Hands up if you’ve heard of Salvador Dali? Now hands up if you’ve heard of the Dali Museum in Figueres, Spain? Up until last week, I had no idea that this shrine to the surrealist master existed, but as soon as I found out, I had to go and check it out – and I’ll tell you now, I was not disappointed. Figueres is a small, traditional town just outside of Barcelona. If it didn’t house the elaborate Dali Museum it would probably go under the radar every time, but that’s half the charm of it. The rustic streets of the old part of town are alive with quirky artistic statues, too, adding to the arty vibe of the town. 
Salvador Dali was born in Figueres, and most of the shops, cafes, restaurants, and bars tip their hat towards the surrealist painter – some much more than others (note the tacky souvenir shops that play heavily on it). Then there’s the museum itself. It looms out of nowhere on an otherwise normal street, bursting with pinks and yellows, and adorned with strange egg-shaped designs. The façade is weird and wonderful – channelling Dali – but it’s the inside that really got me. 
The museum is centred around a central, leafy garden with a few benches and sculptures dotted around and one of Dali’s old cars. Spiralling around the circular atrium-style feature, there are numerous corridors, each one focusing on a different medium that Dali used – I have to admit, I didn’t know Dali was so talented in many different mediums. He’s most famous for his surreal paintings of melting clocks and long-legged elephants, but Dali was a dab-hand at watercolour, illustration, 3D design and, most surprising, jewellery making. The latter was such a large part of Dali’s workload that there is an entirely separate museum dedicated purely to his jewels (more on that in a moment). 
I spent a good couple of hours wandering around the works on display and, despite the apparent crowds, the museum is so big that I often found myself alone in a room. Tip: Remember to look up! Many of the ceilings are painted in elaborate, surreal designs! The rooms are numbered for convenience, but you can hop from one to another as you wish because there is no particular flow to the lay out – instead, each room is filled with works of a particular medium. My absolute favourites were Dali’s watercolours and illustrations, which are beautifully vibrant and eye-catching but reflect notably serious subject matters, like war.
Dali’s Jewels
As I mentioned earlier, Dali was a skilled and talented jewellery maker. But, rather than creating practical, everyday jewellery, he made elaborate, surreal pieces – so very Dali! In the dedicated jewel museum, you can wander amongst the glass boxes filled with sparkling gems, including representations of the leggy elephants and other typical Dali subjects. I particularly liked the working drawings that were displayed alongside the jewels, which gave an insight into the process behind the pieces, and I enjoyed cross-referencing to see how the plan transferred into the final design. 
Practical information
How to get to the Dali Museum
The Dali Museum is located in the small town of Figueres, just outside of Barcelona. Trains leave from Barcelona Sants station to Figueres every hour or so, and take around 1 hour and 50 minutes. Tickets costs €16. From Figueres station, the museum is about and 10-15 minute walk. You can pick up a map from the information desk inside the station itself, or use the map below.
Prices and Opening Times
A joint ticket to the Dali Museum and the Dali Jewels exhibition costs €12 (which I highly recommend getting). There are concessions available for students and pensioners. Opening times… 01/11 – 28/02: From 10:30am to 6pm 01/03 – 30/06: From 9:30am to 6pm 01/07 – 30/09: From 9am to 8pm 01/10 – 31/10: From 9:30am to 6pm 
Other things to do in Figueres
Despite the Dali Museum being the main attraction in Figueres, there are numerous other things to get stuck into during your time there.
Statues
Wander around the old part of town and see how many of the quirky statues you can find – there’s a different one around every corner, from twisted human figures, to large, abstract wall murals.
Toy Museum
The Figueres Toy Museum pays homage to Catalan toys from days gone by. You can explore the history of playthings, and come face to face with some weird and wonderful examples.
Café culture
There are many, many, many cafes in Figueres, many of which sit in small, charming plazas, or down leafy, cobbled alleyways, and I highly recommend just sitting and watching the world go by.
Have you been to Figueres or the Dali Museum? What did you think?
Finally… Musement, a site offering museum tickets, art tours, and cultural activities has kindly let Wanderarti readers get €5 off purchases. Just use the code WANDERARTI and you can get discounted offers all over Europe! 
