Before the Font Màgica, which in October runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 21:00 to 22:00, you can see the MNAC, free on Saturdays from 15:00 with a booking, its viewpoint terraces with the 2 euros basic ticket, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion and CaixaForum, open until 20:00.
The Font Màgica starts late and most people arrive just in time, walk up the avenue, watch the water and leave. But on the same hill, around the fountain, there is a museum with terraces over the city, a pavilion that laid the foundations of modern architecture and a former modernista factory turned exhibition centre. If you live in Barcelona for a few months, you can build different afternoons around the same show. This guide says what opens, until when and what it costs.
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The time that rules
In October 2026 the fountain runs on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 21:00 to 22:00, with choreographies starting at 21:00 and 21:30. Everything else is planned backwards from that time. The fountain's history, how it works and the big nights of the year are in our guide to the Font Màgica de Montjuïc, its show and its times.
The catch is that almost everything around it closes before the show begins. So it pays to know what is still open at eight in the evening and what to see earlier in the afternoon.
The MNAC: free on Saturdays from three
The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya comes first. Since 1 October it has been on winter hours: from October to April it opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 18:00, and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 15:00. It is closed on Mondays, except public holidays. Ticket desks close 30 minutes before and the galleries 15 minutes before.
The fact that changes the plan: every Saturday from 15:00 entry is free, as on the first Sunday of every month, although you have to book online beforehand. On a Saturday you can go in at three, come out at six and have plenty of time for the fountain. The general ticket costs 12 euros and is valid for two days within the month.
The museum's viewpoint terraces keep the same hours as the galleries. To go up without seeing the collection there is the basic ticket, at 2 euros, which gives access to the building and the terraces. The Terraza del MNAC, the café terrace, is separate: it opens until 21:00 on Thursdays and until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, so it is one of the few places on the hill where you can wait sitting down.
The Mies van der Rohe Pavilion: check the calendar
The pavilion you visit today is the reconstruction, opened in 1986, of the German pavilion for the 1929 International Exhibition, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. The original was dismantled in 1930. The rebuild used glass, steel and four stones of the same type and origin as those of 1929: Roman travertine, green Alpine marble, ancient green marble from Greece and golden onyx from the Atlas.
From March to October it opens from 10:00 to 20:00 and from November to February from 10:00 to 18:00, every day except 25 December. The general ticket costs 9 euros, the reduced one 5, and it is free for under-16s and on the first Sunday of the month. But in October 2026 its website lists many changes: it is closed all day on the 16th and 22nd, and between the 26th and 31st it closes between 14:00 and 16:00. Check the calendar on its website before going.
CaixaForum: what is still open at eight
CaixaForum occupies the former Casaramona textile factory by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, one of the great examples of industrial modernista architecture. It opens Monday to Sunday and on public holidays from 10:00 to 20:00, and the general ticket, at 6 euros, covers all exhibitions. It is free for under-16s, with the European Youth Card and for CaixaBank customers.
It is the fallback for Thursdays and Fridays, when the MNAC closes at six. There are four free days for everyone: 15 February, the night of 16 May, 18 May and 24 September. A practical note from its website: the galleries are kept at 21 degrees all year, so on hot days bring a layer.
The Poble Espanyol, to stretch the night
The Poble Espanyol is an open-air site of more than 40,000 square metres with 117 architectural reproductions, from Romanesque to Baroque. It charges admission, with tickets sold on its website. It is the only one of these places that stays open late: on Mondays from 10:00 to 20:00, and Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to midnight. The ticket desk closes an hour before.
It works the other way round from the rest: you can watch the fountain first and go up afterwards.
Three possible afternoons
A Saturday: the MNAC free from 15:00 with a booking, collection and terraces until 18:00, then down to the fountain at 21:00. A Thursday or Friday after work: CaixaForum until 20:00, the Terraza del MNAC to wait and the 21:30 choreography. And on the first Sunday of the month, with no fountain, the MNAC and the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion free, with no clock to beat.
Checked
Data checked on 15 October 2026 on the official websites of Barcelona City Council (barcelona.cat: Font Màgica times), the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (museunacional.cat: hours, prices, free entry and terraces), the Fundació Mies van der Rohe (miesbcn.com: hours, prices, October calendar and the pavilion's history), CaixaForum Barcelona (caixaforum.org) and the Poble Espanyol (poble-espanyol.com). Times change by season and for events: confirm them before you go.
Quick questions
When is the MNAC free?
Every Saturday from 15:00 and on the first Sunday of every month, booking online beforehand.
What is still open near the Font Màgica at eight in the evening?
CaixaForum opens from 10:00 to 20:00, the Terraza del MNAC opens until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays and the Poble Espanyol, Tuesday to Sunday, until midnight.
How much is the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion?
The general ticket costs 9 euros and the reduced one 5; it is free for under-16s and on the first Sunday of the month.