On Saturday the 19th of May, during the 2012 Barcelona Night of the Museums, 52 Museums around Barcelona will be open with free entrance and providing full services from 7:00 pm until 1:00 am.
This is a great opportunity to have a nice night out in Barcelona, check out a couple of Barcelona’s world famous museums for free and just enjoy the beautiful spring weather of this magnificent city.
Sant Jordi Hostels’ Pic of the Best Museums Included in the 2012 Barcelona Night of the Museums
This is our short list of the most famous and best museums in Barcelona that are participating in the 2012 Barcelona Night of the Museums. Each of the museums listed below are world class museums and would be worth checking out, even you you had to pay the entrance.
1 – Cosmocaixa – At the top of the list is the Cosmocaixa: recommended because it is just plain fun. Not a traditional art museum, the Cosmocaixa is a science and technology museum dedicated to providing an interactive educational experience. Oriented primarily towards kids and young adults, the cosmocaixa is a ton of fun for grown-ups as well. Housed in huge hyper-modern installation, the museum is a full blown interactive experience of the modern world of science and technology. Almost everything in the museum is designed to be touched, picked up and experienced in such a way that the visitors can understand in a hands-on-fashion what science so often describes in hard to understand technical terms.
2 – La Pedrera – La Pedrera, also known as La Casa Mila, is not a museum so to speak; it is an entire building. Designed by Antoni Gaudi, La Pedrera is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Barcelona. Allowing access to the atic, the roof-top, and a full apartment furnished in the art nuveau style popular at the time the building was designed and built, La Pedrera is a museum dedicated to the life and work of the famous Barcelona architect, designer and artist Antoni Gaudi. The Atic area is filled with museum style exhibits that explain the genius of Gaudi’s life and work. The roof-top allows amazing vies of the city center of Barcelona from above while enjoying the architectural uniqueness of the building’s design. The fully furnished apartment is special glimps into the past and an opportunity to see how Gaudi’s Architecture and furniture design would be used in real life.
3 – Fundacio Joan Miro – The Fundacio Joan Miro is a full blown modern art museum honoring the work of the World famous Catalan/ Barcelonese artist Joan Miro. If you are a Joan Miro fan this museum is a must see.
4 – Museu Picaso – The world famous Museu Picaso houses a world famous collection of Picaso’s arts that spans the course of his entrie life. Some are disappointed by the Picaso museum because it highlites a lot of his early works that are less identifiable as Picasos and are in a more realistic traditional style as opposed to his famous cubist technique. There are however a couple of beautiful pieces from his blue period and an entire room dedicated to the full collection of his Las Meninas series of paintings.
5 – The MNAC – The National Art Museum of Catalunya, or MNAC, houses an amazing collection of art from the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque as well as 19th and 20th centuries. This is a traditional museum in every sense of the word and will fulfill every museum lover’s expectations. The museum’s collection is spectacular, the location is ideal and the building in which the museum is located is grandiose.
6 – Fundacio Antoni Tapies – The Fundacio Antoni Tapies is a museum and cultural center dedicated to the life and works of the artist Antoni Tapies. This museum is little something different and it might be a good idea to research Antoni Tapies before just going to the museum and expecting to like it. What is so cool about this museum is that it is a real contemporary Catalan/Barcelona modern art experience. It is a perfect example of the the importance of Barcelona and Catalunya in the modern art world.
7 – The MACBA – The Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona, or MACBA, is a large museum dedicated entirely to the art of the second half of the 20th century. A true modern art museum, the MNAC is more of an acquired taste – but and outstanding museum just the same.
A Few Recommendations and Tips
The Night of the Museums in Barcelona is a big event and spans the entire city. Because it is absolutely impossible to see everything in one night, pick out a couple of museums that you really want to see and focus on them alone. If you are planning on checking out more than one museum during the night be sure to plan wisely and pick museums that are close to one another. The Cosmocaixa for example is really on the other side of the city and is a bit of a trek to get to – but still well worth it.
If you happen to be staying at our Sant Jordi Hostel Arago hostel in Barcelona, start by just walking across the street. The Fundacio Tapies is directly across the street from the Sant Jordi Hostel Arago and is a perfect way to start a great night of museum visits. After the Fundacio Tapies, La Pedrera is just up the street. If you are staying at our Sant Jordi Hostel Diagonal, do the exact opposite: start at La Pedrera and then go to the Fundacio Tapies just down the street.
