Montjuic Barcelona – Palau Nacional

Does anyone recognize where we are? We are in Barcelona, Spain at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya aka Montjuïc.

Palau Nacional

The whole place was so stunningly beautiful that we had to get off the tour bus immediately to check it out. When we got off the bus we were not even sure what the place was. We just knew it had to be something great by the looks of things. I now know the place is full of great art, but the building itself is what captured our attention. Once we got to the top we were privileged to see spectacular views of the city. Yes, we climbed all those stairs, but I’ll admit those escalators were a huge help! Unfortunately for us the fountains were not on. I have seen pictures of this place with the fountains on and it looks even better!

According to Wikipedia:

The Palau Nacional (Catalan for ‘National Palace’) was the main site of the 1929 International Exhibition on the hill of Montjuïc in Barcelona. It was designed by Eugenio Cendoya and Enric Catà under the supervision of Pere Domènech i Roura. Since 1934 it has been home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia.

The Spanish Renaissance-inspired building has a rectangular floor plan flanked by two side and one rear square sections, with an elliptical dome in the center. The fountains by the staircases leading to the palace are the work of Carles Buïgas.

Between 1996 and 2004, the palace was extended to accommodate the National Art Museum’s entire collection of over 5,000 artworks.