Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museum and stadium tour
Museu del Futbol, entrance on Av. Arístides Maillol, through gates (Accés) 7 and 9 • Jan-March & Nov-Dec
Mon-Sat 10am-6.30pm, April to mid-June & mid-Sept to Oct Mon-Sat 9.30am-7pm, mid-June to mid-Sept
daily 9am-7.30pm, Sun & hols always until 2.30pm, last tour 1hr before closing, no tours on match days • €23,
under-13s €17, under-5s free • 902 189 900 or 934 963 600,
fcbarcelona.com
Together, the stadium and museum - billed as the “
Camp Nou Experience
” - provide a
magnificentcelebrationofSpain'snationalsport.The
self-guidedtour
,completewithaudio-
guide, winds through the changing rooms and players' tunnel onto the pitch and up to the
press gallery and directors' box for stunning views. The
museum
is jammed full of silver-
wareandmemorabilia, including thesixcupswonin2009alone,Barcelona's
annusmirabil-
is
, while a cracking multimedia zone profiles historic games and famous players and relives
thematch-dayatmosphere.Finally,you'redirectedintothe
FCBotiga
megastore,whereyou
can buy anything from a replica shirt down to a branded bottle of wine.
Palau Reial de Pedralbes
Av. Diagonal 686 • Gardens daily 10am-dusk; Free • Palau Reial or tram T1, T2 or T3
Opposite the university on Avinguda Diagonal, formal grounds stretch up to the Italianate
Palau Reial de Pedralbes
- basically a large villa with pretensions. It was built for the use
of the royal family on their visits to Barcelona, with funds raised by public subscription, and
received its first such visit in 1926. However, within five years the king had abdicated and
the palace somewhat lost its role. Franco kept it on as a presidential residence and it later
passed to the city. The rooms had been used to show off the city's applied art collections, but
those collections have since moved to the new
Museu del Disseny
near Plaça de les Glòries
Catalanes.
Although the palace is now closed to the public, the
gardens
- a breezy oasis of Himalaya
cedars, strawberry trees and bougainvillea - are worth a visit. Hidden in a bamboo thicket,
to the left-centre of the facade - is the “Hercules fountain” (1884), an early work by Antoni
Gaudí. He also designed the parabolic pergola, which is covered in climbing plants and is a
nice place to sit and rest your feet. In late June, a
music festival
(
festivalpedralbes.com
)
takes place in the gardens.
Pavellons Güell
Av. de Pedralbes 7 • Guided visits Sat & Sun at 10.15am & 12.15pm in English, plus 11.15am & 1.15pm in
Spanish/Catalan; visits also possible on Fri & Mon with advance reservation • €6, under-18s €3 • 933 177
652,
rutadelmodernisme.com
• Palau Reial, then a 5min walk
As an early test of his capabilities, Antoni Gaudí was asked by his patron, Eusebi Güell, to
rework the entrance, gatehouse and stables of the Güell summer residence, which was sited
