What to do and see in Province of Barcelona, Catalonia: The Best Museums

The Episcopal Museum of Vic (MEV), founded in 1891, houses a magnificent collection of medieval art with paintings and sculpture from the Catalan Romanesque and Gothic periods. The collections of precious metals, textiles, wrought ironwork, glass and ceramics offer a comprehensive journey through the history of liturgical and decorative art in Catalonia. This highly prized collection, including over 29,000 pieces, is exhibited in a new building on a site adjoining the cathedral, equipped with state-of-the-art exhibition facilities. Due to the exceptional interest of the museum's collections, in 2001 the museum was declared a museum of national interest by the Government of Catalonia.

Cau Ferrat 's Museum is the workshop that the painter Santiago Rusinol built in Sitges by the sea in 1893 to house its paintings, iron, ceramics, furniture and antique glass. The museum preserves intact the space and works of art that the modernist painter collected. His visit is an invitation to immerse ourselves in the spirit of Modernism and his idea of the creation of total art. On their walls they upload works by their fellow generations such as Ramon Casas, Ramon Pichot, Ignacio Zuloaga or Dario de Regoyos, and young emerging artists from that period such as Pablo Picasso, Manolo Hugue and Isidre Nonell.

The Maricel Museum exhibits a complete artistic route from the tenth century to realism and figuration during the first half of the twentieth century, passing through the art collections of Dr. Jesus Perez Rosales and the Collection of Sitges, with works of great quality. The museum exhibition integrates multiple languages, techniques and artistic media in order to achieve a maximum consistency in the chronological sequence of the development of the arts. The museum included works from the collection of Dr. Jesus Perez-Rosales that never had been exhibited in public, acquisitions by the Sitges Heritage Association since 2012 (Ramon Casas, Miquel Utrillo, Arcadi Mas i Fondevila, Artur Carbonell i Augusti Ferrer Pino) ​​and donations from artist’s relatives (Pere Jou and Alfred Sisquella).

Through former industrial textile manufacturing spaces and the spectacular architecture of this Modernist building the museum shows the evolution of scientific and technological advances in Catalonia, paying special attention to their industrial application and their effect on society.

El Museo del Ferrocarril de Cataluña que se encuentra en Vilanova i la Geltrú es un valioso equipamiento patrimonial dedicado al mundo ferroviario y al servicio de las personas. Desde prácticamente su constitución en el año 1990 está gestionado por un organismo cultural del sector público, la Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles, creada para la recuperación, custodia, divulgación y transmisión del patrimonio histórico del ferrocarril. Actualmente en su Patronato están representadas las principales empresas del sector ferroviario del Estado. A su vez también forma parte del Sistema Territorial de museos del Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Técnica de Cataluña y de la red de Museos de Vilanova.

It was built at the beginning of the 19th century as a workshop and home for animportant manufacturer from Terrassa. Original mural paintings have been preserved from this period. Major refurbishment in 1911 converted the building into a model for middle-class housing in Terrassa in an eclectic style within the Modernist movement. Of particular importance are paintings by Alexandre de Riquer which are presently on display in the dining room. In the different rooms of this building, visitors appreciate collections of great interest such as the Salvans collection of Far Eastern art, paintings by Martinez Lozano, drawings by Mateu Avellaneda and the legacies of the writers Agusti Bartra and Ferran Canyameres

Can Papiol is a house-museum that evokes the daily life of a wealthy 19th century family through the ambiance of its rooms, which are decorated with original furniture and ornaments of their period. It was inaugurated as a museum in 1961. The most sumptuous part of the house is the main floor, which rooms preserve the richness of the refined taste of the 19th century; the music room, the billiard room and the large ballroom, are some of the most interesting and luxurious. The tour resumes through the rooms of the servants, the farming area and the garden. *All visits are guided. It is recommended to make a prior reservation on the website.

The Museum of Badalona is in the heart of the ancient Roman city of Baetulo. The subsoil conserves one of the most important archaeological complexes from the Roman era in Catalonia. A circular route allows visitors to see more than 3,400 m2 of the city: the baths from the 1st century BC – one of the oldest examples on the Iberian Peninsula – along with some of the most important streets with homes and shops. The entire complex reveals to us what everyday life was more than 2,000 years ago. The permanent exhibition primarily includes pieces from the Roman era, including the Venus of Badalona, the hinges of the door to the city wall and the tabula hospitalis. This entire space is theatrically illuminated and decorated with historically reconstructed elements and sound effects that transport visitors back to ancient Baetulo and immerse them in its world. The complex is handicapped-accessible and has touch modules for the visually impaired.