Museu Picasso
The Museu Picasso runs through five joined medieval palaces on Carrer Montcada in El Born. Its strength is the early work: the academic training, the Blue Period, and the full 58-canvas set of variations on Velazquez's Las Meninas.
The Museu Picasso runs through five joined medieval palaces on Carrer Montcada in El Born. Its strength is the early work: the academic training, the Blue Period, and the full 58-canvas set of variations on Velazquez's Las Meninas.
Rooms of drawings and paintings from Picasso's teenage training in Barcelona, including Science and Charity, show the technique he built on before Cubism.
A concentrated group of the melancholy blue-toned works from the early 1900s, painted between Barcelona and Paris.
All 58 canvases of Picasso's 1957 reworking of Velazquez, kept together in their own galleries. This is the museum's centrepiece.
The museum is closed Mondays. It offers free entry at set times, usually Thursday afternoons and the first Sunday of the month, with timed slots that still need booking. Confirm current prices and free hours on museupicassobcn.cat.
Entry is by timed ticket and the free slots go fast. Reserve online rather than joining the queue on Carrer Montcada.
If you come expecting Guernica or classic Cubism you will be surprised. The collection is strongest on how Picasso got started, much of it in this city.
The Gothic palace courtyards and staircases are worth slowing down for, and El Born around the museum is one of Barcelona's best areas to walk.
When is entry free?
Usually on Thursday afternoons and the first Sunday of each month, plus a few special dates. You still need to book a timed slot for the free entry.
Is it closed any day?
Yes, the museum is closed on Mondays and on a small number of public holidays.
How long does a visit take?
Most people spend 90 minutes to two hours. The Las Meninas rooms are where visitors linger longest.
Is there a lot of famous Cubist work?
No. The collection concentrates on Picasso's early career and later series. For Cubism and Guernica you would go elsewhere.
The Museu Picasso opened in 1963 in the Palau Aguilar on Carrer Montcada, and has since expanded into four more adjoining medieval palaces in the El Born district of Barcelona.
It holds one of the largest collections of Pablo Picasso's early work, tracing his years in the city, and the complete Las Meninas series he painted in 1957. It is run by Barcelona City Council.
This page is an independent guide for visitors, covering the Museu Picasso and Barcelona City Council.
