The Poble Espanyol (Spanish Village) is an outdoor architectural museum dedicated to the different architectural styles of Spain located on the mountain of Montjuïc.
Constructed in 1929 for the Barcelona International Exhibition, the Poble Espanyol museum was the brainchild of the Architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch: an open-air museum in which the traditional architecture and culture of different Spanish regions were preserved in a single place.
Puig i Cadafalch’s aim was an “ideal model” Spanish village, a distillation of all of Spain. Though Puig I Cadafalch masterminded the Poble Espanyol, the architects that designed the buildings were fellow Catalan’s Francesc Folguera and Ramon Reventós. Construction was completed in 13 months, the exhibition only ran for 6 months, and afterwards the Poble Espanyol was not demolished and was kept open as a permanent museum.
The site of the museum occupies some 42,000 m², with 117 buildings, streets and squares all built to scale.
Regions represented include: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla La Mancha, Castilla León, Madrid, Murcia, Navarra, The Basque Country, The Balearic Islands, Galicia, Extremadura, Valencia and Catalonia.
Features of the Poble Espanyol
Features of the Poble Espanyol
Modern Art: There is plenty here for art-lovers. The Fundació Fran Daurel is a permanent collection of over 300 works by artists no less than Picasso, Dalí, Miró and Barceló. There is a separate sculpture garden as well as a green space of 5000m2 with splendid views across the city.
Shopping & Crafts: Some 40 workshops and 22 shops in operate at the Poble Espanyol. These deal in ceramics, engravings, painting, glass making, puppets, jewellery, masks, sculpture, leather, embroidery, basket-weaving, musical instruments, espadrilles and many other artisan craft forms.
For Families & Children: On Sundays there is a family programme (in Catalan but heavily visual) including puppets, story telling, music and magic shows. Also there is a Treasure Hunt (available in English, Spanish, French and Catalan), a truly excellent way for families with kids (from 3-12) to get the most out of their visit to the Poble Espanyol.
Restaurants: The Poble Espanyol has lots of restaurants and bars.
Audio Guide: an audio guide is available in English, Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian and German.
Where to Stay
The area around Montjuic and the Poble Espanyol offers plenty of apartment rental possibilities. Gran Via A and Gran Via B apartments are no more than 5 minutes walk away from Plaça Espanya and the foot of Montjuic, as is the Joanot apartment.
