International Museum Day and the Night of Museums

Two May events are easy to mix up. International Museum Day has a fixed date and is organised by ICOM. The Night of Museums is a European event, and in 2026 not all of Spain's state museums held it on the same day.

The confirmed dates

• International Museum Day: 18 May, every year since 1977. The 2026 theme was "Museums uniting a divided world".
• European Night of Museums: the Ministry of Culture gave the date as 23 May 2026. State museums opened specially on the 16th or the 23rd, depending on the museum.

As of 4 November 2026, we haven't found the date of the next Night or the 2027 theme on the ICOM and Ministry websites.

Museums that don't charge on 18 May

These include 18 May among their free days:

• State museums. The Museo de Antropología, the sculpture museum in Valladolid and the ceramics museum in Valencia.
• Madrid. The Reina Sofía, which adds 22 May.
• Andalusia. The Bellas Artes in Seville, Museo Picasso Málaga and Centre Pompidou Málaga.
• Barcelona. CaixaForum, CosmoCaixa and the Museu Blau.
• Zaragoza. The Caesaraugusta Route museums and the Pablo Gargallo, which the city website gives as temporarily closed for works.

The list isn't complete. Many museums that charge on normal days also have a weekly free slot, which you'll find in our free museums guide.

18 May 2027 is a Tuesday

That's the weekly closing day of the Reina Sofía and the Centre Pompidou Málaga. Check on their websites whether they'll open.

The Night in your city

For the Night in Barcelona, Cartagena, Murcia, Lorca, Valladolid, Toledo or Zaragoza, check the city council's programme: here we only give dates confirmed by ICOM or the Ministry.

If a museum needs a reservation, get it the moment booking opens. If you're going for a particular exhibition, check that it's part of the night opening. In Barcelona, the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau lists the Night of Museums among its free days, along with 23 April and 24 September.