A city rich in culture and variety, Barcelona offers a zillion things to do on any given day. And it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a jamón leg to do it all either. In fact, the entire city is actually an open-air museum, so you could enjoy the city...for free! Just walk around, and you’ll see eye-catching street art, buildings of beautifully undulated forms, or curious food markets. Here are 7 ideas of where to go in Barcelona, and you don’t have open your wallet.
1.Visit the Museu del Disseny, a new meeting place for design aficionados.
It’s the Design Museum in Barcelona that opened in late 2014, and it adds to the modern vibe to this “new centre" of Barcelona, the Plaça de Les Glories. The Museu del Disseny is an 8,000 square metre museum, and it combines four previously existent museums in one: the Ceramics Museum, the Decorative Arts Museum, the Textiles and Clothing Museum, and the Graphic Arts Cabinet.
The building itself is dubbed “la grapadora” (the stapler) for its somewhat similarity to the office tool. On Sundays, entrance is free from 3pm to 8pm.
2. Visit other museums on the first Sunday of each month, free all day.
Other museums that offer a free entrance fee are a-plenty.
Palau de la Virreina. In an eighteenth-century mansion, this is the headquarters Barcelona’s cultural institute. Enjoy the different temporary and cultural exhibitions on the infamous Las Ramblas.
Museu de la Musica. With over 2000 instruments in its collection, the Music Museum also houses one of the most famous guitar collections in the world. This museum shows instruments from ancient civilisations all the way to 21st-century modern technologies. Read more about Barcelona, the city of music!
CCCB (Centre de Cultura Contemporánia de Barcelona). Celebrating city and urban culture, the CCCB holds thematic exhibitions, international debates, and film festivals. Situated in Raval, it’s one of the most visited art centres in Barcelona.
Picasso Museum. Take advantange of this museum because the queues here are long! It has the most complete collection of Pablo Picasso’s works, and it’s divided into three sections: ceramics, painting and drawing, and engraving. And you can’t help marvel at the beautiful architecture of the museum - they’re housed in five palaces on Montcada street.
Frederic Mares Museum - Sculptor Frederic Mares donated an eclectic collection of objects this museum -- from pipes to cribs to pharmacy bottles. The treasure of the museum is its gorgeous inner courtyard.
Museum Blau. The Blue Museum at the Parc del Forum is a fun science museum that combines zoology, geology, and botany. Its permanent exhibition, Planet Life, looks at life throughout history, including fossils, animals, plants and microbes. The most impressive part? The huge section of taxidermied animals behind glass.
MMB Maritim Museum. With a gorgeous collection of ships, the Maritim Museum celebrates shipbuilding between the thirteenth and eighteenth century. It’s located at the end of La Rambla in the rustic building of Drassanes Reiales.
Ethnology Museum. Looking closely at the vibrant heritage of Barcelona, the Ethnology Museum has 10 permanent collections that explores the richness and intertwining of culture in folklore, once-popular professions, and cultural objects.
MUHBA Museum (Barcelona History Museum). This museum explores the 2,000-year-old history of Roman Barcelona to the modern-day metropolis that it is today. It celebrates the Catalan heritage through visits and tours, city walks, debates, exhibitions, and more.
3. Walk around the Port Olimpic.
Barcelona’s Olympic Harbour was built precisely for the 1992 Olympic Games, and it’s remained to be a huge draw for outsiders. That’s where you’ll find Barcelona’s twin towers: the MAPFRE building and the Hotel Arts. You’ll also see the oversized, famous “Goldfish” sculpture by Frank Gehry. The area is an ideal place to spend an afternoon also because of its many restaurants, bars, and easy, breezy atmosphere.
