Barcelona Museum Pass

When organising your trip to Barcelona you'll come across several tourist cards and discount passes that can help you save money on your trip.

One of my favourites is the city's Museum Pass. Simple and practical, it's a great way for art lovers to see and do one of their favourite things to do in Barcelona - visit world-famous museums and galleries!...

As the name suggests, the Barcelona Museum Pass is a sightseeing tour designed to visit the most representative museums of the city.

A total of 6 museums are included and in these museums the temporary and permanent collections are included at no extra cost. The best part is that the Barcelona Museum Pass is valid for one year, so if you don't have time to visit all the museums on a first visit, you always have the opportunity to come back and make the most of your investment.

Barcelona's museums and art galleries are, according to experts in the field, among the best museums in Europe, at least as far as the avant-garde art of the early 20th century is concerned, as the region of Catalonia was home to some of the most influential artists of the time, including Miró, Picasso and Dalí.

From impressionism to modernism, post-modernism to cubism, you'll find all this and more in Barcelona's city museums.

The Barcelona Museum Pass costs approximately 35€ per person, which means a saving of up to 45% on the price of tickets compared to buying each one individually.

The pass also comes in the format of a small city passport so you get to take home a nice souvenir-style memento of your trip to Barcelona.

List of museums included in the Barcelona Museum Pass

Below is the list of museums you can visit with the pass, as well as what you can see in each of these spaces.

• Picasso Museum Located in Montcada, this is a must-see for all lovers of Picasso's art. Essential to understand his formative years and his creative process.
• Fundació Antoni Tàpies Located at Carrer Aragó 255, it is dedicated to one of the most outstanding artists and writers of the beginning of the last century. In addition to the artist's work, it is a space for the promotion and study of art.
• Joan Miró Foundation Located in Parc de Montjuïc, the foundation was created to promote knowledge of this talented artist. Here you can find his most comprehensive and private collection, as well as explore other facets of Miró.
• Centro Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona Located at Montalegre 5, the CCCB is worth a visit not only for its great art collection but also for the beautiful space and fabulous visuals.
• Museo Nacional d'Art de Cataluña Located in Parc de Montjuïc, this is the reference point for Catalan modernism, with works by artists such as Gaudí, Jujol and Casas as well as Velazquez, Goya and more.
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art Located in Plaça dels Àngels, as its name suggests, this is where the best of local and foreign contemporary art is exhibited. You'll find works by the likes of Calder, Tàpies and Keith Haring.

Does the Barcelona Museum Pass include the Sagrada Familia?

No, the Barcelona Museum Pass does not include entry to the Sagrada Familia; only to the exhibition spaces listed above.

The first and most important step is to buy your Barcelona Museum Pass. First and foremost, I recommend buying it online weeks before your trip, to avoid wasting valuable time that you can spend exploring and getting to know the city.

The museum pass is shaped like a small red passport, which is why it is known as the Barcelona Art Passport. You can pick it up directly at any of the museums included in the pass, just present your voucher at the ticket office.

As soon as you visit the first museum your pass is activated and as you visit the other exhibition centres you will receive stamps to prove your visit.

After your tour of the most important museums of Catalan art is over, the pass remains as a nice souvenir that you can add to other objects you purchase in the city.

Validity and conditions of use

Perhaps the most important aspect that attracts the most attention from tourists is that this museum pass is valid for a full year.

If your first visit is a short one, for example two days in Barcelona or three days visiting the city, but you plan to return within the next 12 months, you can reuse your pass for those museums you missed on your first visit.

This last condition of use is extremely important: the Barcelona Museum Pass is valid for only one visit to each museum included in the list.

If your plan is to spend about four days in Barcelona and you have a special interest in the arts, this pass will allow you to save approximately 45% on the price of admission.

Remember that the pass is valid for one year, so if on a first visit you don't manage to complete the whole tour you'll always have the chance to come back.

In addition, you will have an express pass that avoids the need to queue to enter any of the museums included; this resource is highly valuable in times of high tourist influx such as the summers in Barcelona.

There are some scenarios in which buying the Barcelona Museum Pass may not be the smartest option and these are:

• When travelling for a few days: If you are visiting Barcelona for a day or two and it is your first trip, it is best to see the city (streets, architecture, parks, bars) and leave the more artistic part to a second visit.
• Catalan or Spanish art is not your thing: If you have seen this type of art before and you are not particularly interested in it, it is best to skip this type of experience.
• When you go to Barcelona with children: If you visit Barcelona with children it is not necessary to buy a museum pass for them. As long as they are accompanied by an adult with the pass, children under 16 can visit all the museums on the list.

In Barcelona you will find other tourist passes that might be of interest. Like the Museum Pass, these aim to help visitors get to know and explore the city, and save a bit of money in the process.

Barcelona Card Tourist Card

This is a comprehensive tourist pass that offers travellers a number of benefits. These include entry to some 25 popular tourist attractions in the city; use of public transport and discounts at pre-selected museums, monuments and restaurants in the city.

• Attractions included: Among the attractions included in this tourist pass are the Pedralbes Monastery, the Chocolate Museum and the Joan Miró Foundation.
• Discounted attractions: Attractions with discounted admission include Gaudí's La Pedrera, Camp Nou and the Palace of Catalan Music.
• Price: You can buy a pass for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 5 days; the cost is from €48 for adults and €26 for children aged 4 to 12.

Barcelona Pass

The Barcelona Pass is designed to offer tourists free access to many of the most popular attractions included in any visit to Barcelona. It offers the possibility to skip the queue at selected attractions only and the alternative of adding a transport pass to get around the city.

• Attractions included: With this card you will have free access to attractions such as La Pedrera and Casa Batlló or other works by Gaudí, the Museum of the History of Catalonia and the Hospital de Santa Cruz.
• Price: For two days the card is available from €99 and if you want to include transport it's around €125. If you want to add more days the price of the pass increases.

If you decide to purchase the museum pass for your next visit to Barcelona, here are a few additional tips that may be of great help when planning your excursion around the Catalan capital.

Plan when to visit each museum

The Barcelona Museum Card is a cost-effective purchase for most travellers, mainly because of its affordability, but to get the most out of your investment you need to plan your tour in advance.

This means seeing 2 to 3 museums in a day and alternating these visits with walks through Barcelona's beautiful streets or areas such as the Gothic Quarter.

Take into account timetables and tour duration

Taking into account the opening times and duration of each attraction is vital when planning your trip. Below I share with you the duration of the visit to all the museums included in the Barcelona Museum Pass.

Of course, if you are a true fan of avant-garde and contemporary art you may need a little more time but on average this is how long it will take you:

• Picasso Museum: you will be able to visit it in 90 minutes.
• Fundació Antoni Tàpies Museum: you will be able to visit it in 60 minutes.
• Joan Miró Foundation: I recommend a minimum of 2 hours, as the collection is varied and abundant.
• Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona: you will also need about 2 hours.
• National Art Museum of Catalonia: 2 to 3 hours for a complete tour.
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art: in 90 minutes you can see the entire collection.

If you visit Barcelona with children...

If you are visiting Barcelona with children under 16, please inform us when you buy the Barcelona Museum Pass or when you collect it in the city.

Children are given a special free Boarding Pass which they can use to stamp the attractions they visit with adults.

Consider a guided tour

If you want to get the most out of your museum-going experience in Barcelona, you should know that for some museums you can find guided tours led by expert guides.

Buy your museum pass online

It's one of the best ways to save time and have all the important details fully structured well in advance of your arrival in the country. Believe me, with the rush and the transfers, the last thing you want is to have to be on the move to sort it all out.