Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

Description:

• The National Fine Arts Museum fills three floors of this square-city-block building, and the design -- with a central courtyard and zigzagging ramped stairwell -- can make navigating the upper floors confusing, so allow yourself plenty of time, and be prepared to get mildly lost inside. An extensive collection of Cuban art and sculpture is on display at the newly renovated main building here. Modern masters like Wifredo Lam, Raúl Martínez, Amelia Peláez, and Rene Portocarrero are well represented. The international collection is now housed in a recently restored, early-20th-century gem of a building. This collection leans heavily on classical and neoclassical European works, with some fine portraits and still lifes from the Dutch Golden Age, although there are some American, Latin American, and Oriental works on display. Brits will be interested in Canaletto's 1751 painting of Chelsea College and the River Thames; the other half hangs in a National Trust property in Norfolk. Give yourself at least 2 hours to tour the collection in either building, or more if you want to get a good feel for the extensive Cuban art collection.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010