CATALONIA - COSTA BRAVA: TEATRE MUSEU DALI

As well as fabulous clear water beaches and beautiful villages, as I showed in previous posts, La Costa Brava also offers really interesting cultural activities, like the Dalí Theatre-Museum.

The Dalí Theatre-Museum, the largest surrealistic object in the world, occupies the building of the former Municipal Theatre, a 19th century construction which was destroyed at the end of the Spanish Civil War. On its ruins, Dalí decided to create his museum.

This museum has to be seen as a whole, as the great work of Salvador Dalí, for everything in it was conceived and designed by the artist in order to offer visitors a real experience of getting inside his captivating and unique world.

Next, some pictures I took the day I visited this museum.

Main facade of the Theater-Museum Dalí with eggs on the top. For Salvador Dalí eggs are a fertility symbol

The "car-naval" is a Dalí's creation with a Cadillac, tire column, reproduction of the slave by Michelangelo and Gala's boat

Museum's central courtyard was the orchestra of the former theatre

This huge painting is the first one I saw as soon as I entered the museum from the courtyard

A carpet which reproduces the well-known surrealist painting of La Persistència de la Memòria. This well-known surrealist piece introduced the image of the soft melting pocket watch. It epitomizes Dalí's theory of "softness" and "hardness", which was central to his thinking at the time

The Mae West Room was created by Dalí expressly for the Theatre-Museum


Inside the Mae West room you can see a couch shaped like a woman's red lips sat before a nose-shaped fireplace below two abstract paintings. If you climb a staircase and look through a lens the paintings become eyes, sofa lips fireplace nose frames by a giant curtain of hair which frames the small balcony

Theatre-Museum Dalí lit at night

Central courtyard of Museum Dalí was the orchestra of the former theatre 

If you have more time after visiting this museum, there are other interesting nearby places to know like:

• Girona (old city and jewish quarter)
• Empúries
• La Catedral de l'Empordà in Castello d'Empúries
• Cadaquès, Roses and Empuriabrava
• Parc Natural del Cap de Creus
• Parc Natural dels Aiguamolls de l'Empordà
• Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery
• Medieval Village of Besalú
• Banyoles

I also would like to give you some useful information in case you want to visit this interesting museum:

- Address: Gala-Salvador Dalí Square, 5 (17600 Figueres, Girona)
- Website: http://www.salvador-dali.org
- How to arrive:

• Road: AP7 motorway (Barcelona-la Jonquera), Figueres exit, or Main Road Nacional II (Barcelona-France). Drive to the city centre.
• Train: RENFE train line from Barcelona to Portbou. Stop in Figueres. The Dalí Theatre-Museum is 12 minutes walking.
• Bus: SARFA regular line, station in Figueres. The Dalí Theatre-Museum is 12 minutes walking.

- Opening Hours

• From 1 November to 28 February: Open from 10:30 to 18 (Access until 17:15)
• From 1 March to 30 June: Open from 9:30 to 18 (Access until 17:15)
• From 1 July to 30 September: Open from 9 to 20 (Access until 19:15)
• From 1 October to 30 October: Open from 9:30 to 18 (Access until 17:15)

- Closed on:

• 1 January and 25 December, Every Monday between 1 October and 31 May (except on holidays), holiday eves and 24 December.

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to other beautiful places in Catalonia, among them, more nice places of La Costa Brava.