MNAC ticket prices
The museum sits in the Palau Nacional on Montjuïc. Its opening times and prices page lists two main tickets (checked 12 October 2026; the page shows a last-modified date of 4 February 2026):
| Ticket | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General admission | €12 | Building, permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, Rooftop Viewpoint |
| Basic admission | €2 | Building, Rooftop Viewpoint, self-guided tour of the building's spaces |
| MNAC + Poble Espanyol | €20 | Museum collection and temporary exhibitions plus Poble Espanyol |
| Articket BCN | €38 | Six Barcelona art centres, valid for one year |
With general admission, the Rooftop Viewpoint part stays valid for two days within a month of buying the ticket. So you can see the galleries one day and come back for the rooftop at a clearer hour or on a later day.
Discounts and free categories
The same page gives 30% off for students, for families (two adults and one child), single-parent families and large-family card holders, and for adult groups. Holders of the Tourist Bus or Barcelona City Tour ticket get 20% off, and Carnet Jove (youth card) holders get 50% off. None of these discounts apply to the €2 basic ticket.
Under-16s and over-65s from the European Community enter free. The page says this applies whether you take the general or the basic ticket. Other free categories, such as accredited tourist guides, ICOM members and accredited unemployed people, apply to general admission only. Bring proof for any discount or free rate.
What a visit costs
For two adults and a 12-year-old buying general admission, the total is €24, because the child is free. The same three people on the basic ticket pay €4 for the building and the rooftop. Two adults in their 70s from outside the EU should budget €24 for general admission: the over-65 free rate on the page names the European Community, without saying whether nationality or residence counts, so ask at the ticket office if that applies to you.
Articket BCN at €38 covers MNAC, the Fundació Joan Miró, MACBA, the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, the CCCB and one more art museum. It only pays off if you will visit several of them in your year; for MNAC alone, the €12 ticket is cheaper.
Free entry: when it is, and booking it
The prices page says admission is free every Saturday from 3 pm, on the first Sunday of every month and on open-door days. In the same sentence it says that early online admission "must be reserved", to control capacity, and that phrase links to the museum's ticket site for a general admission ticket. Read it as: reserve your free ticket online before you go, rather than expecting to walk up and be let in (checked 12 October 2026).
The page does not list the dates of open-door days, and it does not say how many free places there are. Check availability on the museum's ticket site before you plan around a free slot.
Opening hours and closed days
The museum runs winter and summer hours. Winter opening time started on 1 October, according to a notice on the museum's visit page.
| Season | Tuesday–Saturday | Sundays and public holidays |
|---|---|---|
| October–April | 10:00–18:00 | 10:00–15:00 |
| May–September | 10:00–20:00 | 10:00–15:00 |
The museum is closed on Mondays, except when a Monday is a public holiday, and on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. The ticket offices close 30 minutes before closing time, and the rooms are cleared 15 minutes before closing. The Rooftop Viewpoint keeps the same hours as the museum.
Free slot or paid visit?
The free times are shorter than they look, especially in winter.
- Saturday from 3 pm, October–April: the museum closes at 18:00, the ticket office at 17:30 and the rooms clear at 17:45. That leaves under three hours, enough for one or two collections, not the whole building.
- Saturday from 3 pm, May–September: with closing at 20:00, you get close to five hours.
- First Sunday: the museum is open 10:00–15:00, so a free first-Sunday visit is a morning visit.
Pay the €12 if you want to see the permanent collection and the temporary exhibitions in one unhurried visit, or if your only free day falls on a winter Saturday. The free slot suits a second visit, a focused look at one collection, or a group where several people would otherwise pay. If you only want the view and the building, the €2 basic ticket on any open day is the cheapest choice.
Getting to MNAC
The museum's getting here page gives the address as Palau Nacional, Parc de Montjuïc, and lists these routes (checked 12 October 2026):
- Metro: L1 or L3 to Espanya. From Plaça Espanya, walk up Avinguda Maria Cristina and use the escalators up to the museum.
- FGC train: lines including R5, R6, S3, S4, S8, S9 and L8 stop at Espanya.
- Bus: line 55 has a stop named after the museum; 150 and 13 also serve the area.
- Funicular: take the metro to Paral·lel, where the fare is integrated, then the Montjuïc funicular. Our guide to the Montjuïc cable car and funicular covers that route.
- Car: a paid municipal car park sits next to the museum, with spaces for disabled visitors.
For which ticket covers the metro and funicular, see our guide to the T-casual and Barcelona's fare zones.
If you are building a day around Modernista interiors as well as museums, our Sant Pau Recinte Modernista tickets guide covers that site's prices, hours and guided tours.