FC Barcelona, the football club at the beating heart of the Catalan city, was founded on November 29, 1899 and celebrates 125 years in November 2024. It also has a brilliant football museum tour experience on offer at the Camp Nou. But it’s not alone in that regard, as Europesure Travel Insurance discovered.
Camp Nou Experience
Barcelona’s football experience pulls in 1.5 million visitors a year, with some heading to catch a glimpse of the museum’s Johan Cruyff shirts and others wanting to capture panoramic views of the stadium on camera. The Barça Immersive Tour is a revitalised tour experience, spread across 2400m2 of the old ice rink. The exhibition breathes life into FC Barcelona’s history, trophies and values, exploring the club’s past, present and future, in a 100% interactive museum that focuses on historic moments and footballing legends alike. All culminates in the arrival of the visitor in a large audiovisual space called Spotify Camp Nou Live, where the fan can truly feel as if at the centre of the action, in a large-format immersive show and 360° experience. Test football skills in a Robokeeper Challenge against a robotic goalkeeper and, according to which package you choose, maybe take advantage of free shirt customisation. It’s all totally thrilling but do check the museum is open on the day you intend to visit. Want to explore other things in Barcelona? Read this blog.
FIFA World Football Museum Zurich
Did you even know FIFA has a football museum? Well head to Zurich and you can discover everything about the beautiful game, by diving into the plethora of videos, photographs, memorabilia and trophies on show. This includes the iconic World Cup. That iconic trophy plays a major role within the museum’s storytelling, whether that is through the personal stories of Pele and Maradona, or in the FIFA World Cup Gallery, where the story of the competition is traced from the first final in Uruguay, right through to the present day. FIFA represents the global game, as communicated by The Rainbow – a 35-metre staircase display of national team shirts from 211 member associations. Add to that a 13-metre-long timeline of the game itself, starting with its origins in Britain, and there is lots to see and snap.
German Football Museum, Dortmund
Located opposite Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park, this museum traces the story of German football from the 1954 West Germany team’s World Cup triumph. The narrative relates to both club football and the national team, with all underpinned by a motto of One Ball: 1000 Stories. The ‘conduit’ ball that will greet you, as you emerge through a player’s tunnel, and acclimatise you to the experience, is the 1954 match ball – where German footballing supremacy really made its mark. British visitors will be undoubtedly taken and bemused, in equal measure, with the references to the 1966 World Cup Final and the interactive media station that assesses whether or not the ball was behind the line at Wembley. Others may be interested in exploring the Golden Generation (those German players who graced the 2006 World Cup and the years that followed, right up to Rio in 2014.
Real Madrid Visitor Experience
It is worth making a beeline for the Santiago Bernabeu experience, just for the chance to see 13 glittering European Cups. Be prepared to be transported, interactively, on a team bus, as you head to the ground in true player style, and then to enjoy an audiovisual and interactive journey that will vary in nature, according to whether you opt for the Classic or Premium experience. Dependent on your choice, you could be photographed (virtually) with your favourite player and with the Bernabeu stadium as your backdrop. You could even feature playing football with your folk heroes in white. With an option to be photographed with the European Cup too, this makes many a footballing fan’s dreams come true.
J Museum, Turin
If your football heroes have played for the Bianconeri, you should head off to Turin and experience the black and white jewel that is the J Museum Tour. Modern tech within the avant-garde museum brings all of the shirts, memorabilia and trophies to life, as you pass through different rooms conveying the history of Juventus. With audio guides available in English, Italian, French, Spanish and German, the majority of Europesure Travel Insurance’s clients should be able to enjoy the interpretation and storytelling. Add the opportunity to tour the Allianz Stadium, visiting the locker room, media area and other locations, and this is another great day out for any football fan.
CR7 Museum, Funchal
Sometimes a football fan’s heart rests with a particular footballing idol and that is certainly the case when it comes to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a whopping 985.1m social media followers. No wonder there is a need for a CR7 Museum, in his home town of Funchal, Madeira, which opened on 15 December 2013 and has been thrilling visitors ever since, from the moment they spot a waxwork of the Portuguese footballing legend. The museum, located not too far from Funchal marina, is home to over 100 individual and collective trophies accumulated by Ronaldo. If that’s not enough, you can also see his four Golden Boots and five Ballons d’Or awards. Photos, shirts, interactive content and memorabilia relating to his time with Andorinha, Nacional, Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, make it all a fabulous immersion into the footballing career of CR7. Just make sure you visit on a weekday, as the museum closes Saturdays and Sundays.
Further travel tips and travel insurance advice
Take care if visiting any of these museums, as all of their home cities are known for petty crimes, such as pickpocketing and theft. Watch your belongings carefully, do not leave phones in back pockets and wear a crossbody bag – or a lockable one – if you can. In Turin, be careful around the Porta Palazzo area, particularly at night and be cautious in San Salvario, where drink-induced fights can break out around the bars.
Those visiting Funchal have another pretty unique risk to consider, given the nature of the island’s runway. Only experienced pilots are put on the Funchal run and the airport only allows landings when the wind speed is under a certain limit. This leads to frequent flight delays and diversions, with passengers perhaps finding themselves back at the airport from which they departed, or taken to somewhere like Tenerife or Faro.
Check whether your travel insurance policy would cover you for any delay or alternative accommodation costs in such an instance, as not all will.
Do protect yourself against insurable risks through the purchase of a good quality travel insurance policy that will cover you and give you many valuable aspects of protection, should something go wrong. If you live in the UK, EU, EEA, Monaco or Gibraltar, you will find Europesure Travel Insurance’s cover comprehensive and backed by a first-class insurance provider, whether you purchase a single trip or an annual travel insurance policy.
