Should You Get a Barcelona Discount Card?

The Barcelona Museum Pass is cheap and gets you in for free at some of the best art museums in Barcelona. The ARQUEOticket is even cheaper but only gets you into history-related museums. The Barcelona Card gives more free activities than the other two cards and includes free public transport, but it is more expensive and is limited to two to five days' usage.

The activities included on these cards differ greatly. The Barcelona Card may have the most free activities, but they are not necessarily the best. And free transport isn't as good a deal as it may sound, as public transport in Barcelona is cheap.

• Barcelona Card: In 2019, the prices were 46€ for three days to 61€ for five days for 25 free museums and activities and free public transport. Buy Barcelona Card
• Barcelona Museum Pass (also known as Articket): 30€ for free entry to six art museums, valid for twelve months Buy Barcelona Museum Pass
• Barcelona Card Express In 2019, the price was 20€ for two days for discounts on dozens of Barcelona sights, as well as free public transport. No free admissions are included with this card. 

For the fuller picture of which Barcelona discount card you should get, read on.

• Price 30€ Barcelona Museum Pass
• Duration Twelve months from first use

Entry to six excellent art museums in Barcelona.

All of these, apart from the Picasso Museum, can be found on the Barcelona Card too.

• National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) 2019 price without card: 12€
• Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) 2019 price without card: 11€
• The Joan Miro Foundation (Museu Fundació Miró) 2019 price without card: 13€
• Antoni Tapies Foundation (Fundació Tàpies) 2019 price without card: 8€
• Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) 2019 price without card: 6€
• Picasso Museum 2019 price without card: 12€ (20,5€ with temporary exhibition entry) 

The prices of each site are listed above. In general, visiting three museums will cover your entry price, so really you need to visit four of these museums before you start saving. 

The total price of entry to these six museums would normally be 57€.

The Barcelona Card is the more inclusive card, but it comes at a price and can only be used for a very limited number of days.

The 46€ card, usable for three days (61€ for five days) gets you free entry to 25 museums in Barcelona as of 2019. These are subject to change so check with the vendor to confirm.

Price in brackets is the normal entry price.

• Museu CCCB  (6€)
• Museu Fundació Miró (11€)
• Fundació Tàpies (8€)
• Museu MACBA (11€)
• National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) 12€
• Picasso Museum  (12€)

• Museu Caixa Forum (varies)
• Cosmocaixa (3-5€)

• Museu Chocolate
• Museu del Modernisme Català
• Museu Egyptian
• Joan Antoni Samaranch Olimpic stadium
• El Born Cultural Centre
• Botanic Garden of Barcelona 
• Museum of Design 
• Music Museum 
• Santa Maria de Pedralbes Royal Monastery 
• MUHBA El Call 
• MUHBA Placa del Rei  
• MUHBA Refugi 307  
• MUHBA Roman sepulchral way 
• Ethnological and Cultural Museum of the World - Montcada and Parc de Montjuïc
• Museu Frederic Marès
• Museum of Natural Science 
• Olympic and Sports Museum

These are subject to change so check when you buy.

• Variable Circuit de Barcelona - Catalynya (2:1), Cripta Gaudí de la Colònia Güell, Fundació Vila Casas: Museu Can Framis i Espais Volart, Fundación MAPFRE, Golondrinas, Mirador de Colom, Torre de Collserola

• 60% Discount at
  Torre de Collserola
• 50% Discount at
  Barcelona Genuine Shops, Barcelona Walking Tours Easy Gòtic, Barcelona Walking Tours Gòtic, Barcelona Walking Tours Modernisme, Barcelona Walking Tours Picasso, Gaudí Exhibition Center - Museu Diocesà, Mirador de Colom & Wine Tourism Center
• 40% Discount at
  Museu del Perfum
• 30% Discount at
  ​Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya
• 25% Discount at
  Casa Vicens, Palau Güell
• 22% Discount at
  Museu de l’Eròtica
• 20% Discount at
  Audioguide Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, Barcelona Bus Turístic, Barcelona Night Tour, Bcnaval Tours, Big Fun Museum, Casa Amatller, Casa de les Punxes, Casino de Barcelona, Gaudí Experiència, Icebarcelona, Illa Fantasia, L’Aquàrium de Barcelona, Museu d’Història de Catalunya, Museu Europeu d’Art Modern (MEAM), Museu Marítim de Barcelona, Palau de la Música Catalana, Pavelló Mies van der Rohe, Poble Espanyol de Barcelona, PortAventura World, Zoo de Barcelona 

At 12€ to 15€ per day, you'll need to go to one of the major museums and use the metro several times (metro tickets normally cost 1€ per ticket if you buy a 10-ticket pass) just to break even, so you'll need to visit two museums per day to make any savings.

For the Barcelona card to be worthwhile, you need to visit at least two museums per day out of the 20 available. For the Museum Pass (Articket) to be worth the money, you need to want to visit at least four of the museums on your trip.

The cheapest card is the Barcelona Card Express. At 20€ for two days, it gets you unlimited public transport and discounted entry to over 100 attractions in the city.

But as usual, it's going to be hard for you to get your money's worth. Even assuming five journeys per day on the metro, that's still 10 euros you'll need to save elsewhere.