Cultural Companions: 3 Of Barcelona’s Best Museums

A city break is the perfect excuse to inject a little culture into your life. New surroundings, a new architectural style, a new pace of life can all be a welcome antidote to the daily grind – and there’s no better place to experience all these things and more than Barcelona.

Long hailed as one of Europe’s cultural hotspots, the bohemian music scene and cutting-edge gastronomy the city is renowned for the dynamic relationship between the medieval marvels that sit right beside modernist masterpieces by Gaudí and Miró. It’s home to some of the finest museums and galleries in the world. Here are three of our favourites.

Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC)

One such masterpiece is the Palau Nacional on the hill of Montjuïc, built for the International Exhibition in 1929, which has been home to the MNAC since 1934. Perhaps not a surprise that this place specialises in Catalan art – everything from Romanesque murals, religious pieces by Cascalls, Borrassà, Reixac and Huguet, to historical pieces like coins and armoury from Cataluña’s past. These stand alongside work from El Greco, Goya, Canaletto, and more. When you’re done exploring, the views from the gallery’s steps over the city have to be seen to be believed.

Museu d’Història de Cataluña

And if you’re in the mood for a spot of history, a trip to the venerable port district of Barceloneta rewards a visit, home as it is to the foremost repository of treasures from north-eastern Spanish history. Set in a 19th-century warehouse, the eclectic exhibits, both visiting and permanent, will guide you through the historical and cultural heritage of the region from the Palaeolithic, through the Roman conquest, Dark Ages and Renaissance, right up to contemporary Catalan life. The interactive portions are especially revealing and go a long way to explaining why Catalans and Cataluña are the way they are today.

Museu Marítim

For another window into Barcelona’s seafaring past and present, visit the Museu Marítim, conveniently located at the end of Las Ramblas, the main drag of this bustling city. Incidentally, this location used to be much closer to the water – the building in which the Museu is housed in the Drassanes district south of the old town was once used to build galleys. A reproduced 16th-century galley stands within the museum, with lots of other intriguing exhibits offer an insight into a period when Barcelona dominated this side of the Mediterranean.

How to get there

Benefiting from Spain’s world-class tourism infrastructure and with three airports serving the local area, Barcelona is no trouble at all to access. Reus and Girona Airport are around 70 miles away, while Reus is the closest Barcelona airport. Shuttle services are widely available both pre-booked and when you land – but for the best deals and most stress-free experience, a Barcelona airport shuttle can come in the form of a private taxi. Rather than relying on buses or shared transfers, a private car can take you door to door, leaving you to get on with the important things.

Author Plate

Lukas Johannes is a driver for Shuttle Direct, the number one provider of shared and private airport transfers all over Europe and northern Africa. If you’re looking for an affordable Barcelona airport shuttle Lukas and his colleagues can make sure that you and your luggage get to and from the airport swiftly and safely.