The Picasso Museum Málaga, in the Palacio de Buenavista on Calle San Agustín, is one of the city's must-sees. At Easter, in summer and on days with several cruise ships in port, some time slots can sell out online. Unlike other in-demand museums, though, the official site leaves a door open here: the box office. These are your options, in the order worth trying them.
What options are left?
| If you want… | Option | From |
|---|---|---|
| Another time or day | Official website, tickets.museopicassomalaga.org |
€13 |
| To buy on the spot | Museum box office, at quiet times | €13 |
| Free entry | Sundays, last two hours | €0 |
| The ticket, with audio guide | Picasso Museum Málaga ticket, 4.5★ (13,842) Book | €13 |
| Museum and birthplace with a guide | Picasso route, private tour Book | €166 |
| Modern art at the port | Centre Pompidou Málaga, 4.2★ (734) Book | €9 |
| Three minutes away, guided | Alcazaba and Roman Theatre, 4.7★ (7,412) Book | €13 |
1. The official website: prices and hours
Official sales are at tickets.museopicassomalaga.org, linked from museopicassomalaga.org.
- Single ticket: €13. Collection and temporary exhibitions, with an audio guide in a web app that runs in your phone's browser, no download needed.
- Reduced: €11. Over-65s, European Youth Card holders and students under 26.
- Free: under-17s, disabled visitors plus one companion, people registered as unemployed in Spain, University of Málaga students, teachers, ICOM members and journalists.
The museum opens every day from 10am, and closing time changes with the season:
| Months | Hours | Free on Sundays |
|---|---|---|
| November to February | 10am-6pm | 4pm-6pm |
| March to June | 10am-7pm | 5pm-7pm |
| July and August | 10am-8pm | 6pm-8pm |
| September and October | 10am-7pm | 5pm-7pm |
Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Special dates: on 24 and 31 December and 5 January it opens 10am-3pm; it's closed on 25 December and 1 and 6 January.
If your slot is sold out, check others the same day. With the audio guide the visit takes an hour and a half to two hours, so moving to first thing or mid-afternoon won't wreck your day.
2. The box office
This is the big difference from other popular museums: the Picasso Museum's website says explicitly that if online tickets are sold out, you can also buy them at the box office at quiet times. Your best bet is to turn up at opening (10am) or in the last hour and a half before closing. On the busiest days, don't count on it.
3. Free Sundays and free days
Entry is free every Sunday for the last two opening hours (see the table above for each month). The box office stops selling half an hour before closing, so in November, for example, you need to get in between 4pm and 5:30pm.
It's also free all day on 28 February (Andalusia Day), 18 May (International Museum Day), 27 September (World Tourism Day) and 27 October (the museum's anniversary).
Two hours on a Sunday afternoon cover the core of the collection, not the temporary exhibitions at leisure. And it's the busiest time of the week.
4. A guided visit with entry included
If you want a guaranteed visit and to understand Picasso in his home town, the Picasso route in Málaga€166 is a two-and-a-half-hour private tour: the church of Santiago, where he was baptised, the Picasso Birthplace Museum and the Picasso Museum, with both tickets included. It costs from €166 with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
If you just want a ticket without queuing, our Picasso Museum ticket€13 · 4.5 costs the same as the official one (€13), includes the audio guide and can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.
5. If you can't get in: nearby alternatives
- Picasso Birthplace Museum on Plaza de la Merced, about 5 minutes' walk: the house where the painter was born in 1881.
- Centre Pompidou Málaga, the "Cube" at the port: around 70 works from the Pompidou in Paris, Picasso among them. Entry from €9.
- The Alcazaba and Roman Theatre, three minutes from the museum: if your day suddenly frees up, it's the other essential sight in the centre.
When it sells out and how far ahead to book
The official site doesn't publish a booking window. This is our advice:
- Easter, July, August and cruise days: book a few days ahead and go for the first slot.
- Sunday afternoons: crowds build for the free hours; if you don't mind paying €13, go in the morning.
- Weekdays from November to February: rarely a problem; the box office is usually enough.
Common mistakes
- Arriving in the last half hour on Sunday for free entry. The box office has already closed: it stops selling 30 minutes before closing.
- Using summer hours in winter. From November to February it closes at 6pm, not 7pm.
- Going on 1 or 6 January or Christmas Day. It's closed.
- Mixing up the Picasso Museum and the Birthplace Museum. They're two separate museums with separate tickets, five minutes apart.
- Buying from sites that look like the official one. The official shop is
tickets.museopicassomalaga.org.
In a nutshell
If the Picasso Museum Málaga is sold out, try another time on the official site or the box office at a quiet moment; Sundays are free for the last two hours, and for a no-risk visit the private Picasso route includes entry. To fit it in with the rest of the city, see Málaga in two days.
