The Museu Picasso fills five medieval palaces on Carrer de Montcada and has limited capacity. So on bank holiday weekends, regular weekends and in summer, the time you wanted can sell out, and the free Thursday and first-Sunday slots are gone as soon as bookings open. Neither means you miss the museum. These are the routes, in the order worth trying them.
Which ticket should you choose?
| If you want… | Option | From |
|---|---|---|
| The most reviewed | Picasso Museum skip-the-line guided tour, 4.5★ (3,552) Book | €37 |
| The top rated | Picasso Museum skip-the-line guided tour with Tours For Today, 4.6★ (158) Book | €39 |
1. Check the official website again
The official site is museupicassobcn.cat. General admission to the collection is €12 online and €13 at the box office; reduced is €7 (ages 18 to 25, university students, over-65s and unemployed visitors, with proof). Under-18s get in free, and under-14s must be with an adult.
- Look at other times on the same day. If your time is full, there may be space first thing or mid-afternoon.
- Mind the opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 19:00. On 24 and 31 December it closes at 14:00.
- Check it's open that day. It closes every Monday and also on 1 January, 1 May, 24 June and 25 December.
- If you're going for a temporary exhibition, check what your ticket includes. Picasso and Architecture runs from 20 November 2026 to 7 March 2027.
Only buy once your day is fixed: under the museum's rules, a ticket is valid for the date and time on it and isn't refunded if you don't use it.
2. The box office on Carrer de Montcada
The museum sells tickets at its box office on Carrer de Montcada, for €13. It closes 30 minutes before the museum closes, so don't leave it late. Because capacity is limited, on busy days there may be no places left: it's a good option on weekdays and outside high season, not a safe bet on a Saturday in August.
Travel light: bags larger than 30 × 30 × 25 cm aren't allowed in the galleries, though there's a free cloakroom.
3. Free entry, always with a booking
The museum is free on Thursdays from 16:00 to 19:00, on the first Sunday of every month and on the open days of 12 February, 17 May (International Museum Day) and 24 September. You can't just turn up: you have to book on the official site, and bookings open four days ahead, at 10:00.
That's the catch: the places go quickly. If you want to go free, log on at 10:00 sharp on the day bookings open and have several times in mind. If you miss out, a paid ticket at another time is still the simplest route.
4. A skip-the-line guided tour
When the official site has nothing left, licensed operators usually still have places because they book ahead. You pay more than on the official site, but you go in at a fixed time with someone who explains how Picasso developed, from his training years in Barcelona to Las Meninas:
- Skip-the-line guided tour (from €37): the most reviewed of the ones we link.
- Skip-the-line guided tour with Tours For Today (from €39): the higher rated of the two, for just €2 more.
Before paying, check the listing says "Picasso Museum entry included" and read the cancellation terms.
5. The Articket BCN and the free Born
If you're seeing other art museums too, the Articket BCN (€38, at articketbcn.org) covers one visit to the Museu Picasso and five other museums, including the MNAC, the MACBA and the Fundació Joan Miró, within 12 months, collections and temporary exhibitions included.
And if you don't get in after all, the neighbourhood is still worth it. Walking down Carrer de Montcada and looking into the Gothic courtyards of its palaces costs nothing, and two minutes away is El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria, where entry to the building is free (the exhibitions and the archaeological site are paid).
Mistakes to avoid
- Buying from sites that look like the official one. Several have "Picasso" in the name and overcharge. The official one is
museupicassobcn.cat. - Turning up on a Thursday afternoon or the first Sunday without a booking. Entry is free, but it has to be booked four days ahead.
- Going on a Monday. The museum closes every Monday, and on 24 June, Sant Joan, too.
- Forgetting your ID for reduced entry. The box office asks for it; without it you pay the full price.
In one sentence
If your time is sold out, try another on the official site or at the Carrer de Montcada box office, and if you'd rather not risk it book a guided tour with entry included; to fit it into a full day, see Barcelona in 1 day, and if the basilica lets you down too, read what to do if the Sagrada Família is sold out.
