Design and Science Museums in Barcelona: 3 Places, Hours and Tickets

Barcelona’s three big museums for design and science are the Museu del Disseny de Barcelona at the Disseny Hub building in Glòries, the Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (still widely called the Museu Blau, or Blue Museum) in the Forum Building, and CosmoCaixa, the science museum in Sant Gervasi. General admission is €6.2 at the design museum and €8 at CosmoCaixa. Both the design museum and the Museu Blau are free every Sunday from 3 pm and all day on the first Sunday of the month.

The first two sit in the east of the city, so they pair well in one outing. CosmoCaixa is up the hill in the Zona Alta and works better as a day on its own, especially with children.

Museu del Disseny de Barcelona, Poblenou

The city-run design museum brings together the collections of four older institutions: the Museu de les Arts Decoratives, the Museu de Ceràmica, the Museu Tèxtil i d’Indumentària and the Gabinet de les Arts Gràfiques. Its story runs from decorative arts to contemporary design, and it asks how experiments in design change everyday life. The museum also runs the Pis-Museu de la Casa Bloc, a flat in one of Barcelona’s best-known rationalist housing blocks.

Long-running displays include ‘El cos vestit. Siluetes i moda (1550-2015)’, a history of the dressed body and fashion silhouettes, and ‘Matter Matters. Designing with the World’. Temporary shows on now include ‘André Ricard. Disseny en ús’ and ‘Asunción Bastida. Barcelona i l’alta costura’, both until March 14, 2027, and ‘La Cuina de Frankfurt (1926-2026)’, on the Frankfurt kitchen and gender in the home, also until March 14, 2027. The jewelry show ‘Premis Enjoia’t 2026’ closes Nov. 29. The building has a café-restaurant (Dbar), a library and archive, and a design shop (Dshop). It suits visitors interested in fashion, furniture and graphic design.

Address: Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 37-38 (Sant Martí district). Hours: the building opens Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the exhibitions open from 10:00 to 20:00. On Mondays the building opens from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., but the exhibitions are closed. On Dec. 24 and Dec. 31 it opens from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is closed Jan. 1, May 1, June 24 and Dec. 25. In August it is closed on Mondays. Tickets: €6.2 general admission, including the permanent exhibitions; €4.20 concession for visitors aged 16 to 29 or 65 and over, unemployed people with proof from the SOC (Catalonia’s public employment service), single-parent or large-family card holders and users of Barcelona’s library network. Entry is free for under 16s, Barcelona Card holders, on Sunday afternoons from 3 pm to 8 pm, on the first Sunday of the month, and on Feb. 12 (Santa Eulàlia) and Sept. 24 (La Mercè). Contact: 93 256 67 00, reservations 93 256 68 01. Details are on the Ajuntament de Barcelona listing (Barcelona city council). The building is accessible for people with physical disabilities.

Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona (Museu Blau), Fòrum

Barcelona’s natural history museum dates from 1882, when it opened as the Martorell Museum, built with the collections a local businessman, Francesc Martorell Peña, left to the city. Its main exhibition has been in the Forum Building, erected in 2004, since March 2011. That site opened under the name Museu Blau and took the institution’s official name in December 2017, according to Wikipedia, though the free-entry list from the city still uses both names.

The museum is a single institution spread over several sites: the Forum Building, the Historical Botanical Garden and the Botanical Garden of Barcelona on Montjuïc, the Laboratori de Natura in the Castle of the Three Dragons in the Parc de la Ciutadella, and the original Martorell building, which was closed to the public between 2010 and 2023. It suits families and anyone who likes fossils, minerals and animals.

Tickets: free on Sundays from 3 pm and all day on the first Sunday of the month, according to Museus de Barcelona, the city’s museum service. For opening hours and regular prices, check the museum’s official website before you go.

CosmoCaixa, Sant Gervasi

CosmoCaixa is a private science museum. Its permanent spaces include ‘Bosc Inundat’, a recreated flooded forest; ‘El Mur geològic’, a wall of real rock layers; the ‘Sala Univers’; ‘Base Antàrtica’, on Antarctic research; and ‘La història més bella del Cosmos’, on the story of the universe. Until Dec. 21 there are planetarium shows such as ‘Planetari Forats negres’ (black holes) and ‘Planetari Polaris’, plus workshops for children. The exhibition ‘Sharks. Guardians of the Ocean’ runs from Oct. 22, 2026, to Sept. 26, 2027. The 33rd SUNCINE environmental film festival is on until Nov. 22. Families with children of any age are the main audience.

Address: Carrer d’Isaac Newton, 26 (Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district). Hours: every day, including holidays, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; Dec. 24, Dec. 31 and Jan. 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Closed Dec. 25, Jan. 1 and Jan. 6. Tickets: €8 general admission, which covers the museum and exhibitions. Entry is free for young people up to 16, for “La Caixa” bank customers, and on Feb. 15 (listed as Santa Eulàlia), May 18 (International Museum Day) and Sept. 24 (La Mercè). On La Nit de la Recerca, Sept. 25, entry is free from 18.00 to 22.00 with advance booking. Contact: switchboard 932126050; more on the CosmoCaixa page of the city’s listings. Accessible for people with physical disabilities.

Tips for visiting

• Sunday afternoon is the cheapest time for the two city museums: both the design museum and the Museu Blau are free from 3 pm. Other free slots are in our guide to free museum days in Barcelona.
• CosmoCaixa has no free Sunday afternoon, but anyone under 16 gets in free, so families pay only for the adults.
• Do not plan a Monday visit to the design museum: the building is open but the galleries are closed.
• The city listings give different dates for Santa Eulàlia (Feb. 12 at the design museum, Feb. 15 at CosmoCaixa). Check each museum’s own page before planning around that holiday.
• All three are indoors, so they fit a wet day. For more ideas, see these museums for a rainy day in Barcelona.

Quick answers

Which of the three museums is best for young children?

CosmoCaixa: it runs planetarium shows and children’s workshops, and under 16s get in free.

Is the Museu Blau the same as the Museu de Ciències Naturals?

Yes. The Forum Building site opened as the Museu Blau in 2011 and adopted the institution’s official name, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, in December 2017.

Can I see more museums for free on the same day?

Yes. Several other city museums open free on Sunday afternoons, and our list of free things to do in Barcelona adds parks and viewpoints.

Checked against official sources in November 2026. Hours, prices and rules change: confirm on the official page before you go or apply.