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Barcelona brings together more than 500 key works of European architecture for free
Barcelona has an essential stop this summer for those who enjoy architecture, design and major cultural spaces. Palau Victòria Eugènia hosts a free exhibition by Fundació Mies van der Rohe with more than 500 pieces linked to modern European architecture.
The exhibition can be visited until 5 July 2026, every day from 10:00 to 20:00, with free admission. The plan suits both experts and curious people who want to approach architecture without prior knowledge or paying an entrance fee.
The tour brings together models, original drawings, videos, documents and pieces related to temporary interventions carried out at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. The exhibition makes it possible to see how some of the most relevant projects in recent European architecture have been conceived, built and transformed.
Highlights include Álvaro Siza’s Banc Borges e Irmão and Norman Foster’s sketches for the Renault Distribution Centre. They are recognisable names even outside the strictly architectural world and help put the scale of an exhibition unusual for its volume and scope into perspective.
The exhibition is organised into six thematic areas, making it easier to go through without getting lost among so much material. The idea is not only to show valuable pieces, but to explain how architecture responds to ways of living, working, moving around and relating to the city.
At the centre of the exhibition, the 40 projects selected by the jury of the EUmies Awards 2026 are also presented. This space connects the historic archive with the most recent architecture and makes it possible to see where European debate on housing, public space, sustainability and new facilities is heading.
The event forms part of the programme for Barcelona 2026 World Capital of Architecture, a year in which the city wants to reinforce its role as an international setting for discussing urban planning, heritage and design. In this case, the discussion moves to Montjuïc with a proposal open to all audiences.
The Palau Victòria Eugènia also adds a special layer to the visit. Built for the 1929 International Exposition, the building turns the exhibition into more than a succession of works: it makes it possible to explore architecture within architecture, in one of Barcelona’s most recognisable monumental spaces.