Museu d’Història de Catalunya
Catalunya’s history museum centers on a permanent exhibition entitled “The memory of a country,” leaving you in no doubt where it stands on the independence question. It starts in the Lower Paleolithic era and takes you on a whistle stop tour to the present day. Exhibits pause at the high points of the Catalan experience, such as the reigns of Jaume I and Jaume II when Catalunya was a major Mediterranean power, and the 19th-century industrial revolution that made Barcelona rich. The 20th-century coverage is almost giddy as it depicts vibrant, stylish Barcelona in the first few decades, and numbing as it recounts the horrors of the Civil War and the years the region spent under Franco. The rebirth since Franco and the tumultuous events of contemporary Catalunya still feel like a first draft. Overall, it’s an excellent introduction to Catalan history, and worth visiting for the building alone, the Palau de Mar, a beautifully restored 19th-century warehouse. The 4th-floor restaurant, 1881 per Sagardi, has a terrace with spectacular views of the port and waterfront. You can book a table for a drink only.
Catalunya’s history museum centers on a permanent exhibition entitled “The memory of a country,” leaving you in no doubt where it stands on the independence question. It starts in the Lower Paleolithic era and takes you on a whistle stop tour to the present day. Exhibits pause at the high points of the Catalan experience, such as the reigns of Jaume I and Jaume II when Catalunya was a major Mediterranean power, and the 19th-century industrial revolution that made Barcelona rich. The 20th-century coverage is almost giddy as it depicts vibrant, stylish Barcelona in the first few decades, and numbing as it recounts the horrors of the Civil War and the years the region spent under Franco. The rebirth since Franco and the tumultuous events of contemporary Catalunya still feel like a first draft. Overall, it’s an excellent introduction to Catalan history, and worth visiting for the building alone, the Palau de Mar, a beautifully restored 19th-century warehouse. The 4th-floor restaurant, 1881 per Sagardi, has a terrace with spectacular views of the port and waterfront. You can book a table for a drink only.
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