Fine Arts Museum Tour

Opened in its current location in 1954, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts). The art collection – totaling nearly 50,000 works – has been divided into two separate buildings: the Cuban art collection (Arte Cubano), and the international collection.

National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba:

Located in two buildings next to the famous Martí Promenade, in the center of Havana. Its main goals are to restore, preserve, and promote works belonging to the heritage of Cuba. It has 24 rooms exhibiting ancient art collections, rooms dedicated to masters in every epoch, as well as rooms with temporary exhibitions.

The Fine Arts Palace, known as Universal Art Collection exhibits an international art show from 500 B.C. until nowadays. From this building stand out the great Spanish collection, including a painting by El Greco, Roman mosaics from 2000 years ago, and a painting by Gainsborough.

The Cuban section is found in the classical Palacio de Bellas Artes near Parque Central. This section showcases Cuban artwork, including paintings and sculptures. The range of work here is impressive and includes paintings by Spanish colonialists and Revolution-themed artwork. The interior of the building is also magnificent, with high ceilings and marble staircases.

Unfortunately, the displays lack English translations—if possible, take a guided tour of the museums. Both museums have bookshops where you can purchase Spanish guides to the collections and other knickknacks.

The Asturian Center is focused on Cuban Art. It exhibits a great variety of works in chronological order. These works include some by artists like Guillermo Collazo, Rafael Blanco, Raúl Martínez, or Wifredo Lam. As a whole, they host one of the largest collections of paintings and sculptures in all of Latin America.

The museum also has a library specialized in plastic arts. This is one of the best art museums in the Caribbean. You can spend all day here dealing with all kinds of art, from Cuban pop art to Greek pottery.

Opening Hours:

Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10:00am to 6:00pm; Sundays from 10:00am to 2:00pm.

Note: Opening hours may change, please confirm the hours before the visit.