The Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia (Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia) is one of several art museums in the city that also include the Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) and the National Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts. Housed within a beautiful old palace just across the old river bed (now the Turia Gardens) from the Old Town, it’s bursting with art spanning several centuries. The museum also conveniently has information on its permanent collections in English so you can learn more about the pieces if your Spanish isn’t up to scratch.
It’s a charming museum and a great place to spend a couple of hours in the city if you enjoy seeing art. This is especially the case if it’s a rainy day like when we visited… The museum is also free!
The museum’s starry blue dome ceiling
Inner courtyard at the museum
Go see Goya but don’t miss Sorolla either!
Although the museum’s painting collection includes Italian, Flemish and Dutch artists, the bulk of what you’ll find here is from Spain and Valencia in particular. Stars of the museum’s collection include paintings by Goya, Velazquez and El Greco. Or at least, they’re likely to be the most well known artists outside of Spain and the paintings that lots of visitors will be making a beeline for.
They also have an exhibition dedicated to Valencian painter, Joaquin Sorolla. Not so well known outside of Spain but a veritable star in Valencia. The new train station built for the high speed AVE line is even named after him. Personally, Sorolla’s paintings are the stars of the collection for me. I was already a fan of his work after a visit to his old house, which is now a museum in Madrid. Curiously, whilst I was there, Sorolla’s paintings of the Valencian coast made me crave a visit to Valencia. So it feels pretty special to enjoy the landscapes he was inspired by whilst in Valencia. And obviously fantastic to see more of his work too.
Paintings by Francisco Goya feature at the museum
A beach scene by Sorolla
I do like Goya but I do find his work quite dark in content. But where Goya’s paintings can seem full of dark , Sorrolla’s are full of light. Make sure you see both but I’d recommend seeing the Sorolla rooms after seeing the Goya collection.
Outside of the Sorolla rooms, for classic art fans, this is a gem of a museum. There are still lifes, landscapes, portraits and a rather large collection of religious paintings. There are also other non-painting pieces including a small selection of decorative arts and sculpture.
Religious paintings and lots of gold gilding
I’d recommend allowing around two hours to check out the whole museum. I mostly prefer more modern art but I really enjoyed this museum. I’m not especially interested in religious art paintings but I couldn’t help but enjoy admiring the gold gilded frames as well as just the sheer number of them in a relatively compact space. It’s almost like the paintings are on a mural or fresco scale.
I did also thoroughly love the Spanish landscapes and paintings showcasing more everyday people.
Visiting the Museum of Fine Arts in Valencia
Museum of Fine Arts from across the Turia Gardens
Museo de Bellas Artes de Valencia Carrer de San Pio V, 9 (you might also see the street name as Sant Pius V) 46010 Valencia
Tel: +34 96 387 03 00
www.museobellasartesvalencia.gva.es
Opening hours: Monday from 11.00am to 5.00pm and Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 7.00pm. Closed on 1 January, Good Friday and Christmas Day.
As with much of Valencia’s city centre (particularly if you’re in the old town – Ciutat Vella – part), getting around is best on foot or using the public transport system which includes a metro and bus network.
From the cathedral (by Plaza del Virgen and Plaza de la Reina), the museum is only 10 minutes walk away. There are also a number of buses that stop along C/San Pio V – the nearest bus stop to the museum is San Pio V – Alboraia. The nearest metro station is Pont de Fusta, which the metro tram line 4 goes to and is about 5 minutes walk away from the museum.
If you’re driving and need to park it in the city, there is some street parking (much of it is meter parking) available as well as numerous car parks throughout the city. You can use this map by Parkopedia to find parking spots.
For people staying outside of Valencia city, there are a number of ‘park and ride’ car parks, which you can use for free and continue your journey by metro into the city proper. You can find a list of park and ride stations at: metrovalencia.es.
Still need to book a car hire?
Heading to Valencia and still need to book a Spain car hire? In Valencia, you can pick up a great deal car hire at Valencia Airport and Valencia Station. Use our search tool to find and compare prices from a range of international and local suppliers. For more of our Valencia highlights, we’ve got all our Valencia posts here.