Great Things to do in Barcelona for FREE - CosmoCaixa Science Museum

It's been yonks since I got a free museum up on the blog, so no time like the present. Continuing on from my little series of great things to do for free in the city, the Cosmo Caixa is a worthy and late addition.

It's basically the city science museum, and is free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month (and when it's not, it's a measly 4 € for adults and kids up to 16 are free which is a bargain). It's located up in the hills at the back of the city, at the foot of Tibidabo, which is a bit out of the way, but there are excellent links via public transport. We went in the car, and found a parking space no problem outside for free. You know this place means business, when you have these two guys waiting for you at the information desk!

Newton's laws, fossils, evolution, a temporary exhibition about Micro-life - basically looking at things through microscopes and there were fun interactive things to play with for the kids. This temporary space changes throughout the year, so you can always go back and see something new. There's clearly far too many things for me to explain about the contents of the museum, so I took a few snaps on my phone to share. They kind of speak for themselves:

Jack and Chewy showing off the spider collection (there are some real ones in the museum, too).

A massive tree is the main feature as you wind down the stairs to level -5, and all along the way are fossils and explanations of evolution, nature's shapes, etc.

Apparently, this good looking specimen was laughing, as she was re-tracing the steps of a bigger animal or something. Scary.

Look what I caught?!

Ah, now this one needs a bit of explaining. The image below is unmistakable, right? Even my 6 year old got it. Cool, but the image is actually made up of a load of plastic flies all stuck together like so. When you walk past it up close it just looks like a load of flies.

Always wanted one of these when I was a kid.

The super cool "flooded forest" is a big attraction, and is at one end of the museum. It's really well done, with tanks on the outside as you can see, and all sorts of sizes of fish inside. Like this huge guy.

 We didn't even see a 1/4 of the things in the museum.

One of the main things to say about the CosmoCaixa is that it's bloody huge. There's tons of things to do and explore, planetariums, touching sessions with reptiles, guided tours, and the very cool "bosque inundado"  - like a life-like model of a rain forest with loads of trees, animals, creepie crawlies and it even rains every 15 minutes, like a real rain forest! On normal paying days, you have to buy tickets for the "extra" things, and they apparently sell out fairly fast, so if you do go, make sure you know to get in there early - although there's so much to see even if you miss out on that. Below is a picture of the sprinklers, making it "rain".

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Rollerblading in Barcelona - Palau Sant Jordi

 Technically, this could be titled Rollerblading with kids as it's a family activity that we do, but mainly geared towards the kids. It started last year, after we took them to the ice rink at Christmas two years ago. It's been a post I've had as a draft for absolutely ages, and just keep not getting round to publishing!!

It's well known that Barcelona is a great city for wheels of the non-motorised variety - hundreds of skateboarders descend on the city each year and the lax laws and slight gradient the city is on makes it a perfect place to practise tricks and shoot videos.

So it's natural that skating also fits the bill. There are plenty of associations and events that revolve around skating (both inline and traditional) and even just two weeks ago there was a roller disco kind of event at Sant Antoni festival, but I wanted to focus here more on the wee ones. Obviously, before I go any further, I'd like to remind everyone - young or old -to always wear proper protection. Knee and elbow pads, wrist guards and a good helmet are a must, people (as shown by my fashionable lad here in the photos).

As a family, we've tried a few places to skate which I'll be adding to the blog bit by bit (when I remember to take photos of the places we go!) but so far, I don't think you can beat just in front of Palau Sant Jordi.

There are so many advantages to skating here, it's a really tough one to beat. First of all, it's huge. Literally, these pictures don't do it justice at all, and there are actually three different spaces you can skate on, all joined together but on slightly different levels. You can see from the snaps, that the place is almost entirely covered with smooth pinky flag stones, so great for beginners but still "urban" enough to practice (there are plenty of broken ones and drains to navigate). You can also see the decorative posts in the above pic, which are great for training the kids on curves/slalom and just getting them to practise changing direction in short spaces.

Another massive advantage is that you can almost always find a car parking space right outside for free, so if you are going in a car, there's no need to worry about that. I say almost always, unless there's a daytime event inside the Palau, or nearby Olympic Stadium. And even if you decide to take public transport, it's a quick hop up from Plaça Espanya on the escalators, or there are bus routes too which stop right outside. 

It never gets crowded  - just occasional tourists who come to admire the views towards the airport, or close ups of the telefonica needle. There is also a great ramp to one side of the Olympic stadium which is great to practice on and get used to different inclines and gradients. Perhaps the biggest advantage though - and remember I'm always thinking of the kids here - is that there's absolutely zero traffic. You don't have to worry at all about someone straying off, or not being able to stop at a traffic light or junction!! 

And while you're there, you can get some pretty snazzy shots of the Barcelona skyline, too, like this one below! 

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Palau Robert - The Art of Trickery

This coming week is your last chance to see the cool exhibition at Palau Robert in central Barcelona called "El Arte del Engaño" - another cool thing to do in Barcelona for free.

Palau Robert is a nice little place just on the corner of Diagonal and Passeig de Gracia, with a great little garden at the back, somewhere often overlooked. The Palace often has free exhibitions and galleries so it's always worth a look if you're passing by.



This exhibition is all about special effects in the film industry, and celebrates the 2007 Oscar for the special effects in Guillermo del Toro's wacky Pan's Labyrinth. It also features a bit of history about the beginnings of special effects and how slow motion animation began with things like King Kong models, the classic Japanese-style fighting dinosaurs, bringing you right up to date with Terminator 2, HellBoy and many other odds and ends (like chucky from Child's play!). It's a fairly short exhibition, but as it's free to get in, it's well worth a look.



I apologies for the poor quality of the photos here, but they were taken on my phone very quickly, as I don't really think you were allowed to take photos!!







Get yourselves down to Palau Robert before the 27th September, as the exposition ends. Coming to Barcelona soon? Try apartments for rent in Barcelona and for a short but thorough Guide to Barcelona, click the link.

Great things to do in Barcelona for FREE - Part 7

OK, it's been a while, but I thought I'd give you another great thing to do in Barcelona for free. Now this might not seem all that appealing at first but remember, it's free, so hear me out.



One of the best things about Sundays in Barcelona is that everyone hits the streets and the parks and gardens of the city are filled with couples, families and friends reflecting on the weekend's activities and getting ready for the coming week. The FIRST Sunday of each month is also a little special as a few of the city's Museums open their doors to the public for free. What better way to spend a Sunday morning than in an air-conditioned museum soaking up some culture, before you head down to Barceloneta for a Paella and the beach, right?!



Sitting halfway up Montjüic is Barcelona's Ethnological Museum. Originally formed by a group of intellectuals in the 1920's who wanted to gather their interests in Folklore and ethnology in one place, the museum has seen a few homes, but is now in the building you can see in these photos, and has been there since 1973.

The museum has a staggering amount of information, history, anthropology and exhibitions ranging from close to home (Catalonia, Salamanca) and spanning almost every culture across the globe - Japan, Nuristan, Ethiopia, Morocco, Australia, South America and Papa New Ginuea are all covered in over 70,000 individual pieces. It's not one of those museums where you need to take everything in - just wander around and look at those things that come out at you - it gives you a real sense of the diversity in the world and makes you wonder about just how people lived hundreds of years ago. Fascinating stuff.

Coming to Barcelona soon? Still haven't booked that hotel? No worries! Look into short-stay apartments for rent in Barcelona as a great alternative. Fancy some more museums? Here are the Top 10 Museums in Barcelona for you to mull over.

Great things to do in Barcelona for FREE - Part 6

Time for another money-saver, and another free museum. I know I mentioned that the free things weren't all going to be "boring" things but trust me on this one! This is the Chocolate Museum!

The first Monday of each month, the Chocolate Museum opens its doors for free. The museum is located on Calle Comercio, in the Borne district and is easy to spot. It's actually part of the pastry school and perhaps the best part of the museum is the workshop which has the chocolatiers making their creations.



And it's these creations that make the most impression. Sure, there's a fair bit of audio-visual stuff which tells you about the history of chocolate, cocoa and stuff like that, but the workshop takes the plaudits. See, in Spain at Easter, it's tradition to give "monas" instead of eggs/as well as eggs! These "monas" are basically creations or sculptures made out of chocolate. These can include houses, Barça shields, cars, etc. and are often made to order in the famous bakers of the sity such as Escriba.

The chocolate museum has an exposition of some of these "monas" or chocolate creations, and it's mind-blowing what they can do with chocolate! There are some great sculptures of the Sagrada Familia, Pinocchio, and even Michelangelo's Madonna and Jesus. It's well worth a visit to kill a few hours, and even better as it's free!

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Great things to do in Barcelona for FREE - Part 5

Barcelona is really old. That might sound like a stupid comment to start off a blog post, but it is. The Romans founded Barcelona on Mons Taber hill, and called it "Barcino". There are remnants of the old Roman town of Barcino still in the city today, but unlike places like Rome, where many of the ruins can be seen in broad daylight, Barcino's old town is underground, and located in the now Gothic Quarter of Barcelona inside the City History Museum.



This offers a fantastic insight to the history of the city, and as you take an elevator down into the air-conditioned basement, a digital clock counts down the years, literally taking you back in time. No photographs are allowed inside, so I don't have any to add here, but the ruins are very detailed in their descriptions, and show old wine-making facilities, dye factories for clothing, as well as houses, etc. and there are some great scale models and artwork of what the Roman Town of Barcino would have looked like. If you know Barcelona well enough from maps, it's easy to pick out the places you would recognise today, such as Las Ramblas and Sant Pau del Camp church - literally in the middle of nowhere.

So why is this post under the current series of "Great Things to do for Free in Barcelona"? Well, on the first Saturday of each month the City History Museum opens it's doors for free! My cousin was visiting last month and I took him along to see what he thought, too. He was very impressed, and also surprised at the free entrance! If you happen to be in town on the first Saturday of the month, then it's a great place to visit, even just for a quick walk around (you could spend hours in there), and especially fun as you have a really quiet, cold history lesson right below the busy streets of a Saturday in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona!

Comments welcome as always guys, or let me know if you've been and your thoughts.

Great Things to do in Barcelona for FREE - Part 4

With almost 890,000 visits a year, and tucked away on Carrer Montcada in el Borne district, one of the Top 10 Barcelona Museums is definitely the Picasso Museum.



Picasso was from Malaga, but spent some of his youth in Barcelona, where his father worked as an art teacher in an old town school. The Barcelona Picasso Museum traces a lot of his early life here, and was the only Museum dedicated to the work of the man which was opened during his lifetime.



So hold on, I hear you ask, surely this can't be FREE, as the title of the post suggests?! Well guys the good news is that on the First Sunday of the month, the Picasso Museum opens it doors to the public for free, and it's well worth trotting on down to see it - not only for the magnificent artwork you'd expect to find in there, but also because of the beautiful historical building housing the work. First opened in 1963, the museum has undergone substatial reconstruction work, and now covers 5 palaces over 11,500 square metres. You can see from the image below how lavish some of the places were/are.



One of the best things about the museum (in my humble opinion) is that you see that he was actually a really good recreator of natural forms. Maybe that sounds stupid, but I mean if you ask anyone to describe a Picasso, you'd more than likely get a reply that "he paints the eyes on the same side of the face and uses wacky colours" - you get the idea.

However some of his early stuff (you'll forgive me for not remembering the names - there are over 3,500 pieces on display) are excellent. There's one in particular of which he won a prize and made his mark as a serious artist, of a bed-ridden ill woman being attended to by a doctor and apart from being huge, it's very very good. I'm sure for art-lovers, then the entrance fee is well worth the money, but for those of you simply curious and fancy a look around with no pressure, get yourselves down there on the first Sunday of the month.

Like what you're reading? Please feel free to leave a comment below - I appreciate any feedback. For more information about the city see this short but informative Barcelona Guide and check out these apartments for rent in Barcelona for a great alternative to a hotel.

Great things to do in Barcelona for FREE - Part 3

OK, well, maybe I should re-post this as "Great things to do in Barcelona for less than a Euro" as this is not strictly a free activity, but for 70 cents, you can't complain...

Montjüic mountain in Barcelona offers a great escape for families and anyone really wanting to escape the hustle and bustle of Barcelona. There are some fantastic views of the city from up there, as well as the Olympic Diving boards, Botanical Gardens, A Cactus park, the Greek theatre and the Miró foundation, and of course the cable car ride up to the top of Montjüic castle.

Barcelona's tourist bus stops at various places in and around Montjuic, but as I'm trying to offer some money savers for the coming months, then I can highly reccomend taking the Funicular de Montjüic.

The Funicular is a bit like a train, but it's pulled on a cable and while one goes up, the other goes down. Funiculars are used to climb inclines and can be found at the back of Barcelona at Tibidabo and also on day trips outside Barcelona at places like Montserrat.

It's a fun way to get half way up to Montjüic and if you can get a seat at the front, you'll see the oncoming train as you go up/down - the trains are without drivers, and controlled solely by the cable.

The Montjüic funicular leaves from Paral·lel metro station, on the entrance next to Carrer Nou de la Rambla. It's included in the metroploitan transport area, so it can be used as one trip if you arrive from the station from elsewhere (you don't need to pay again, just walk straight through, as if changing lines on the metro) and if you arrive there on foot, you can just use 1 trip on a T-10 journey card which is the equivalent of 70 cents - so come on guys, almost FREE?!

Don't forget, you can also make considerable savings on accomodation choices in Barcelona with cheap apartments to rent in Barcelona instead of going for the more traditional hotel rooms, for example.

Great things to do in Barcelona for FREE - Part 2

Following on from my previous post about great things to do in Barcelona without spending any money, today's post is all about the Magic Fountains at Montjüic.


The fountain was build as part of the Universal Exposition, held in 1929, and is a water fountain which "dances" to music. There are various "shows" which last around 20 minutes, and have different music (sometimes strange choices - the Barcelona song made famous by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé and Celine Dion's my heart will go on?!). It's a great way to spend an evening in the summer, for example, and there are often fire jugglers between performances and things like this. I always feel like a little kid when I go and see them!

For times and other information, see the city's official website here.

Comments welcome as always guys, and for more information on Barcelona, see this great Barcelona Guide. Also, for your accomodation needs, I reccomend trying apartments for groups in Barcelona as a great alternative to hostal bunk beds.

Great things to do for FREE in Barcelona - Part 1

Given the current financial stress everyone is under, it's nice to find a couple of ways to occupy your days which cost little or no money. So that's a principle I thought is worth blogging about and something I think people might appreciate, too. So I'm going to begin a mini series of blogs to let everyone know what cool things you can do in Barcelona for free.

First up, is the Maritime Museum. On the first Saturday of each month (as long as it's not a public holiday) from 3pm onwards, you can get in the Maritime Museum for free. OK, it might not be high on your list of Museums you'd love to see if you were paying for the entrance, but if it's free, then it's worth having a look - especially as it's really central and somewhere you're very likely to pass on a Saturday afternoon anyway! It's located at the bottom of Las Ramblas, to the right in the old Shipyards themselves. The first thing to note is that it's an extremely impressive building and just goes to show the importance that the Port of Barcelona has had throughout its history.

The museum is very thorough and literally gives you the history of all things maritime, but from the Catalan point of view. If you spent time reading all the information and viewed all the glass-encased exhibitions, you would be in there for hours. There's also a free audio guide in various languages you can take if you like. I could post a hundred photos on here, as there were some great things in there, and we only really whizzed round, not paying much attention to the information texts, ect.

Some of the most impressive parts are the real-life scale model of a galleon in the middle of the museum, and a re-creation of what it was like to live on a boat, too. I went with the kids and they loved it.

Scale model of Galleon.


As part of the entrance ticket, you also gain entrance to a second guest exhibition which is next to the Maritime exhibits, and changes every couple of months. Past examples have been the fantastic Human Bodies exhibitions, Tin Tin, and at the moment, there's a Chinese Maritime History one, complete with actors in costume and the lot.

The Maritime Museum is one of the many museumsin Barcelona with FREE entrance which I'll be blogging about here (although it's not all goung to be museums, guys, don't worry!!) so follow me or subscribe to my feeds at to the right of your page to make sure you don't miss out on anything!

For your next visit to the city, try renting apartments for groups in Barcelona