Palau de la Musica, Barcelona

The English tours sometimes sell out. I don't know whether you see more on the tour than if you tour on your own--assuming the latter is possible; I believe the options have changed since my 2016 visit.

Barcelona doesn't really have a slow season. There are many sights so popular that short-term visitors really must book tickets ahead of time. As far as I know, the Palau de la Musica Catalana s not crowded like the Gaudi buildings, but if you want to take the tour, I'd advise pre-booking to avoid disappointment.

You also can see the concert hall by booking seats for an evening concert with some concert tickets costing just a little bit more than the price of a tour. The concert halls’s stained glass windows and ceilings are glowing during the golden hour. You can arrive early to take photos of this amazing venue designed by Barcelona’s other genius Modernista architect— Luis Domenech i Montaner.

Barcelona is an all-year-round destination, not just for summer tourists but for plenty of other reasons: business tourism, fairs and exhibitions, international sports competitions, music concerts, medical tourism, major events and even short getaways, especially for fellow Europeans.

While indeed, there are fewer visitors outside Jun-Sep, by no means you won't find many any month of the year. Thus, for the most popular venues, it's important to pre-book. For some, you need weeks in advance, for others a few days suffices.

I visited in March 2024 - not the highest of tourist times although other areas such as the Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia did sell out. Bought the tour tickets in advance. This was not necessary in my case. Our "tour" had only a handful of people. I would take a risk on tickets being available last minute, but that is me. One never knows!

Does the website indicate how many tickets are still available for various time slots? I don't remember, but obviously you could monitor availability if it does.

You didn't ask about tour vs entry only, but I'll give my impressions from this spring. As regards the "tour" - first, I will say I enjoyed it. However, some people around me were grumbling. The tour time begins with a video in the auditorium. I was familiar with all the info from my pre-trip Youtube and video viewing and online and book reading. We were then taken around the facility and various features were pointed out. I didn't find any of this particularly enlightening although it wasn't boring, pleasant guide. I don't remember if there is an audio guide? If so, the info that was related on the "tour" would have fit that format well.

We were left on our own at the end to listen to a rehearsal that was going on. Tourists who were self-touring had the same access. The ability to hear anything obviously depends on the Palau's daily schedule. Tourists are simply "in the hall" as rehearsals, if scheduled, are occurring.

Frankly, looking back, I am not convinced that the "tour" which included only public areas, not anything backstage or areas not available to those who did not purchase the tour, was worth the additional cost. As I said, I enjoyed it, but I can understand why some thought the info was light and didn't add much to the experience of seeing the facility.

Thank you all for taking the time to reply to my question about Palau de la Musica in Barcelona. I think I'll pre-buy the tickets; I just have to figure out the right time. But if we miss our allotted time slot, we'll be able to get in later if it's not crowded. I really don't want to miss the opportunity to see this amazing building. Thanks Again.

It is a really amazing building; well worth your time. We did a tour that wrapped up a bit before the evening performance. It was very nice to see the place empty before the evening performance when the stained glass might not show as well.

One tip: If you do decide to go to a performance, note that there are two performance spaces - a more intimate modern space and the grand hall. Be sure to book the right performance for you.