Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao (Bilbao Fine Arts Museum), Bilbao (must see)

Founded in the early 20th century, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum was formed through the union of the city’s first Fine Arts Museum and its Museum of Modern Art, embodying a strong vision to serve as a leading cultural institution. Its neoclassical main building, designed by Urrutia and Cárdenas, gained a modern wing in 1970, resulting in an elegant combination of classic and contemporary architecture.

Inside, the museum boasts an expansive and richly varied collection of over 10,000 works, including roughly 1,500 paintings, 400 sculptures, more than 6,500 works on paper, and around 1,000 pieces of applied arts. Its holdings span centuries and styles-ranging from medieval and Renaissance treasures to modern and contemporary art.

Visitors can explore art from the Basque region, Spanish masterpieces, and pivotal works of Flemish, Dutch, Italian, and beyond-including artists such as El Greco, Cranach, Goya, Van Dyck, Gauguin, Cassatt, Bacon, and many more. The museum organizes its permanent collection into five meaningful sections-Ancient Art, Modern & Contemporary Art, Basque Art, Works on Paper, and Applied Arts-which span 33 rooms, offering a coherent and immersive journey through art history.