National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC)
The National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) is one of the best museums in Barcelona in terms of art history. Unlike other institutions in the city, in the MNAC you will find everything from masterpieces of Romanesque art (such as the frescoes in the Boí Valley or the Majestat Batlló, a polychrome crucified Christ from the 12th century), to Gothic, Baroque, Renaissance or Modernist art. His pictorial collection includes the Cambó legacy and the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection, with pieces as important as Velázquez’s San Pablo or San Pedro y San Pablo del Greco.
Picasso Museum.
Barcelona has one of the most important legacies in terms of Picasso’s work, thanks to the express desire of the genius from Malaga. The Picasso Museum is not only one of the best museums in Barcelona, but one of the most important in the world. It is also the most visited art museum in Catalonia, in front of the Dalí Museum in Figueras.
The Picasso Museum is located in a Gothic palace on Calle Montcada. His collection includes works that refer to almost every period of the painter’s life, from his most academic beginnings to his blue or pink period and his transition to Cubism.
Miró Foundation.
Miró is one of the most important artists that the country has given and has its foundation in a building by Josep Lluís Sert, located in the mountain of Montjuic. It was Joan Miró himself who decided to create the Fundació Miró and chose its members.
In this museum we will be able to find some of the most emblematic works of this Catalan painter, whether in terms of canvases, sculptures or other more experimental works. Some of the most outstanding works that we will find here are the Portrait of a girl or Man and woman in front of a pile of excrement.
FC Barcelona Museum.
I don’t know if FC Barcelona is one of the best museums in Barcelona. What is clear, according to the statistics, is that it is the most visited in all of Catalonia and every year the third place is played nationally with the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
In the FC Barcelona Museum you will find objects that refer to the history of the club since its foundation, in addition to the most important trophies that the entity has obtained. The section dedicated to Leo Messi, with his 5 Golden Balls, is especially relevant.
European Museum of Modern Art
The European Museum of Modern Art (not to be confused with the Museum of Contemporary Art) is a small museum located in Barcelona’s Borne. This is what was the first museum of figurative art in Spain. I came to this institution looking for a painting by the young Italian talent Roberto Ferri and was amazed at the realism of many of the works exhibited there.
The truth is that next to giants like Picasso or MNAC, MEAM is just a small institution. However, I think it deserves to be on this list of the best museums in Barcelona.
Museum of World Cultures
The young Museum of World Cultures (inaugurated in 2015) made up for the shortcomings of Barcelona in terms of ethnology. For those of us who like the art of the different civilizations of the world, this jewel deserves to be included among the best museums in Barcelona.
It is located right in front of the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. Here we will find art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and America. Among all the works, what we are most passionate about is African ethnic art, with its fetishes and masks.
