Museums in Gothic Quarter, Raval & La Ribera (Barcelona)

MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona is a huge white mass of a building, designed by Richard Meier, which combines elements of contemporary American architecture with the Mediterranean rationalist tradition. It opened to the public in 1995, showing a permanent collection donated by Catalonia's other great artistic institutions, made up of work produced over the last 50 years. The museum organizes regular temporary exhibitions featuring contemporary Spanish and foreign artists as well as lectures, concerts, seminars and audiovisual competitions the year round.

Museu Frederic Marés

Sculptor Frederic Marés i Deulovol donated his house to the city as a museum. One section of the Museu Frederic Marés has been laid out to give you an overview of the development of sculpture in the Hispanic world from the pre-Roman era to the beginning of the 20th century. The other section is called Gabinete del Coleccionista (Collector's Cupboard) and it's a display of 1000s of 19th-century household objects like fans, pipes and children's dolls arranged according to Marés's own taste to give the public a picture of everyday life in that period.

Museu de Cera de Barcelona

Albert Einstein, the Werewolf, Superman and Federico García Lorca are just a few of the famous characters you can see in the Wax Museum. At the same time, the elaborate audio-visual effects are sure to be a hit with the kids. A striking building in its own right, renovated and opened in 1973 to hold over 300 waxwork figures representing famous real and fictional personalities, this museum is a must-visit for every tourist.

Museu Militar

You'll find this military museum in one of the wings of the 18th-century Castell de Montjuïc (Montjuïc Castle) on top of Montjuïc Hill. It displays a great collection of weapons dating from the 15th century to the present day. You'll see weapons and uniforms belonging to the armies of several different countries over various periods of history. The outstanding exhibit is the collection of Spanish weapons produced between the 17th and the 19th centuries. There is also an interesting selection of model castles and miniature lead soldiers. You can do research in the library by prior arrangement.

Museu de la catedral de Barcelona

This one—room museum is located in the old cathedral school next to the cathedral cloisters and displays an exhibition of sacred paintings and sculptures, liturgical ornaments and priestly habits. The most outstanding pieces are Bartolomé Bermejo's magnificent Piedad, Martín I of Aragón's silver seat of honor and two 15th century masterpieces: the royal crown and a belt made from precious stones.

Museu Diocesà de Barcelona

You'll find this museum in the old Casa de la Canonja (La Pia Almoina), alongside the Catedral. It displays a remarkable collection of religious art belonging to Barcelona's diocese, including the unique silver Romanesque cross, Riells del Fai, and Abbot Guerau de Clasquerí's crosier. The diocese's complete collection of gold and silver ornaments, paintings, sculpture and archaeological artefacts are on permanent display here. In addition, there are temporary exhibitions like the recent showing of drawings, photos and models called La Restauración en el movimiento moderno (The Restoration in the Modernist movement).Admission: EUR6.

Museu Marítim

This maritime museum describes the history of the Catalan fleet through exhibitions of old sailing ships, paintings, figureheads, navigational instruments, maps and charts. There are two permanent exhibitions and educational activities for children, who can physically board both Don Juan de Austria's royal galleon and Narcís Monturiol's primitive submarine. The museum is housed in the Reials Drassanes, a typical 13th century Catalan Gothic construction built on the orders of King Pere el Gran as a boat repair yard at a time when the Catalan fleet controlled many of the Mediterranean's important trade routes.

Museu del Barça

Football fanatics will love the visit to the Camp Nou stadium and museum, whose collection of memorabilia includes trophies, flags, documents, photographs and other related items. The club was founded in 1899 and has a long and illustrious history that attracts supporters from all over the world. Apparently, more people come here than to any other attraction in the city. And it's not just the die-hard fans either but everybody who loves the game. You'll get a tour of the stadium and a view from the president's box. There's also an interesting collection of contemporary paintings and sculptures on exhibit.

Museu del Calçat

This collection includes footwear as diverse as Roman sandals and modern platform boots, along with cobblers' tools and machinery dating from different periods of history. The section for famous feet includes an enormous pair of shoes that were made to fit the statue, Monumento a Colón. They're so big they gained an entry in the Guinness Book of Records. You'll find this little museum in a medieval house in the old part of town that was once the shoemakers' guild headquarters.

Col.legi d´Arquitectes de Catalunya

This very famous building is being used by professional architects to display their work. It is the murals adorning the front of this building that have made it so famous; they were designed by Picasso in the 50's. Other artists, however, had to carry out the actual painting of the murals since Picasso was not allowed into the country in those days. Inside, there are always interesting temporary exhibitions related to the world of architecture, city planning and contemporary design. Admission to this brilliant artistic place is free of charge.

Centre d´Art Santa Mònica

An exhibition space run by the Generalitat (Catalan Regional Government), it's attractively located in a recently restored 17th-century convent. Although it lacks the prestige of the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA) (Museum of Contemporary Art), there's always someting interesting to see, be it a group or an individual artist on show. The gallery organizes seasons focusing on the work of contemporary Catalan painters like Jordi Mercadé and Joan Pere Viladecans, for example. The Alexandre Cirici Pellicer Research Centre that's dedicated to the study of Catalan art is here as well.

Sala Parés

Sala Parés is a historic gallery  that has been open since the mid-19th century. It was the place where Catalan artists like Casas, Rossinyol, Mir and Clarà exhibited, and was the first to show Picasso as well. The gallery promotes figurative painting, though they also display works of contemporary painters such as Neus Martín Royo and Josep Puigdengolas. It is the sister gallery of Galería Trama, shows more contemporary Spanish artists suchs as Perico Pastor, Anna Miquel, Marcos Palazzi, Joan Bennàssar, Matias Quetglas and international artists like Anthony Williams.