Poble Espanyol — miniature Spain in the heart of Barcelona
If you are looking to get to know as much of Spain as possible but for one reason or another (like COVID-19) you are limited to the amazing Barcelona then you’ve got a solution — Poble Espanyol, or the Spanish Village near Montjuic.
What is Poble Espanyol
The literal translation is the Spanish Village and it is a open air museum of architecture from different parts of Spain.
It contains 117 buildings from the regions of Catalunya, Galicia, Murcia, Madrid, the Balearic Islands, Castila, Cantabria, the Basque County and a few others. My favorite part was the Mediterranean one.
It was opened in 1929 during the International Exhibition and it had it’s ups and down during the years, but now it’s an architectural sanctuary that is visited by over 1 million tourists annually, and while it’s not even close to the Sagrada Familia visitors, it’s still big!
Lose yourselves for a few hours and stroll around the village while getting to know the regions of Spain better.
Useful information
It’s opened from early in the morning until Midnight … but it’s only opened from Thursday until Sunday.
The ticket is rather cheap for what you’re getting : 12 euros for adults and 6 euros for children and they even have some discount for students, even foreign ones. Besides the entry ticket it also gives you a useful map of the Museum with all the buildings and their regions.
It’s easy to get there by public transport or the city tour bus — but we’ve preferred to walk from Placa Espanya, by the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.
If you don’t want to use the given map and visit by yourself, at your own pace, there are 3 options : audio guide, guided visit and the best of them — El joc del Sarro, which is a game where you have to play detective and decipher some puzzles while strolling around the Village.
The museum inside the museum
Once inside the village you have the opportunity to visit a contemporary art museum that contains work by Dalí, Picasso, Miró o Guinovart and many others — Fran Daurel Museum. Fancy a more “hands on” experience ? You might even find local artisans at work, live!
What else can be done here
Alongside the tour you’ll find lots of artisans selling their work and if you’re craving for something to eat or drink you’ll have plenty of tasteful options.
Bonus : a splendid panoramic view, a choir of parrots singing from the luxuriant vegetation near the old church and even a slide for the children!
Poble Espanyol is not to be missed while in Barcelona!
