Barcelona Salvador Dalí Museum Tickets and Visits

Catalonia is the birthplace of great artists who have built the cultural heritage of its cities. Fortunately, today we can admire the work of the surrealist artist in the museum that bears his name, the Dalí Museum, in Figueres, just over an hour from Barcelona.

Although this day trip to the Costa Brava with a visit to the Dalí Museum is designed for people who are passionate about art and in particular Dalí's surrealist painting and sculpture, it is an experience you will love if you feel like leaving the bustle of Barcelona for a day and visiting the fishing villages of the Costa Brava and the medieval village of Pals, with its cobbled streets and the tower which can still be climbed to enjoy the best views of the area.

The excursion will end in Figueres, where you can visit the Dalí Museum on your own and admire his paintings, sculptures and installations in a space dedicated entirely to his art. You'll also be able to enjoy the permanent collection "Dalí Joyas", where you can admire the gold and precious stone jewellery that the artist from Figueras designed throughout his career.

You'll have about an hour and a half in Figueras to stroll around at your leisure and eat wherever you choose (I'll tell you later which restaurants are worth visiting and how to avoid tourist traps), and then you'll join your group again to head back to Barcelona. By the way, just so you know, this tour has a maximum group size of 50 people, and the total duration of the experience includes the 2.5 hours of transport from Barcelona and back.

Recommended: If you're staying more than four days in Barcelona or if you're passionate about Dalí's artDuration: 11 hours

What you will see

The private tour of the Costa Brava, with a visit to the Dalí Museum and Girona has a slightly different route to the group experience. Instead of visiting the fishing villages and streets of Pals, you will go to Girona where you will discover in a 2-hour tour its medieval heritage and historical buildings, such as the cathedral and the Church of Sant Feliu.

You can also visit the Museum of Jewish History, located in the space of the city's old synagogue, and the rest of Girona's points of interest on the tour detailed below.

Also, if you're a fan of Game of Thrones, you'll be interested to know that part of the sixth season was filmed in Girona, and the city was magically transformed into Braavos. Throughout the season you can see several real places used as filming locations, such as the Arab Baths and the Pujada de Sant Domènech. Here you will find the Café Le Bistrot, quite famous for its little terrace at the foot of a staircase and an arch. A romantic spot at night that, if you have the chance, I recommend you not to miss.

Of course, after your visit to Girona you will go to the Dalí Museum to enjoy a 2-hour tour guided by an expert in Art History who will put you in context and explain each work of art you see. Unlike the group tour, which only offers a self-guided visit of the museum, on this tour you will have the added advantage of a more enriching tour of Dalí's artistic career.

Recommended: If you prefer to visit an emblematic city rather than several towns or if you are a fan of Game of ThronesDuration: 9 hours

What you will see

Alex's Traveller Tip

If you're a Game of Thrones fan, you'll love visiting Girona. If not, I recommend you take the excursion to the villages of the Costa Brava.

The Dalí Museum is quite different from other museums dedicated to artists around the world. The artist was actively involved in its design, its construction, the curation of the exhibitions... so much so, that he lived in the museum for some periods of time to make sure that everything was in line with his vision of what the museum should be.

The museum, right in the centre of Figueras, is housed in a former theatre (which seems rather fitting considering the scenic grandeur of Dalí as a person) and as you walk through the entrance you come into the famous courtyard where there is a fantastic installation where you can make it rain inside a Cadillac that Dalí himself used as a vehicle during his time in the United States.

Although many of Dalí's works are in other museums, the Dalí Museum is still very interesting because it is a large art installation designed by the artist himself. As well as showing his early works before he established himself within the surrealist movement, we can see a part of the artist reserved only for curious people: there are some hidden works of art in the museum that you can only see if you explore corridors that don't seem to belong to the exhibition.

Without doubt, the best thing about the museum is its installations, including the famous 'Mae West Room', taking advantage of the optical effect when you go up the stairs to the next floor. And while you're at the Dalí Museum, you can visit its jewellery collection and discover some truly beautiful and imaginative designs, proving that the Catalan artist's creative restlessness was inexhaustible.

Bear in mind that over a million people visit the museum every year, so there's really no way to avoid bumping into other tourists inside the exhibition. When visiting the Dalí Museum as part of an excursion, you won't be able to choose the time of day to explore it, but if you visit Figueras on your own you can go to the museum at its opening time, 9am, to try to avoid the throngs of tourists who visit at midday but you'll still find a good number of people in the queue.

Opening times and days

If you're interested to know, the Dalí Museum is open daily from 9am to 8pm from April to September, with last admission at 7.15pm. Between March and October, opening hours are from 9.30am to 6pm, and from November to February from 10.30am to 6pm.

Duration of the visit

By the way, you can visit the Dalí Museum in 2 hours or less. If the museums end up overwhelming you, you can even skip the part of the exhibition dedicated to Dalí's jewels and you'll have a good experience too, something shorter and more manageable that you'll also want to consider if you make the trip to Figueras with children.

The Dalí Museum with children

Speaking of doing the tour with kids, the Dalí Museum is sure to delight them as it's practically like entering a fantasy world to get lost in, interact with the facilities and explore. I would say that the best option is probably the private tour as you have a less rigid itinerary and the duration of the experience is somewhat shorter.

It's a bit difficult to choose a day to visit the Dalí Museum, as during the week you can find school trips going to Figueras for the day and the weekends are when most tourists visit the museum. As a general rule, I always try to visit all the tourist attractions during the week as, with luck, you can avoid most of the crowds.

One tip I can give you is the best time to visit the Dalí Museum is around 14:00 in the afternoon, when most of the tourists will be going for lunch. This applies to most of Barcelona's tourist attractions as well.

If you ask any local in Barcelona, they will tell you that the best time to travel to the city is spring or autumn, specifically in the months of May, June, September or October. The reason for this is that prices will go down at these times compared to the hottest dates when there are more crowds of tourists.

It is well known that Barcelona is crowded with tourists in summer and this also applies to most excursions from the city, as is also the case with a visit to the Dalí Museum. So, if you have a choice, avoid the peak seasons for a totally different and much more enjoyable experience.

As you won't have all the time in the world in Figueras and it's quite a tourist hotspot for visitors to Barcelona, it's best to know where to eat so you don't waste a minute and avoid the tourist traps.

Another option is to bring food in your backpack from Barcelona, but to be honest, I don't think you should miss the outstanding restaurants in Figueras as they are definitely worth a visit and have nothing to do with the typical tourist restaurant in Barcelona. While you're at it, it's best to savour the authentic gastronomy of the region, and here are my recommendations:

Comfortable shoes, sun cream and a hat or cap are your best friends for this excursion, as the sun can get too hot for you to enjoy the experience. Photos can be taken at the Dalí Museum, but the reason I would recommend taking a camera is to capture the vibrant colours of the Costa Brava's fishing villages or the beauty of Girona.

My main advice is to make the most of your visit to Figueras, as there are more things to see besides the Dalí Museum, such as the Toy Museum and the Fortress of Sant Ferran.

Between the two possible excursions, it is difficult to choose which one to do as Calella de Palafrugell is one of the most beautiful villages on the Costa Brava (without taking into account Cadaqués, which is a world apart) but the visit to Girona is very interesting and even more so if you like Game of Thrones. If this is the case, choose the excursion to Girona, and if not, visit the fishing villages along the coast.

If you are thinking of going on an excursion from Barcelona but the one to the Dalí Museum didn't convince you, or you want to do something else, here is a guide about 6 Best Day Trips from Barcelona where you can spend a day out of the city and discover other places in Catalonia.

And if for you a mountain plan is a perfect plan, I'm sure you'll want to go up to Montserrat. Here you have all the information you need about Day Trips to Montserrat from Barcelona so you don't miss this iconic place.