The National Art Museum of Catalonia is located in the Palau Nacional (National Palace) on the Montjuïc hill. This construction was built between 1926 and 1929 for the International Exposition (1929) and boasts a size of 32.000 m². It was designed in neo-renaissance and classic style by Eugenio Cendoya and Enric Catà. Once the International Exposition finished, the Palau Nacional made into the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC).
The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya is maybe the most important art-gallery in Barcelona because its exhibition covers the period from Romanesque to present Catalan art. For example, the museum contains the original wall paintings from Sant Climent de Taüll, one of the nine Romanesque churches of Vall de Boí which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This fresco is considered the symbol of Catalan Romanesque.
On the other hand, this museum offers the visitor works of art from well-known painters such as Giovanni Battista, Francisco de Zurbaran, Diego Velázquez, Francisco de Goya, Fra Angelico and José de Ribera. Many works from these artists have been loaned from other museums and collectors like Francisco Cambó y Batlle, Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum of Madrid. The art from the XIX and XX Century has also a very important space in the National Art Museum of Catalonia due to the museum having a very special exhibition of works from Catalan modernism such as paintings from Fortuny, Gaudí and Salvador Dalí, the artist from the beautiful village of Cadaques. However, more recently the museum has incorporated some works of Picasso, including the famous painting “Woman in Hat and Fur Collar (Marie-Thérèse Walter)”.Average customer review Score for Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
Madrid and its “Paseo del Arte” (The local name given to the distance between the top 3 art galleries in Madrid (The Prado Museum, the Thyssen Bornemiza and the Reina Sofía museum) set Madrid amongst the top art destinations in the world.
Besides this 3 top museums, there are other smaller art galleries which would stand out at most cities in the world: The Real Academis de San Fernando, the Lazaro Galdiano museum he Casa Sorolla museum and the Cerralbo Museum.
Madrid and its “Paseo del Arte” (The local name given to the distance between the top 3 art galleries in Madrid (The Prado Museum, the Thyssen Bornemiza and the Reina Sofía museum) set Madrid amongst the top art destinations in the world.
Besides this 3 top museums, there are other smaller art galleries which would stand out at most cities in the world: The Real Academis de San Fernando, the Lazaro Galdiano museum he Casa Sorolla museum and the Cerralbo Museum.
These fantastic hotels are near Museu Nacional dÁrt de Catalunya in Barcelona. You can find more information on these hotels in the interesting things nearby section on this same page:
- Hotel Casa Camper
- Hotel Casa Luz
Underground: L1 and L3 (Pl. Espanya).
Buses: 55, 150, 13, 37.
Car: Free parking for cars and coaches with spaces for disabled people next to the museum.
Train: FGC L8, R5, R6, R50, R60, S4, S8, S33 (Espanya station).
