Guided tour of the Palau de la Música Catalana, from the concert hall to the foyer

With a guide, in 50 minutes, you walk through the spaces the public sees on concert days, with time to look at them up close: the monumental staircase, the foyer, the Lluís Millet Hall, with its balcony of columns, and the Concert Hall, under the great glass skylight. It was designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner as the home of the Orfeó Català and opened in 1908; it is the only concert hall declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A hall that keeps working while you visit it

Tours leave every day between 9:00 and 15:30, and you choose the slot when you buy. The guided tour costs €24 and is given in six languages; the version with a leaflet, without a guide, €20. Over-65s and under-35s pay €20, residents of Catalonia €14, and children under 10 go in free with a family member. At the box office each ticket costs €1 more.

The Palau is a hall with rehearsals and concerts almost every day, so some space may be closed on the day you go, and that does not entitle you to a discount. Be punctual: once the tour has started, you cannot join. There is no cloakroom or luggage storage, and you cannot take in food or drink.

From Urquinaona, five minutes on foot

Get off at Urquinaona, lines 1 and 4, and walk along Via Laietana to Carrer de Sant Pere Més Alt. From Plaça de Catalunya it is about five minutes. You are advised to enter by Plaça del Palau. There are lifts on all floors.

For something longer, the website sells small-group tours (Palau Exclusive, from €25), themed tours from €26 and the Palau Choir Experience, with choral activity on stage, from €35.