Barcelona’s Montjuïc Mountain will unearth a trove of art. It has always been a popular excursion for the residents of Sants and Poble Sec neighbourhoods, its free mineral springs attracting large Sunday picnic crowds throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The mountain is dotted with many of these springs—works of art themselves—but none so renowned as the Font del Gat [spring of the cat] in the Laribal Gardens.
Marieta of those lively eyes continued »

A striking architectural vision in this guide to free art —possibly after visiting the gardens of Laribal further up Montjuïc— technically not quite free yet still integral to the city: the Barcelona Pavilion by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. While the entrance fee is minimal, we think it should be free! Though you can gain some appreciation of the pavilion’s clean design even if you remain outside, going inside is well worth it.
Back to the future in 1929… continued »

Our route of free art continues from David and Goliath, to the nearby plaça dels Voluntaris, where Robert Llimós’s sculpture Frame, like Botero’s Cat, attracts constant attention: kids to clamber over it and couples to pose for the typical Barcelona snapshot. Yet its inauguration attracted no less controversy.
In search of the perfect backdrop continued »

If you want to see Fernando Botero’s art for free in Barcelona, head for the Rambla del Raval, where it’s clear his sculpture now belongs to the people. This ponderous tomcat’s Cheshire smile acts as a magnet of Columbian charm, inviting both adults and kids from the neighbourhood to swarm all over his heavy form.
No longer an alley cat continued »

It’s big, it’s Barcelona and it’s free. Antoni Llena’s “David & Goliath” is a sculpture representing the struggle for freedom of expression in an urban planning context. Preparation for the 1992 Olympic Games, which began radically to transform the cityscape from the late 80s onwards, appeared to many as a Council-controlled juggernaut, smashing many of the city’s emblematic spaces.
A monument to the little people continued »

Welcome to the city of the dead. No admission charged. In the current times of crisis a visit to Poble Nou Cemetery is a free if slightly morbid excursion for a sunny day. Pick up an itinerary at the gate, which will offer you a route through this necropolis of neo-Gothic and neoclassical extravagance.
The Kiss of Death continued »

“To the great Margarida Xirgu, actress with an immaculate artistic career, a genius of Spanish theatre and an admirable creator”—Federico García Lorca. The free spirit of these words by Spain’s greatest poet, inscribed in the stone before this sculpture, reveal better than any the immense talent and art of this famous Catalan actress.
The Actress in the Square continued »