The Poble Espanyol

Barcelona presents Spain in miniature: The Poble Espanyol

There is a place in Barcelona where you can get to know the whole of Spain built to scale, just in a day.  We're talking about the Poble Espanyol, an open-air museum that has reconstructed in detail, all the most iconic buildings from cities across the Iberian Peninsula. 

This is the perfect place to visit with children and is also great fun to explore with friends.....and it also offers plenty of surprises.

What is the Poble Espanyol?

The Poble Espanyol came into being as a temporary decoration for the Universal Exhibition of 1929 and became a permanent fixture due to it tremendous popularity and success with tourists.  Today, in fact, it is one of the best loved attractions for tourists who visit the Catalan city, as a result of which, it now boasts a range of shops, restaurants, discotheques, numerous handicraft activities and also a theater school.  

The main attraction is still the thorough and detailed reconstruction in their actual size of 117 buildings which are most representative of Spain and belong to the country's 17 autonomous communities, each of which has their own peculiarities which can be seen and admired (you can find out more about these in the article entitled the history of Cataluña and Spain). The Poble Espanyol is considered to be a town in itself, (many people believe, erroneously, that it is "Spain in Miniature") whereas it is a truly immense work of art: it has been constructed over an area of some 49.000 square meters!  In addition to this, there aren't just buildings to admire: the Poble Espanyol has also reproduced certain famous streets and squares from across Spain.

Visiting the Poble Espanyol

If you find yourself in Barcelona for a few days, paying a visit to the Poble Espanyol is really worthwhile.  With regard to prices, entry tickets for adults cost €14.00 and children pay €6.20.  There are also other deals available which include, for example, a visit to the nearby MNAC Musuem or for those who want to make the best out of their visit, you can also choose to buy a ticket with an audio-guide which is priced at €16.10.  With regard to opening times, the Poble Espanyol is open every day of the year but with different timings during the week: on Mondays from 09:00 to 20:00; on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and Sundays from 09:00 until midnight; on Fridays from 09:00 to 03:00 in the morning and on Sundays, until 4 am.   

How to get there

In order to get to the Poble Espanyol, you can just hop on the Metro on the Red Line L1 and get off at the stop called Espanya. You will arrive in front of the Las Arenas Shopping Center which looks like a square and has a panoramic elevator) and will then need to wait for the number 150 bus which travels to the Castell del Montjuïc, in other words, to number 13. Another option is to take the green route on the Tourist Bus which is also recommended on this same page and which has a stop-off at the Poble Espanyol. If you want to try and find it on the map, the address is: Carrer Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia 13.

Interesting facts about the Poble Espanyol

Did you know that over time, some of the buildings in the Poble Espanyol have actually outlived the originals and were then used as models for the restoration of the original buildings?  To give you an idea, you can have a look at the list of buildings that have been reproduced in the town, divided by geographical areas and accompanied by photos. 

Resources:

• download the Pdf file for the Poble Espanyol 2017