and can only be purchased throught the official page.
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Passes
Free admission with the Barcelona Card.
Available for 3, 4 or 5 days.
-> More about the Barcelona Card
Free admission with the Articket
6 museums for EUR 35.00
-> More about the Articket
MNAC
Photo Gallery
What is there
to see?
The MNAC has paintings and sculptures from 1,000 years of Catalan culture. From Roman church frescoes to gothic sculptures, renaissance and baroque paintings, all the way to sculptures and paintings by modern artists – including the Thyssen collection, which features international artists such as Rubens or Holbein.
More about
the art
The modern, Renaissance and Baroque sections have been redesigned recently. The art can now be enjoyed in a uniform, gorgeous atmosphere.
There are wonderful paintings, sculptures – for example ‘The Age of Bronze’ by Rodin, a counterpart to ‘The Age of Honour’ in the Rodin Museum in Paris. But you will also find modernist furniture, vases and modernist glasswork – including designs by Gaudí. Other famous names are Rubens, Casas and Picasso. There are also always changing exhibitions.
The App offers an informative audio guide and high-resolution pictures, which does a good job of explaining the unusual church frescoes and the most important works of art. The medieval section also gives you a chance of looking at the façade of a church using a 3D screen.
The architecture itself, inside and out, is spectacular! Especially the dome on the second floor and the ballroom, which measures 5,000 m² (over 53,000 square feet!) and can hold up to 20,000 people.
A visit to the MNAC is rounded out by a great view of the Plaça Espanya. Enjoy the view of Barcelona with some sunshine and street music.
MNAC
A bit of History
This palace was built in Barcelona in 1926 for the World’s Fair of 1929/1930. It was the event’s main building and behind it, on the Montjuic, the other 29 participating nations built their own pavilions.
The Palau Nacional showed between 4000 and 5000 Spanish works of art during the World’s Fair. The idea of opening a museum inside these halls formed as a result of the exhibition. The museum finally became a reality on November 11th, 1934: The Museu d’Art de Catalunya opened its doors to show Catalan art from medieval to baroque times.
As part of a new museum law, the Museu d’Art de Catalunya (with Roman and gothic art and works from the renaissance and baroque eras) and the Museu d’Art Modern (with 19th and 20th century art) were merged into one single National Museum. The result is the MNAC and its 1,000 years of art history.
The MNAC
with kids
Museums are not boring! They are also great to visit with children. You just have to prepare a little and ‘animate’ the children and give them tasks.
I’ve now been to the MNAC with my two 6-year-olds, and it was great! They truly enjoyed it and want to go again.
We also had a few small tasks – but you can’t take on too much…
- We wanted to look for beautiful princesses
- We wanted to colour a picture
- They were to choose a figure to recreate
We didn’t find the princesses in the MNAC – and we really had to walk through all the departments… But that was ok – we got to see other great works.
The girls then decided in favour of a painting by the artist Sorolla: ‘Elena and Maria in old Valencian dress’ was painted. It was a really nice thing to do. We had paper and coloured pencils with us and the MNAC even provided us with clipboards, which we didn’t need.
And we chose sculptures to recreate. A few small instructions here and there and the photo was perfect.
In the end, the two of them were still enthusiastic about Picasso. We then painted the portrait of a woman à la Picasso over lunch.
An all-round successful excursion!
Official website of the MNAC (EN): museunacional.cat/en
Text- and image rights: © Céline Mülich, 2013 – 2025
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