2.000 sq meteres, more than a dozen interactive points, 6000 pieces that come from the private collection of the journalist Jordi Tardà, the collector that has over a million music files of all types. That’s how they present the first Museum of Rock in Europe, which was inaugurated on March 31st in Barcelona, in the shopping centre of Las Arenas.

Las Arenas, once the scenario of the tragic death dance between the bull and the bullfighter, is now a large shopping centre, inaugurated this year and designed by the British architect Richard Rogers.

A “guest” of this new shopping centre – that maintains the original exterior structure intact – the new space offers a musical voyage that goes from Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley to the death certificate of Freddy Mercury, or the drumstick of Lars Ulrich (Metallica).

The Rock Museum houses one of the most singular and complete private archives in the world: a unique permanent collection that will transport the visitor from one object to another through the various periods of rock history. The collection is divided into two parts:

On the one hand, arranged chronologically, are a variety of exhibitions dedicated to the most representative stages of rock, from its origins to the present day.

On the other, a place of honour is reserved for two of its most outstanding proponents: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, their influence spanning decades of hits and mythomania.

More than 400 items of memorabilia, over 50 gold and platinum records, more than 60 articles of clothing from various artists, dozens of signed musical instruments, innumerable objects, rarities and artefacts once handled by Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Ringo Starr, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Kurt Cobain and many more.

An entire universe of memories fills the Museum with an atmosphere of glamour and the legend of rock's all-time greatest masters. Come and explore the mythical world of rock through its relics and icons.

The Beatles and Rolling Stones are the undoubted stars of the place with their themed rooms. There’s a lot of interactive material in the Museum, with over 5000 sound files, some of them unreleased, and audiovisual documents (1000 articles). The Museum possesses archive material of incalculable cultural and emotional value. More than 75,000 items that include magazines, books, films, video clips, articles, interviews, photographs, documents, etc.

Songs from every period, concerts, radio programmes, unreleased tracks... At the various information points scattered throughout the Museum, the most representative songs of each period can be accessed, always from a perspective different from the original record: live versions, B-sides, works that did not see the light of day when they were recorded... An archive over 40 years in the making, with unique material on display here for the first time ever.

Among the different sections, there are spaces dedicated to Spanish and Catalan music. An auditorium of over 200 seats allows concerts to take place, as well as festivals, theatre and activities for the younger ones.

An area called On Stage, is the jewel of everyone who wants to be a rock star for a day. Here, the visitor (alone or in groups of 5 people) can go on stage and, with all the equipment (light, smoke and crowd), can sing their songs and take the memory back home with them taped on a CD.

The rockers will be able to see over 400 memorabilia objects, over 50 gold and platinum records, more than 60 pieces of clothing from different artists, dozens of signed musical instruments and plenty of objects, rare objects and fetishes. The owners? Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson, Ringo Starr, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, Kurt Cobain…

One of Europe's largest collections of musical memorabilia is on display at the Barcelona Rock Musuem (Museu del Rock). Located in the Las Arenas shopping mall in Plaça Espanya, the Barcelona Museum of Rock opened on March 31st 2011, and showcases exhibits collected by the Barcelona Rock Museum Foundation. Included are souvenirs from the careers of a pantheon of rock legends, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen.

Highlights of the museum include a Rolling Stones jukebox, letters by Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Elton John's golden bathtub and a signed Ringo Starr bank cheque. Also on display are a jacket worn by Michael Jackson on his 1987 Bad tour and Madonna's wedding dress from the mid-'80s Like A Virgin Tour.

There's a Monkees board game, a Heroes del Silencio bottle of wine, and guitars once owned by Kurt Cobain, Eric Clapton and Lennon, with rooms dedicated to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, a room devoted to Spanish rock music, a room for temporary exhibitions and the thrillingly fun On Stage room, where you can pretend to be a rock star in front of a virtual live audience.

The museum draws its 500 exhibits from the Barcelona Rock Music Foundation, which has a collection of more than 5,000 objects, including hundreds of signed records. All in all, a worthwhile excuse for visiting the new multi-million euro Arenas mall, which inhabits the old shell of a historic bullring.

The nearest metro station is Espanya metro station (Lines 1 and 3). Inside, there’s an original restaurant space that will offer the rest that the hungry rocker needs: Happy Rock Bar & Grill offers a wide gastronomical selection in a fun and informal environment.

And, without doubt, the visit to the museum continues in the restaurant with a strong point of the collection: Elton John’s bathtub, reconverted into a table.

The visit to the Museum is also an occasion to visit this unique shopping centre, which preserves all the eagerness of the past bullfighters of Barcelona. The modernity has turned it into a great Mall where all shopping lovers can count with thousands of products and offers which are affordable for everyone. You can get there via direct flight to Barcelona or to Girona, Reus or Lleida–Alguaire.