Banksy Museum in Barcelona: This is a must see if you are a fan of this street artist!

Barcelona is a lively city full of history, culture, art, beautiful buildings or perhaps museums. One of those latest that many people don't know about yet, is a museum of the world-famous artist hiding behind the nickname Banksy. 

Banksy's works at the entrance to the museum

The name of the museum is simply: Banksy Museum, and even if the world-famous artist does not want to have much to do with it (after all, as with any institution exhibiting his works), he certainly does during his wanderings around the city don't miss this place! It is a fact an extensive collection of more than 130 of his works, which will offer you a cross-section of his work and also reveal more about this mysterious person. 

Who is Banksy?

Banksy is an artist with roots in the graffiti scene shrouded in many secrets. His real face and identity remain hidden from the public, but from available information it is known that he comes from Bristol, England. It was there that his first works of art were seen. 

His creation is characterized by a provocative style, when they try to point out social and political problems with simple paintings or other works. As a result, his works often cause discussion and considerable controversy.

What other artists can only envy Banksy is his the ability to connect art with public space and thus affect the thinking of people all over the world. His graffiti, stencils and installations appear on the walls of cities around the world, bringing a dose of ideas and criticism to the streets. This unique combination of creativity, bold messages and, of course, secrecy has catapulted him over the years to become one of the most famous and famous artists of today.

For example, Banky's works as a series are iconic Girl with a balloon, Flower Thrower or ubiquitous rats...

I must start by saying that I am a Banksy fan! I like graffiti, I like his works and the way he can interestingly comment on the hot topics of today's modern society. I went to one of his exhibitions in Amsterdam and saw the film several times Banksy: Exit Through the Gift Shop. This just for the record so you know how I relate to this British artist :-).

Now to the museum itself.

Man with Banksy's Girl with a balloon, colored (2023) :-D

The Banksy Museum is in the center of Barcelona, ​​you can walk here! 

The museum is located a short distance away center of Barcelona, of Barcelona's main square Pl. Catalunya can be reached here on foot in less than 10 minutes, which is really cool! (If you happen to they took the subway, then get off at Urquinaona station, from which it is about 5 minutes). 

The entrance to the museum is from C/ de Trafalgar and the building itself could easily be overlooked. You'll know you're right by the white flags with the name of the museum and images of Banksy's works. 

Entrance to the Banksy Museum

Once inside, you will find yourself in the entrance area with the cash register. Already here - even before you buy a ticket and start admiring the exhibition itself - you can see Banksy's works or references to his work on all the walls. 

Buy a ticket at the box office (or show what you bought online) and go straight to explore the museum! 

One museum: 3 floors with more than 130 Banksy works

Banksy's museum is well divided: from the moment you enter, you can see that you can stay on the same floor, run up a floor, or go down a floor, underground. 

The Banksy Museum occupies 3 floors - you really have a lot to look forward to! 

Espacio Trafalgar, as is the name of the slightly industrial space where the museum is located, it occupies 3 floors. And you will find Banksy's works on each of them. Only him and no one else. So you can probably imagine that this alone makes this place a must-see for fans of this artist while exploring Barcelona! 

Banksy – Robot (2013)

Each of the floors in the museum is somehow thematically oriented: 

• Ground Floor: Banksy's early work that appeared in England. 
• First floor: Lesser known works from Italy and France responding to the refugee crisis or perhaps Charlie Hebdo attack. 
• Cellar: Works from the US and other parts of the world.

Admire Banksy's graffiti, paintings, videos or installations

If you are a Banksy fan, allow about one to two hours to visit the museum. There really is a lot to see here! 

The works are of course dominated by Banksy's signature stencil images, however, the further you go into the museum and the more you move into the present, you will see how Banksy's style, work and opinion have evolved over time.

Banksy: Waiting in Vain at The Hustler Club (2013) and Better out than in (2013).

In addition to the works themselves, in the museum you will also find several videos from other people who try to capture the artist's work or the creation of some of his famous works - you can find here, for example, examples from an unforgettable auction where Banksy he was shredding one of his paintings live.

Banksy - Sweep It Under The Carpet (2006)

Personally, I was most excited by the reconstruction of Banksy's work in the museum Walled Off Hotel: a real hotel room is built in the museum, based on one of those created by Banksy in Palestine in "his hotel" as part of a critique of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Banksy - Gorilla in a Pink Mask (2011)

Exit through the gift shop

What would a Banksy museum be without a gift shop at the end? It is known that the artist likes this thing very much! (This is also why the documentary about him is called Exit through the gift shop...).

No seriously now: if you'd like to get some Banksy memorabilia, at the end you really have the option to go through the shop with a fairly extensive selection of all sorts of t-shirts, prints, posters, mugs and I don't know what else. 

This is ideal if you want to bring yourself or a loved one a nice gift. 

Like other museums around the world, this one is unofficial!

Banksy – The Son of a Migrant from Syria (2015)

When to go to the Banksy Museum and how much do tickets cost?

The Banksy Museum is open 365 days a year, you can go there every day from 10:00 to 20:00. As the collection of works is really extensive, you will be allowed inside at 19:15 at the latest to enjoy everything properly. (Even so, I think that if you're a Banksy fan, 45 minutes for the whole museum is too much, and you'd better go here earlier so that you have at least 1 hour for the tour...).

On Thursdays, opening hours are extended until 21:00 p.m.

You can walk through the entire Banksy Museum on your own (cheaper) or with a guide (more expensive). I personally used the second option and would do it again anytime. Guided tours are available on Mondays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

My experience: Guided tour of the Banksy Museum

If you want to know more about the exhibited works and have the opportunity to inquire about the details, I recommend a guided tour of the museum. We took advantage of it and our small family group (me, my wife and our children) was accompanied by one of the ladies who gave us a better insight into Banksy's works in English (interpretation is also possible in these languages: Spanish, Catalan, French and Italian).

Together with the guide, we went through all the exhibited works and she told us something about each of them. It would certainly have been better to hear more about each of them about the context of its creation and also its message. I think that if we "just looked" at everything, the experience of the whole exhibition would not be so intense precisely because of the lack of knowledge of all the "details", which the name of the work alone does not convey to you... Even though the guided tour took about 1 hour, we spent the same amount of time they stayed there alone and went through some things again, filmed or photographed. Fortunately, you can stay here as long as you want. Oh, and I originally thought that our children (4 and 6 years old) would also like it and that I would add it as a tip to the article as well Barcelona with children, but they weren't very interested and got bored pretty quickly. 

As for the ticket price, it is at the level of others Barcelona museums. You pay €12 for an adult, reduced for children and students costs €9. The guided ticket is only €3 more and for me it's definitely worth it for what you get! 

Is the Banksy museum worth it?

Definitely! If you are a fan of Banksy's work, you must not miss this place during your stay in Barcelona! In my opinion, this is one of the best art museums in the city and you get a really great art experience for your money. And honestly, it doesn't even hurt the fact that it does most things in the museum are just reproductions of Banksy's works. (After all, getting the originals to one place would not be easy for a graffiti artist...)

The Moco Museum also has Banksy's works, but head here instead! 

Finally, a small note "below the line": I learned about the existence of the Banksy museum in Barcelona more or less by accident - I was preparing article about street art in the city and in the process I got to the website of Barcelona MOCO Museum. I was interested in the fact that, in addition to the works of other world artists such as Andy Warhol, Salvador Dalí or perhaps Keith Haring, Banksy's works also appear in the local collection. Because of this, I assumed that the Banksy Museum was part of the Moco Museum exhibits. But that's not true - they are two separate galleries! Moco does have Banksy's works, but you could count them on the fingers of one hand, the Banksy Museum has over 130 of them! 

Name	Banksy Museum (Banksy Museum)
Address:	Espacio Trafalgar, Carrer Trafalgar, 34, 08010 Barcelona
Transportation:	metro lines L1 - L4 (Urquinaona station) bus 19, 120, H16, N4 (Trafalgar Bruc stop)
Opening hours:	Open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 20:00 p.m. (last admission 19:15 p.m.), every Thursday the museum closes an hour later, i.e. at 21:00 p.m.
Entrance fee:	Adults over 25: €12,00 Children and students from 6 to 25 years old, adults over 65 years old: €9 Children under 6: free A ticket for a guided tour is €3 more expensive.  Buy tickets online and don't wait in line >>>
More information:	https://museobanksy.es/