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MNAC: a thousand years of Catalan art

The great domed palace at the top of Montjuïc holds a treasure few visitors expect: the painted apses of the little Romanesque churches of the Pyrenees, taken off their walls a century ago and set up again here, Christ in majesty and all.

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Tickets
From €12
Open
Tue to Sat 10:00 to 18:00, Sun to 15:00
Closed
Mondays, except holidays
Allow
2 to 4 hours

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    What to see at the MNAC

    1. Sant Climent de Taüll

      The apse of 1123 with Christ in majesty in a mandorla, wide-eyed, among the apostles: the masterpiece of Catalan Romanesque painting.

    2. The Gothic altarpieces

      Panels of gold and colour from the churches and chapels of Catalonia, among them the works of Jaume Huguet.

    3. Modern Catalan art

      Marià Fortuny's sparkling small paintings, Ramon Casas and Santiago Rusiñol, and the furniture and decorative arts of Modernisme.

    4. The Oval Hall

      The vast hall under the dome, built for the ceremonies of the 1929 Exposition.

    5. The rooftop

      A terrace on the roof of the palace with a view over the city to the sea.

    Tickets and tours for the MNAC

    • Sold by GetYourGuide

      Barcelona: Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya Entrance Ticket

      Entry to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, its collection and exhibitions.

      Included

      • Entry to the MNAC's collection and exhibitions
      • The rooftop viewpoint

      From

      €12

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    Visiting the MNAC: hours and admission

    Opening hours

    Tuesday to Saturday, October to April
    10:00 to 18:00
    Tuesday to Saturday, May to September
    10:00 to 20:00
    Sundays and public holidays
    10:00 to 15:00
    • Closed on Mondays, except public holidays.
    • The ticket offices close thirty minutes before the museum, and the rooms are cleared fifteen minutes before.
    • The museum says a ticket is valid on two days within a month of buying it.

    Who gets in free

    • Everyone, on Saturdays from 15:00, on the first Sunday of each month and on open days. The museum suggests booking a free ticket online.
    • Visitors under 16 and over 65.

    Getting there

    Metro
    Espanya (lines 1 and 3), then about fifteen minutes up the Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina and the outdoor escalators.
    On foot
    Five minutes from the Fundació Joan Miró along the hill.
    By car
    Barcelona is a low-emission zone, and parking in the centre is scarce and dear. Leave the car and use the metro.

    Address

    Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
    Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc
    08038 Barcelona, Spain

    Entrances

    The entrance is at the front of the Palau Nacional, at the top of the steps and escalators that climb from the Magic Fountain.

    On the map

    Before you go

    • Start with the Romanesque, on the ground floor: it is what the museum has that no other does.
    • The ticket covers the collection, the exhibitions and the rooftop, and the museum says it is valid on two days within a month.
    • Admission is free on Saturdays from three, on the first Sunday of the month and on open days.
    • It is closed on Mondays, except public holidays.
    • The Magic Fountain is at the foot of the steps below the palace.

    A palace for an exhibition, a home for Catalan art

    The Palau Nacional was built for the International Exposition of 1929, and the museum opened in it in 1934. It now holds the national collection of Catalan art, from the eleventh century to the middle of the twentieth.

    Its glory is the Romanesque. Between 1919 and 1923, as the paintings of remote Pyrenean churches were being sold abroad, they were removed from the walls and brought to Barcelona. The apses are shown on frames shaped like the churches they came from.

    The rest of the collection runs through Gothic altarpieces, the Renaissance and the Baroque, with works by El Greco, Velázquez and Zurbarán, to the Catalan painters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Fortuny, Casas and Rusiñol.

    National Art Museum of Catalonia: common questions

    What are the opening hours of the MNAC?
    Tuesday to Saturday, October to April: 10:00 to 18:00. Tuesday to Saturday, May to September: 10:00 to 20:00. Sundays and public holidays: 10:00 to 15:00. Closed on Mondays, except public holidays. The ticket offices close thirty minutes before the museum, and the rooms are cleared fifteen minutes before. The museum says a ticket is valid on two days within a month of buying it.
    Is the MNAC ever free?
    Everyone, on Saturdays from 15:00, on the first Sunday of each month and on open days. The museum suggests booking a free ticket online. Visitors under 16 and over 65.
    What does the ticket include?
    Entry to the MNAC's collection and exhibitions. The rooftop viewpoint. It is sold by GetYourGuide.
    What is the MNAC famous for?
    Its Romanesque wall paintings, taken from the churches of the Pyrenees in the 1920s, above all the apse of Sant Climent de Taüll. It also has Gothic altarpieces, Renaissance and Baroque painting and modern Catalan art.
    Is the MNAC free?
    On Saturdays from three in the afternoon, on the first Sunday of each month and on its open days.
    How do you get to the MNAC?
    By metro to Espanya, then up the avenue of the Reina Maria Cristina and the outdoor escalators beside the steps, about fifteen minutes.

    What visitors say about the MNAC

    Rating from Google

    4.7

    39,872 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 25 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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