Fundació Joan Miró

The Fundació Joan Miró is certainly a must-visit for art enthusiasts. The museum houses over 14,000 works by the surrealist artist Joan Miró (1893-1983). Additionally, the museum’s rooftop terrace offers a stunning view over Barcelona.

What to See and Do at Fundació Joan Miró

The Fundació Joan Miró is a unique exhibition space for modern art, established by Joan Miró himself with the aim of making art accessible to everyone. The museum, housed in a modern building with simple lines designed by architect Josep Lluís Sert, is declared a cultural asset of national importance. Inside, the works of the Catalan artist are displayed alongside various workshops, temporary exhibitions, and events.

Miró Museum Collection

Joan Miró, one of the 20th century’s most important artists, is known for his style of simple forms and basic colors that define his unique artistic universe, making him a benchmark in the world of modern art. The Miró Museum contains the most comprehensive collection of this surrealist artist, including paintings, sketches, and sculptures.

Visiting the museum is like traveling through all phases of the artist’s creative life. Notable works such as ‘Maig 1968’ (‘May 1968’) and ‘Personatge davant el sol’ (‘Figure in front of the sun’) are displayed. Some works depict the city of Barcelona itself, like ‘Carrer de Pedralbes’ and ‘Ermita de Sant Joan d’Horta’. But the real highlight is the colorful sculpture on the rooftop, ‘La carícia d’un ocell’ (‘The Caress of a Bird’), and the tapestry ‘Tapís de la Fundació’.

There’s also a permanent exhibition of works by other artists dedicated to Joan Miró, including Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, André Masson, Antoni Tàpies, Antonio Saura, and Eduardo Chillida. Winners of the Joan Miró Prize (like Pipilotti Rist, Mona Hatoum, and Roni Horn) are also exhibited here.

Temporary Exhibitions at Miró Museum

The museum regularly hosts fascinating temporary exhibitions of emerging artists. Additionally, there’s a special space called Espai 13 dedicated to promoting the work of young artists.

Familimiró

Thanks to special tours, workshops, and events for both adults and children, a visit to the Miró Museum is highly suitable as a family outing. The museum’s family program, ‘Familimiró’, provides parents the opportunity to actively engage with their children in art.

Jacques Dupin Library

The Jacques Dupin Library, the Documentation Center of the Fundació Joan Miró, primarily focuses on acquiring, preserving, and disseminating documents related to Joan Miró and his work. The library also houses a large collection of publications and audiovisual art from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Bar-Restaurant and Shop at Fundació Miró

The museum also features a book and souvenir shop with a variety of products and books related to Miró, modern art, design, and architecture. Additionally, there’s an on-site bar-restaurant with a terrace where you can enjoy a meal before or after your visit.

The View from the Miró Museum

The terrace of the Fundació Joan Miró is one of my favorite spots in the museum. Thanks to its privileged location on Montjuïc Hill, it offers a beautiful view over Barcelona, complemented by Miró’s artworks.

More Miró in Barcelona

Discover more of Miró’s work throughout Barcelona! For example, in Parc Joan Miró, you can see Miró’s sculpture ‘Dona i ocell’ (‘Woman and Bird’) and the sculpture ‘Dona’ (‘Woman’) in the courtyard of Casa de la Ciutat. Additionally, Miró’s colorful pavement ‘Pla de l’Os’ on the famous Ramblas and the large ceramic mural on the facade of Terminal 2 at Barcelona Airport (co-created with J. Llorens i Artigas) are worth seeing. In El Raval, on Carrer de Sant Pau, there’s a beautiful mural by street artist Sixe Paredes in honor of Miró.

History of Fundació Joan Miró

Joan Miró, a painter and sculptor born in 1893 in Barcelona, studied at the art academy La Llotja in Barcelona and started his career as an artist in 1912. Throughout his life, he traveled around the world (Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands, New York, Japan…) and developed as a surrealist artist. It was Miró himself who, in 1968, conceived the idea of establishing a foundation focused on contemporary art. The Fundació Joan Miró was officially inaugurated in 1975. Thanks to the donations from the artist and other individuals, this foundation has become a showcase of Joan Miró and his work.

Joan Miró Museum Tickets

The Fundació Joan Miró is a highly visited museum. It is therefore highly recommended to book your tickets online in advance. This way, you can avoid long queues and get faster access to the museum. Tickets are available online from €13 per person, and children up to 15 years old have free access. For an additional €5, you can purchase an audio guide on-site to better understand the museum and Miró’s masterpieces (available in Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, and Russian).

Note: For groups larger than 15 people, you need to make a separate reservation. Groups without reservations will not be admitted.

Guided Tours at the Miró Museum

Art enthusiasts are advised to purchase tickets for a guided tour. This will allow you to learn much more about the legendary Catalan artist Joan Miró. Guided tour tickets start from €20 per person. Languages available: English and Spanish.

Free Guided Tours

You can coordinate your visit to the Fundació Joan Miró with one of the free guided tours offered. You will be guided through the museum by a museum guide and learn everything about Miró and his foundation.

Free guided tours are offered on various days and times, and no prior reservation is required (although the number of participants per tour is limited).

• Free guided tour of the museum explaining the collection in Spanish (Saturday at 11:00 AM), Catalan (Saturday at 12:30 PM), and English (Thursday at 1:00 PM).
• Free guided tour of the museum explaining the building in Catalan (Sunday at 12:30 PM) and English (Sunday at 11:00 AM).

Getting to Fundació Joan Miró

The Miró museum is located on Montjuïc Hill and is easily accessible by public transportation. The closest metro station is Espanya (L1, L3, and L8). From Plaça Espanya, you can walk through Plaça de Carles Buïgas (where the Font Màgica is located) to the Jardins de Laribal and then to the Miró museum.

An even faster way is to take the Funicular de Montjuïc from Paral.lel station (L2 and L3), which quickly takes you to Avinguda de Miramar, just a few meters from the museum. Bus line 150, which you can take at the base of the two Venetian columns at Plaça Espanya, also stops near the museum.

If you are traveling on the hop-on-hop-off bus, you can also alight at the Miró museum.