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Attendance record at La Nit dels Museus: Barcelona thrives with 125,000 visitors
This Saturday, Barcelona once again showed that museums can also become places for nighttime gatherings. La Nit dels Museus brought together more than 125,000 people at 94 cultural facilities across the city and metropolitan area, consolidating itself as one of the year’s major cultural events.
From 19:00 until 1:00 in the morning, thousands of people queued outside museums, historic buildings and cultural centres to make the most of an open-doors night that completely transformed Barcelona's usual atmosphere. Montjuïc, the Raval and the historic centre accounted for much of the activity, with full terraces, lively streets and groups moving from museum to museum.
The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) was once again the most visited venue, with more than 17,000 attendees, followed by the Museu d’Història de Barcelona and other major names such as MACBA, CCCB, the Museu Picasso and the Fundació Miró.
This year's edition made a particular effort to attract younger audiences and extend the experience beyond traditional exhibitions. Many venues organised concerts, DJ sessions, performances, dramatised visits and immersive activities that completely changed the way visitors moved through the galleries. At the MNAC, for example, electronic music coexisted with classical art well into the night.
The programme also made it possible to discover less usual places. Venues such as the Castell de Montjuïc, the Palau Güell, the Reial Monestir de Pedralbes and the Biblioteca Arús opened free of charge at night, while new facilities joined the initiative this year.
One of the most visible aspects was the change in atmosphere around the museums. Queues outside the MACBA or the Picasso mixed with groups dining on terraces, impromptu concerts and visitors taking advantage of the good weather to turn the cultural route into a complete Saturday plan. The city acquired that urban-festival feel that appears when culture and public space come together without too many barriers.
The Nit dels Museus is held every year to coincide with International Museum Day and is part of an initiative promoted in dozens of European cities. In Barcelona, the event has grown to become one of the cultural nights with the greatest public participation, combining heritage, nightlife and free activities in virtually every district.