The city’s museums have an almost unlimited capacity to surprise us with the richness of the collections they hold, but also with the way in which they make them known. This Saturday, 18 May, they open their doors at night and turn the everyday experience of visiting a museum into an exciting adventure. You are welcome to the Nit dels Museus.

It all starts at 7pm, the usual time when many museums and cultural facilities in the city close their doors. The museums of Barcelona (and several other cities in the metropolitan area) are open at that time and not only invite you to visit them free of charge, but also prepare a whole host of activities in their facilities that you shouldn’t miss.

Many of them are by reservation (check the website and register), but some of them are free visits or activities that do not require you to make a reservation. If you feel like improvising and want to go out and see the Nit dels Museus, keep reading.

The proposals are as diverse as the theme that inspires each venue and even discover small & charming museums that you may not know yet. Did you know, for example, that the Hotel Astoria on Carrer de París houses more than three hundred works by the Tarragona painter and draughtsman Ricard Opisso? You can see it by visiting the Opisso Museum. If you walk along Carrer d’Avinyó, on the other hand, you can visit a Roman Domus with paintings on the wall and ceiling. 

These are just a few examples of spaces that are little known but which are gradually becoming known to the public through initiatives such as these. Other, more familiar, are equally interesting and are free for that day, ensuring you want to visit again.

If you are interested in history, don’t miss a guided visit to the ancient Roman aqueduct that supplied water to the city. Arxiu Fotogràfic, on the other hand, offers a free visit to the exhibition Fotografia per a artistes (Photography for artists), but also a jazz performance, a musical evening with Jesús Victoria (voice and guitar) and Yago Pajarón (guitar). Visiting the Historical Archive of Barcelona and seeing it from the inside, marvelling at the collection of volumes and the history of the past at the Arús Public Library or, in the world of sport, a visit to the Barça Museum with an immersive tour included, or a tour of the Joan Antoni Samaranch Olympic and Sports Museum are some of the proposals for the Night of the Museums.

CaixaForum offers workshops and micro-concerts, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona offers poetry slam sessions and, at the same venue, the Anti-Gutter self-publishing and graphic and sound micro-publishing fair, with concerts, workshops and a self-publishing market (reservations are required). 

The MNAC offers a guided tour to look at the works of yesterday with the eyes of today and a concert of belle époque music in connection with the exhibition dedicated to Suzanne Valadon.

Open doors at the Palau Robert, the Pavelló Mies van der Rohe or a date with the performing arts and science at the Natural Science Museum in the Forum Park during which you can enjoy a science-based improvisation show are just some of the many other proposals that await you at the various Barcelona venues during the Nit dels Museus. If you want to make your own route, check the website for all the information you need..