Barcelona Wax Museum

The wax museum exhibits its collection of figures in a grandiose building: a Neoclassical palace built in 1867 to be the headquarters of Banc de Barcelona. The building was designed by Elies Rogent and for a long time the bank held the wealth of Barcelona’s bourgeoisie. It was not until 1973 that Enrique Alarcón decided to transform the building into a wax museum.

In addition to the museum’s wax figures, you can also admire the various architectural elements that form part of the building:

• The grand staircase, a majestic example of 19th-century architecture.
• The recital hall, which conserves its original furniture, decoration and skylight.
• The courtyard, which is covered and presided over by an oil painting by Vilumara and Junyent (1908) featuring major historical figures.
• The Gothic hall, in the Catalan neo-Gothic style inspired by Barcelona’s Saló del Tinell.
• The original armoured vault of the bank that was located in the building.

How do you get to Barcelona Wax Museum?

Hop off at the Colom – Museu Marítim stop on the Red Route of Barcelona Bus Turístic and then walk up La Rambla until on the right you see Passatge de la Banca, at the end of which you will find the museum.

For the most curious of you

• Did you know? The museum has a workshop where figures are repaired. The parts most often broken are hands, above all fingers, as visitors sometimes touch or stretch them to see if a figure really is made from wax.
• Local’s tip: Barcelona Wax Museum has a very special bar, El Bosc de les Fades, whose ‘Fairy Forest’ décor alone is worth the visit.
• A must: To take a trip through history with some of its most famous figures.