Barcelona Maritime Museum

We came here unplanned on our last day in Spain. Ticket price was a bargain compare to other places in this touristy city. The museum is housed in a former ship yard. They even had a section on Spain's role in the slave trade in the Americas, very informative and a somber reminder of the cruelty endured by millions of people. The day we came here was the day before El Día de los Reyes Magos, so we also saw the boat parade by the dock and a festive parade from inside the museum later in the night.

The Maritime Museum of Barcelona is located in Drassanes Reials de Barcelona, the Royal Arsenal of Barcelona. It is dedicated to shipbuilding between the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries. Construction of the Royal Arsenal started in 1285 with Peter III of Aragon. Additions continued over the next four centuries in the Catalan Gothic style. From the inception, the purpose of the shipyard was to build the galleys for the Aragonese Armada to help control the Mediterranean Sea. So amazing to be able to visit the beautiful reproduction of the 1571 Royal Galley of John of Austria from the Battle of Lepanto. It is a full-scale replica. You can view it from platforms looking over the beautiful, ornate carvings and from below the hull. The museum is free to all on Sundays from 3-6 PM. It is located at the Port Vell stop on the Hop on Hop Off Bus tour which is also the stop for the cruise shuttle. Great for a quick stop to see the Royal Galley or for a longer stop to explore the Spanish maritime history.

The Maritime Museum of Barcelona (Museu Marítim de Barcelona) is a lovely institution that offers visitors an immersive journey into the city's rich maritime history - we loved the video rooms that brought to life seafaring 100 years ago. Located in the historic Royal Shipyard (Palau de Mar), the museum features a diverse collection of ships, models, navigational instruments, and maritime artifacts that highlight Barcelona's importance as a leading Mediterranean port. One of the museum's standout features is its impressive outdoor area, which includes restored ships like the tall ship Santa Eulàlia, providing a hands-on experience and a glimpse into maritime life of the past. Inside, exhibits are well-curated and informative, offering insights into the evolution of navigation, shipbuilding, and trade in the region. The museum is ideal for maritime enthusiasts, history buffs, and families alike, thanks to its engaging displays and interactive elements. The surrounding area also enriches the experience with scenic views of the harbor and the city. Overall, the Maritime Museum of Barcelona is highly recommended for anyone interested in exploring Barcelona's maritime heritage, combining educational exhibits with the charm of its historic maritime setting. As a plus, when we went in June there were no crowds in the morning (a rarity in Barcelona!)

The Museum is an interesting sight where Las Rambles met the waterfront. The museum is shaped like a ship & is housed in the former shipyards of Drassane. There is an extensive collection of ships and boats and a large exhibition on the construction of medieval sailing ships. We saw models, instruments & figureheads. In the Drasannes war and merchant ships were built from the 13th until 18th Century. From 1792, the Drassanes were used as barracks. There was a large gift shop with many childrens items. The cage had indoor & garden seating.

In a dynamic city where you can spend a month and still not see all the tourist attractions, Barcelona really delivered with a glimpse into its deep seated maritime origins. We chose this museum because it had personal significance to us. My (Filipino) husband's great grandfather was a 19th Century Spanish mariner, hailing from the southern port of Cadiz, Spain. We know very little about him, so it was eye opening to be introduced to aspects of his life. As we worked our way through the museum, we discovered many fascinating sections that went as far back as a couple of centuries. We were struck by the hardships, courage, and drive it required to sail the seas. The beautiful, full scale replica of a 16th century Royal Galley is by far the most amazing piece. The detail is stunning. While you cannot board it, you can view it from above and below, taking peeks into the very bowels of the ship. I was particularly fascinated by the stories of life on such a ship. The conditions were far from tolerable, actually harsh and life threatening by the time you reached the bottom of the crew's pecking order. Yes, it was powered by slaves. Hygiene, nonexistent. Imagine the smell that preceded them, long before the ship was even seen on the horizon. That kind of defeats the element of surprise if you are on a war ship, wouldn't you think? The museum is tastefully designed, the building a beautifully restored, high ceiling, 13th Century stone building that had been used as an early shipyard. Today, it is situated within walking distance of many other historic sites and exciting neighborhoods, and convenient to clean, efficient public transportation that makes needing a car in Barcelona a non-issue. Entrance to the museum is quite reasonably priced, especially if you use the Barcelona Card. Worth looking into.

HEY YELP ADMINS - This only shows up using its spanish name. I did a review using "Maritime Museum" and it thought it was new, but the photos show up on the Spanish name.

As far as maritime museums go, the Museo Marítim de Barcelona doesn't exactly rate up there with the Maritime Museum in Madrid or that of Sidney, Australia, but all in all not bad. It's somewhat different than most in that it covers some rather modern up to date small runabout and sailing craft. It's housed in an exceptionally beautiful building with a delightfully made to look aged décor. You'll find a good number of varying exhibits including one larger rather ornate ship, the aft section appearing remarkably like someone's rear end or butt; but maybe that similarity has more to do with the works of my mind than anything else. One of the things I really liked about Museo Marítim de Barcelona is that its adjoining gift shop is a great place to sit, have a coffee, some desserts and to relax. It also contains a good number of varying maritime souvenirs.

This review if for the space. While we were exploring the city, we saw that they have a game of thrones exhibit at here. And originally it was supposed to have ended but they extended it through March 11, 2018! We barely made the cut off date. The exhibit was awesome and the backdrop of this museum set the mood. I'm a total game of thrones nerd so it was so much fun climbing the wall, posing with the swords, and capturing my face for the House of Black and White. But the best part of course was taking a seat on the iron throne.

Although not on everyone's priority list, for me this is one of Barcelona's most interesting museums. In part, that's because it's easy to forget when wandering around Barcelona that it's actually a maritime city. And partly, because the building is for once as interesting as its contents. It's housed in the former Royal Shipyards, a covered ship-building dock built between 1283 and 1328. Comprising essentially a series of magnificent and spacious gothic vaults, it's one of the largest and best preserved mediaeval secular buildings in Europe. The collections begin with a series of ships, boats and models, the highlight being the replica of a 16th-century royal galley, covering the whole of Spain's maritime past. There's a good exhibition of maps and cartography, documenting the discovery of the New World and, as you'd expect, lots on Spain's colonial and trading history. Less expected is the unique collection of votive paintings offered by sailors before their seafaring adventures to various maritime-inclined saints. There are also extensive collections of models and maritime paintings. It has the usual services you'd expect of a large museum (cafe, shop, audio-guides and activities for children), but my only gripe is the fearsomely complicated ticket pricing system, with all sorts of discounts and optional extras (including a visit to a ship in the harbour, and a harbour tour). So visit the web-site before you go and plan ahead! Allow half a day to do it all justice.

Rick Steves recommends MMB and it was a big hit with us. Not an old dusty place but very large with new exciting installations. The giant replica of the Royal Galley from the war of Lepanto is amazing. So much to marvel at and to learn. Plus much more about ship building and Barcelona's role. Displays on the impact for people of all classes in the city. The courtyard cafe is very nice place to relax with good food. The tickets also allow a visit on a daily ship close by in the harbor.

I'm giving this 5 points as it exceeded expectations. I wasn't sure how I would like this museum, but it did a good job of explaining the exhibits in reasonable, interesting detail in multiple languages. And they included the audio tour with the standard admission price. We visited on a Monday afternoon, which did not appear to be a busy time for them. First, my only gripe about the museum: we had a bit of trouble with the tickets (which, btw, were 10 Euros). We paid, tried to enter, and found that they were supposed to have given us the tickets. Maybe the ticket agent just put them on the counter and expected us to take them, but I hadn't seen that. A 'here are your tickets' would have helped. We then proceeded to the turnstile where they took the tickets and laid them on top; we entered. Then they chased us down to give us the tickets. Crimony, do you or do you not want me to keep these or to keep them yourselves? Thankfully, things improved after that. The auido guide was pretty good, describing some intro areas and letting you then explore and read from the signs (Spanish/French/English) after that. There were a couple of short films presented. The museum building itself was from the late 1200's and was the place where they constructed wooden naval vessels (galleys, etc.). It was huge and did look old. They showed how it had been re-done multiple times (in an animated segment, that was also interesting). The centerpiece is a full-scale replica of the flagship (constructed in Barcelona, for the 500th anniversary) from the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. It is a 59-oar galley, almost 200 feet long! They had a lot of info about galleys (the most memorable was that they could never surprise an enemy due to the awful smell that the galley produced; if you can smell a boat at sea before you can see it, that must be bad...). They had other exhibits too; one area had display cases made from actual modern shipping containers, which was a cool touch. In all, this was a worthwhile stop. If you're into history or sailing, you should definitely visit this museum. It is only about 2 blocks from the nearest subway stop, is convenient to the harbor front including the Columbus monument, and is also close to the start of the Ramblais, which is also worth exploring.

Worth a visit if you're into Maritime Museums. The English coverage was very good. Tons of model ships, most of them rather large. They cover the history of the building as well as information about modern shipping. I do wish they had covered more about Spain's naval history. When I went, the big replica ship wasn't open so that was unfortunate, but it's really pretty and there's a great deal of information about the carvings and paintings that are on the stern.

This large historic museum is GREAT. Very good informative maritime displays including a full scale replica of a Spanish Galley. We were there at the height of tourist season and there were very few people inside this wonderful museum. Perhaps they need better marketing? The museum itself deserves nothing but praise.

Located on a former shipyard, the Barcelona Maritime Museum offers a great break from all the churches and monuments and is especially great for kids! My favorite part was this life-sized faithful replica of a wooden battle ship. Do visit the wonderful gift shop and cafeteria at the courtyard entrance.

Nice museum located in a historic shipyard used to build galleys that we're deployed to wrestle control of the seas and for Spain to explore the world centuries ago. The audio tour provides some helpful information to explain the working conditions on the ships, how the ships were built, and the historical context for all of this navigation and exploration. The experience is quite interactive and includes two videos, replicas of various frigates, and a massive replica of a galley in the middle of the shipyard. Your ticket includes a tour aboard one of the oldest sailing ships in the Mediterranean docked at the marina just a few steps away from the museum.

The galley is amazing. The rest of the place was pretty dull. I was expecting more. I hope the ongoing renovations improve the place because there just wasn't that many things to see or information that was shared.

This was one of our favorite Barcelona finds. The buildings originally housed a 13th century shipyard and they are beautifully restored and glorious, w/ high ceilings and arched windows. There are a multitude of different types of ships, from fishing boats to war ships, including an early wooden submarine prototype. In the harbor is the three-masted schooner Santa Eulàlia, which we didn't see. The price of admission included it but, as sometimes happens, we ran out of energy. The museum includes an excellent gift shop w/ an extensive array of merchandise, from tee shirts and other apparel to boat models to ceramic pieces in nautical themes. We are fond of maritime museums and have visited them in several countries and this was a fine one. Thank you to Eric B, whose stellar Spanish reviews brought to life my memories of our time in Barcelona in April 2010 and inspired these reviews.

I thought I would like it more than I did but the price is not much and worth a visit - I primarily went because I wanted to gain some more insight into the economic impact of the maritime industry on the Catalan economy and they do emphasize that the ports in Barcelona make it a gateway for global commerce. There is also another boat, outside the museum, that one can tour and pictures of the inside of the boatyards themselves are worth it - wonderful architecture and they date back, I believe, to the middle ages and I love those middle ages - I believe you just get right off the Barcolanetta metro exit and you are right here so easy to get to our right the tourist bus where you can get on and off (two day ticket is the best deal). I was feeling a bit off my game (meaning a caught a low grade bug) and wasn't up to visiting the outside boat but if I did that might raise my review - still, a nice place to go if you have the time, especially, if one is on the tourist bus.