Carrer Aragó 255,
Passeig de Gràcia

Barcelona's most famous living artist established his foundation here in 1990. Housed inside a former modernista printing house designed by Domènech i Muntaner, it provides space for a wide ranging programme of art and study.

Establishing a foundation bearing your own name may seem like the ultimate display of vanity, but at the Tàpies Foundation it's not like that at all. Here is one of the city's greatest art spaces, and usually only a very small part of it is taken up by the work of the man himself. In addition, the centre presents a prestigious season of contemporary art from all around the world, mixing one-person shows with highly successful thematic ones.

Come here to soak up some of its arty atmosphere; the exhibition spaces are even bigger than you might imagine from the outside, plus there's a handsomely housed art library at its heart (entry by prior arrangement).

contributor: Nigel Hayler