The Rough Guide to Barcelona 8 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

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Caixa Forum
To the right of the fountain (before climbing the steps/escalators), and hidden
from view until you turn the corner around Avinguda del Marquès de
Comillas, is Caixa Forum (Mon–Fri & Sun 10am–8pm, Sat 10am–10pm;
free; T934 768 600, W ), a terrific arts and cultural
centre set within the old Casamarona textile factory. Constructed in 1911 in
the modernist style of Josep Puig i Cadafalch, the factory shut down in 1920
and lay abandoned until pressed into service as a police building after the Civil
War. The subsequent renovation and expansion under the auspices of the
Fundació La Caixa has produced a remarkable building, entered beneath twin
iron-and-glass canopies representing spreading trees.You descend into a palatial
white marble foyer (with a vibrant mural and a good arts bookshop), beyond
Montjuïc transport
Getting there
• Metro M Espanya deposits you at the foot of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina,
for easy access to Caixa Forum, Poble Espanyol and the Museu Nacional d’Art
de Catalunya (MNAC). The Olympic area can then be reached by escalators
behind MNAC.
• Funicular The Funicular de Montjuïc (April–Sept Mon–Fri 7.30am–10pm, Sat, Sun
& holidays from 9am, Oct–March until 8pm; services every 10min; normal city
transport tickets and passes valid) departs from inside the station at M Paral.lel
and takes a couple of minutes to ascend the hill. At the upper station on Avinguda
de Miramar you can switch to the Montjuïc cable car or bus services (see “Getting
around” below), or you’re only a few minutes’ walk from the Fundació Joan Miró.
• Cable car The Transbordador Aeri, or cross-harbour cable car (see p.90), from
Barceloneta drops you outside the Jardins de Miramar, on the far southeastern
slopes. From here, it’s a ten-minute walk to the Montjuïc cable car and funicular
stations and another five to the Fundació Joan Miró.
Getting around
• Walking It takes a good hour to walk on the road around the hill from Avinguda de
la Reina Maria Cristina, past the Poble Espanyol, Olympic area and Fundació Joan
Miró to the cross-harbour cable-car station at the far end of Montjuïc. Escalators up
the hill between MNAC and the Olympic area cut out the worst of the slog. Walking
up the steep hill all the way to the castle is not advised in hot weather (though there
are steps through the gardens and between the roads) – use the cable car.
• Bus Montjuïc Turístic Montjuïc’s open-top bus service (daily Easter week, and last
week June to 1st week Sept, otherwise weekends and holidays only; departures
every 40min, 10am–9.20pm; €3; T 934 414 982) runs on two routes, one starting at
Pl. d’Espanya (M Espanya), the other at the foot of the Ramblas at Pl. Portal de la Pau
(M Drassanes). The service covers every major sight on the hill, including out-of-the-
way attractions like the castle and botanic gardens. There are several connecting
stops, so you can switch routes, and the all-day ticket lets you get on and off at will.
The other bus service is the city bus designated “PM” (ie, Parc de Montjuïc; city
transport tickets and passes valid), covering much the same route, while the sight-
seeing Bus Turístic also serves the main Montjuïc attractions. There are stops for all
these services right outside the upper station of the Funicular de Montjuïc.
• Telefèric de Montjuïc The Montjuïc cable car (daily June–Sept 10am–9pm, April,
May & Oct 10am–7pm, Nov–March 10am–6pm; €5.70 one way, €7.90 return;
W ), from Avinguda de Miramar, whisks you up to the castle and back
in automated eight-seater gondolas.
MONTJUÏC
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Plaça d’Espanya and around