Barcelona Wax Museum

The Barcelona Wax Museum displays its collection in a grand building: a neoclassical mansion built in 1867 that once housed the Bank of Barcelona. Designed by Elies Rogent, it safeguarded the wealth of Barcelona’s bourgeoisie for many years. It wasn’t until 1973 that Enrique Alarcón decided to transform the building into a wax museum. 

In addition to the wax figures, the museum features several architectural elements that are part of the mansion:

• Honor staircase, a majestic example of 19th-century architecture
• Recital hall, preserving original furnishings, decoration, and ceiling
• Covered courtyard, presided over by an oil painting by Vilumara i Junyent (1908), featuring great historical figures
• Gothic hall, in Catalan neo-Gothic style, inspired by Barcelona’s Saló del Tinell
• Original armored vault from the bank that once occupied the building

How to get to the Barcelona Wax Museum 

From the Colom – Museu Marítim stop on the Red Route of the Barcelona Bus Turístic, walk a short stretch up La Rambla. On the right, you’ll see Passatge de la Banca, at the end of which you’ll find the museum.

For the curious

• The museum has an annexed workshop where figures are repaired. The parts that break most often are the hands — especially the fingers — because visitors sometimes touch or pull them to check if the figure is really made of wax.
• The Barcelona Wax Museum has a very special bar: El Bosc de les Fades (The Forest of the Fairies). It’s worth a visit for the décor alone.