CosmoCaixa is free for children under 16 (school groups not included) and for CaixaBank customers. For everyone, there are three free-entry days: 15 February, 18 May and 24 September. Otherwise the ticket costs 8 € and includes the Flooded Forest; the planetarium is paid separately.
CosmoCaixa is Barcelona's science museum, at the foot of Collserola, and it has one of the easiest free entries in the city: under-16s don't pay, and there are three days a year when nobody does. If you are spending a few months here, it is worth marking on the calendar. This is what its official website says about who gets in free, what is inside and how to get up there.
Who gets in free
According to the museum's practical information, entry is free for children under 16 (school groups not included) and for CaixaBank customers. Under-16s must be accompanied by their legal guardian or a responsible adult, and the museum may ask for proof of age.
For everyone else, museum entry costs 8 €, checked in October 2026. Tickets are sold online and until 30 minutes before closing. Groups of 10 or more have their own rates, available by emailing the museum.
The three days when nobody pays
The official website lists three free-entry days: 15 February, for Santa Eulàlia; 18 May, International Museum Day; and 24 September, La Mercè. They are three very Barcelona celebrations, so if you live here for a few months, one of them may well fall during your stay.
Normal opening hours are Monday to Sunday and public holidays, 10 am to 8 pm. It is closed on 25 December and on 1 and 6 January, and on 24 and 31 December and 5 January it opens from 10 am to 6 pm.
The Flooded Forest
This is what people remember most. The museum describes it as a faithful recreation of an Amazon ecosystem from the Santarém region of Brazil: a thousand square metres of tropical forest, open since 2004, home to more than a hundred species of plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. You can see leafcutter ants, and the capybara and the caiman swimming among the plants, and every 15 minutes a tropical rainstorm falls.
You look at the forest from several levels: underground, underwater, at ground level and from the treetops. It is inside the Universe Room and is covered by the general museum ticket.
The Geological Wall and the rest of the room
The Geological Wall is seven large pieces of real rock, 24 metres long in total and weighing more than 90 tonnes. Each one explains a process that has shaped the planet: the potash salts of Súria and the slates of León show folding; the sandstone of Puig-Reig, fracturing; the glacial varves of Itú, in Brazil, sedimentation in a glacial lake; the fossil dunes of Palma, the sandstone of the Balearics; the volcanic deposits of Olot, the Croscat volcano; and the block from Crespià, a fault.
There is more in the permanent exhibitions: the Universe Room, which runs from the Big Bang to the human brain; Remains and Traces, with fossils and footprints; the Antarctic Base, with the original laboratory of the Juan Carlos I Base and the work of the scientist Josefina Castellví; The Most Beautiful Story of the Cosmos, with 27 milestones in the evolution of life; and Lab Math, with maths games and puzzles. According to the museum, the general ticket covers all temporary and permanent exhibitions; the next temporary one, Sharks. Guardians of the Ocean, runs from 22 October 2026 to 26 September 2027.
A practical tip from the museum itself: the rooms are kept at 21 ºC all year round, so on hot days it is worth bringing an extra layer.
What costs extra: the planetarium
The planetarium is not part of the free entry. Its full-dome shows cost 6 € and you also need a museum ticket; there are 8 € packs that include the museum and one show. The announced programme runs from 12 October to 21 December 2026, with titles for different ages. Shows are in Catalan with translation into Spanish, English and French, seats are numbered and you need to arrive 10 minutes early: once a session has started, nobody is let in. Prices checked in October 2026.
The same goes for workshops and other activities: they have their own price and, unless stated otherwise, also require a museum ticket.
Getting there by public transport
The museum is at Carrer d'Isaac Newton, 26. Its website lists buses H2, H4, V13, V15, V17, V19, 196 and 123, and the FGC L7 line, stopping at Av. Tibidabo.
The museum's website also mentions the Tramvia Blau, but TMB says it is temporarily out of service for modernisation works and suggests bus 196 as the alternative, which runs up Avinguda del Tibidabo every day from 7.30 am to 10 pm. If you want to carry on uphill, we cover it in how to get to Tibidabo by public transport.
If you come by bike or scooter, there is free parking next to the main entrance (12 spaces for bikes and 10 for scooters); you cannot take them inside.
Checked
Checked on 17 October 2026 on CosmoCaixa's official website (centre information, permanent exhibitions, Flooded Forest, Geological Wall and planetarium) and on TMB's Tramvia Blau page. Prices and programmes change: confirm them at cosmocaixa.org before you go.
Quick questions
Is the Flooded Forest included in the ticket?
Yes. It is inside the Universe Room and is covered by the general museum ticket, as is the Geological Wall.
Is the planetarium free?
No. Shows cost 6 € and you also need a museum ticket; there are 8 € packs that include the museum.
Is the Tramvia Blau running to get there?
No: TMB says it is temporarily out of service and suggests bus 196, which runs every day from 7.30 am to 10 pm.