Montjuïc
A city hill overlooking the port that combines Olympic venues, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Miró Foundation, a castle cable car and the Magic Fountain.
Montjuïc rises 173 meters in the southwest of the city, overlooking the port. The 1929 World's Fair and the 1992 Olympics turned it into Barcelona's cultural and sports park. The classic route starts at Plaça d'Espanya. Walk past the Venetian Towers, along Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina and past the Magic Fountain, then take escalators up to the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC, housed in the National Palace, with the world's most important collection of Romanesque murals; about €12). The steps in front of the museum are a free viewpoint over the city. Higher up are the Olympic Stadium, Calatrava's communications tower and the Fundació Joan Miró (about €14, with the largest collection of Miró's works). The Montjuïc Castle at the top (about €9) offers a 360° view over the port and city. Reach it by the Montjuïc cable car (Telefèric de Montjuïc, from the upper station of the funicular), or take the red port cable car from Barceloneta across the harbor. The hill also has Poble Espanyol, an open-air museum of buildings from across Spain, a botanical garden and several free gardens. The Magic Fountain's evening show of music, light and water is a free classic, but it was suspended due to drought from 2022 to 2024, so check the city council website before you go. Getting there: take metro L1 or L3 to Espanya, or metro L2 or L3 to Paral·lel and then the funicular (metro tickets are valid). The sights are spread out, so plan for at least half a day and use bus 150.
Opening hours
Open all day; museums approx. 10:00–18:00, most closed Mondays; castle 10:00–20:00 (until 18:00 in winter)
Nearby sights
- Fundació Joan Miró
- Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC)
- Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
- Poble Espanyol
- Palau Güell
- La Boqueria Market
- Columbus Monument & Port Vell
- Gothic Quarter & La Rambla