National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC)

The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya occupies the Palau Nacional, the domed building that stands at the head of Montjuïc above Plaça Espanya. The palace was not built as a museum. It went up for the International Exposition of 1929, and the museum moved in afterwards, opening its doors in 1934 as the Museu d'Art de Catalunya with the medieval collection as its core. What a visitor sees today was assembled in stages rather than opened at once. October–April: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–18:00; Sundays and public holidays 10:00–15:00. May–September: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–20:00; Sundays and public holidays 10:00–15:00.

The collection is spread over two floors and divides into seven areas: medieval Romanesque art, medieval Gothic art, Renaissance and Baroque art, modern art, drawings, prints and posters, photography, and numismatics. The museum's own claim for the first of these is unambiguous and is the reason most people come: it holds the best collection of Romanesque mural painting in the world. Gothic art follows, then the Renaissance and Baroque rooms, where the museum names Titian and Velázquez among the European painters represented.

The museum publishes no suggested visit length. Its own advice on the subject is to take into account the time available before starting, and to choose from the guided visits and thematic tours it offers rather than attempt the whole building. That is a fair warning: seven collection areas over two floors of a 50,000 square metre palace cannot be walked through in an hour. There is a way out of the choice. Two ramps provide step-free entrance on either side of the main door. Most, but not all, museum spaces are adapted for visitors with reduced mobility.

The museum is closed on Mondays, except on public holidays, and closes for the whole of 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Those are the dates that ruin a plan, and they are worth checking against a trip before anything else. Hours change with the season. October–April: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–18:00; Sundays and public holidays 10:00–15:00. May–September: Tuesday–Saturday 10:00–20:00; Sundays and public holidays 10:00–15:00. Two ramps provide step-free entrance on either side of the main door. Most, but not all, museum spaces are adapted for visitors with reduced mobility. Lifts and staff-operated stair-climbing platforms connect accessible routes.

There are two tickets rather than one. General admission is 12 euros and covers the building, the permanent collection, the temporary exhibitions and the Rooftop Viewpoint, and it is valid for two days within a month of the purchase date. Under-16s and over-65s enter free, on both the general and the basic ticket. General admission is €12 and covers the building, permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. It is valid for two days within 30 days of purchase. Admission is free from 15:00 on Saturdays, on the first Sunday of each month and on museum open days; advance online reservation is required for free-admission periods.

No car is needed, and one is a nuisance. The nearest metro is Plaça Espanya on lines L1 and L3, and the same square is served by FGC lines R5, R6, R50, R60, S3, S4, S8, S9 and L8. Bicing stations are at França Xica and Plaça Espanya. Metro L1 or L3 to Pl. Espanya. Bus 55 stops closest at Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya/Museu Etnològic; bus 150 serves Piscines Picornell–Museu Nacional, and bus 13 stops at Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia/Poble Espanyol. FGC lines R5, R6, R50, R60, S3, S4, S8, S9 and L8 serve Espanya station. From Plaça Espanya, follow Avinguda Maria Cristina and use the escalators to the museum.

The closing time is not the closing time. Ticket offices shut 30 minutes before the museum closes, and the galleries are emptied 15 minutes before that same hour. Treat the published closing time as forty-five minutes earlier than it reads. The whole Palau Nacional is smoke-free. Under-14s must be accompanied by an adult. Two practical points. Two ramps provide step-free entrance on either side of the main door. Lifts and staff-operated stair-climbing platforms connect accessible routes. Wheelchairs, pushchairs and folding chairs can be borrowed from the cloakroom. Adapted toilets are available in the foyer, Sala Oval and Library.

Photography is allowed in the rooms of the permanent collection, without flash, and domestic video recording is allowed on the same terms. It is not allowed in the temporary exhibition rooms unless a sign there says otherwise, and that restriction is enforced. Tripods and selfie sticks are banned throughout. Press photography and anything beyond personal use needs authorisation, arranged in advance with the press department or at the information desk on the day. Outside, the building is the better subject. Wheelchairs, pushchairs and folding chairs can be borrowed from the cloakroom.