Costa Brava Guide

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  Toy Museum of Catalonia

The Toy Museum of Catalonia was inaugurated in 1982 in the premises of the former Hotel Paris (the old stately home of the Baron of Terrades, dating from 1767) on Rambla de Figueres. Recent refurbishment and redecoration work have tripled the Museum's original space, and it was reopened on 12 December 1998.

The Museum's exhibits include over 4,000 items: animated life forms, Meccano constructions, miniature theatre sets, cardboard animals and horses, kitchens, balls, spinning tops, planes, cars, trains, dolls, puppets, magic tricks, games for the blind, disguises, cut-outs, barrel organs, soldiers, robots, steam engines, teddy bears, tricycles, scooters, etc. Many of these items are accompanied by old photographs of children with their toys, helping us to place them chronologically and see how children played with them. Some of the toys belong to personalities such as Anna Maria and Salvador Dali, Federico Garcia Lorca, Joan Miro, Josep Palau i Fabre, Joan Brossa, Quim Monzo, Frederic Amat, and others. The Museum has a Documentation and Research Centre on games and toys, a Brossa-Fregoli auditorium and an area for open-air activities: the terrace of the Museum.

A visit of the collection can be seen in many ways: a nostalgic look back through the games our grandparents played, an observation visit, in which we follow the scientific and technical advances that have at any given time influenced the design of games and toys, just as they have been influenced and are still influenced by historical events and artistic movements. At the Toy Museum of Catalonia you will find some of the most charming memories of your childhood.