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Barcelona opens several of its major museums for free this Sunday, 6 September
The first Sunday in September will allow free entry to some of Barcelona’s best-known museums. This 6 September, venues such as the Museu Picasso, the MNAC, Palau Güell, the Museu del Disseny and the Museu de Ciències Naturals will temporarily waive admission charges, although conditions and opening times vary from one venue to another.
One of the most sought-after options will be Museu Picasso. Entry is free throughout Sunday, from 9:00 to 20:00, but simply turning up at the door is not enough: booking a time slot in advance is compulsory. Free slots become available four days before the visit from 10:00, so bookings for Sunday the 6th can already be requested from this Wednesday the 2nd.
On Montjuïc, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) also opens free of charge on every first Sunday of the month. This weekend it can be visited from 10:00 to 15:00. The museum asks visitors to obtain their free ticket online in advance to control capacity, especially important on a day that usually draws more visitors than normal.
Palau Güell, one of Gaudí’s buildings less frequented than Sagrada Família or Casa Batlló, is also included in the free first Sunday. The palace on Nou de la Rambla opens from 10:00 to 20:00 in September and its open days require tickets to be obtained in advance through its online system.
In Glòries, the permanent exhibitions at Museu del Disseny can be visited free of charge throughout the day. The exhibition space is open on Sundays from 10:00 to 20:00 and brings together collections of product design, fashion, decorative arts and graphic communication. On normal Sundays, free entry begins at 15:00, but on the first of every month it extends to the whole day.
The same rule applies to Museu de Ciències Naturals, in the Fòrum building, which this Sunday opens from 10:00 to 20:00. Centre Martorell d'Exposicions, next to Ciutadella Park, and Jardí Botànic de Montjuïc also offer free entry on the first Sunday.
The list continues in Ciutat Vella. Museu Frederic Marès, beside the Cathedral, opens free on the first Sunday from 11:00 to 20:00; the two sites of Museu Etnològic i de Cultures del Món, in Montcada and Montjuïc, do so throughout the day; and various MUHBA sites likewise maintain their open-door policy on the first Sunday of the month, with exceptions such as Park Güell and Refugi 307.
At Port Vell, Museu d'Història de Catalunya will be free between 10:00 and 14:30. The centre also recommends obtaining free tickets online. Very close by, Museu Marítim uses another formula: it is not free all morning, but opens free of charge every Sunday from 15:00, with no need to book.
CCCB follows a similar scheme and offers free entry to its exhibitions on Sundays from 15:00 to 20:00, with online booking and limited capacity. This makes it possible to organise the day by combining one of the museums free all day in the morning with one of these centres in the afternoon.
The free entry on Sunday the 6th is not an extraordinary event created for September, but a recurring policy of numerous public museums in Barcelona. What is exceptional this week is the calendar coincidence: it is the first Sunday of the month and some of the most expensive or sought-after centres can be visited without paying. At Picasso, MNAC and Palau Güell, booking before travelling will be the difference between making the most of the day and finding no place available.