Picasso Museum

admin March 21, 2023March 23, 2023

There’s no doubt or hesitation that Picasso Museum is indeed, one of the top visited museums in Barcelona. You will find it in the La Ribera neighbourhood, which, as a matter of fact, is a quite pleasant area for a walk or relaxation being so beautiful, full of charming cafes and bars, as well as so close to the downtown.

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Interesting facts and background history

Picasso Museum is situated in a beautiful old building. It actually gathers the five palaces – Palau Aguilar, Palau Baro de Castellet, Palau Meca, Casa Mauri, Palau Finestres – which date from the period between 13^th and 15^th century. The first palace, where the entire museum collection is placed, is called Palau Aguilar. However, the rest of the buildings have been added to the museum composition during the last couple of years.
This museum has been, as a matter of fact, created by Picasso’s will and it’s also evidence for the artist’s strong relation with the city of Barcelona. Although Picasso has spent most of his lifetime in Paris, he used to return to the Catalonian capital many times. This is the city where the young artist spent his youth and where he studied in the Fine Arts Academy since an age of 14 years old, as well as where he received his first studio and started his actual artist career.
The museum has existed since 1963^rd year. Jaume Sabartes, who is Picasso’s close friend and personal assistant, gave a lot for its establishment.

What to expect from Picasso Museum anyway?

You are not going to see the most popular artworks made by the genius Picasso, but, instead, you can follow the artist’s individuality progress, as well as the whole Picasso’s style development from a very early age.

In 22 rooms in total that are all located on a square of 11 500 m2, the visitors will find the permanent exhibition, which is formed of 4251 pieces of art, including paintings, schemes, ceramics. This is one very detailed and big collection of Picasso’s first creative years from his career till his blue period. There are also a few artworks made during Picasso’s late period.

Among the most popular artworks in this exhibition we find the series Las Meninas, the fill collection Plandiura, which is made of 22 pieces of art and the glorious painting called Science and Charity.

In addition to these, in Picasso Museum you will also see a photography exhibition which shows the artist’s life, as well as his letter correspondence with Sabartes and some temporary theme exhibitions you can get more information about here.

What should I know before visiting Picasso Museum?

You can enter the museum within 15 minutes after the arranged visiting hours. You should have a reservation in advance. In short, do not be late, because you might be not let in.
The pieces of art are arranged in a chronological order and the labels that present them, are in Catalonian, Spanish and English languages.
You can get a map of the building at the entrance. It’s a very good option as the guides inside the museums are not very convenient to follow or understand.
If you wish, you can take the benefits of the audio guide service (available in English). It is not included in the official visit price, but you should additionally pay for it. Though, we strongly recommend you to make this “investment” as the walk in the museum will be both: more pleasant and more reasonable when receiving so many interesting facts about Picasso’s life and work.
To avoid the human crowds you should visit the museum within the early hours of a working day.
To get the cheapest ticket you should buy one right in the museum, but due to the availability of ticket orders in advance, sometimes, the capacity of the museum is full, so tickets might be out of stock in the museum cash desk. This is why we recommend you to guarantee your visit without waiting on the queue for hours by getting a skip the line ticket in advance.

Guide tour

The museum offers a guide tour service in several languages. It’s available also in English.

Duration

To be able to check out everything and with no rush, make sure to have at least 2 hours in the museum.

Free access

There are certain days and hours where the visit in the museum is 100% for free, but if you want to calmly enjoy Picasso’s collections, we strongly recommend you to avoid them and buy a regular ticket. During the free hours in the museum the building is always busy and full of people, so you’ll hardly be able to see everything. Plus – during these hours waiting on a long queue is also guaranteed. Moreover, the free tickets should be also reserved in advance and they are usually available only 4 days before the arranged free visit, which is why the get out of stock almost immediately. If you are in Barcelona for a short period of time and Picasso Museum is quite essential for your tour in the city, buy a regular ticket in advance.
Tickets for people under age of 18 years old are free of charge within the whole year.

Group visits

A group is formed of 10 or more people and they all can visit the museum only in case there’s a reservation made in advance. All groups of more than 25 people are divided into smaller groups and they enter the museum in the course of 15 minutes.

Accessibility

The building is fully accessible for people with reduced mobility. The museum also provides wheelchairs and if it is necessary, there’s also an access to an elevator. For more information, ask the museum employees for assistance.
Guide dogs are allowed to enter the museum.
Pets are not allowed to enter the museum.