Musee des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux

Museum of Fine Arts with European paintings and sculptures from the 15th to the 20th century

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Located in the centre of Bordeaux, this museum features paintings and sculptures by some of the best European artists, from the Renaissance to the 20th century.

The Bordeaux museum of fine arts was created by Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th century. Its first curator was Pierre Lacour, a neoclassical painter of the late 17th and early 18th century. It opened at the end of 1810.

The current collection houses works by Delacroix, Daubigny, Van Dyck and Matisse. The main building, the Musee des beaux-Arts in the garden of the city hall has a small but good permanent collection with regular temporary exhibitions being housed across the street in the Galerie des Beaux-Arts.

Visitor comments

"The museum has a great selection of art which is very nicely presented. Located in 2 wings, it takes you across hundreds of years of art and the different styles. It is mostly paintings but there also are a few sculptures. The staff spoke English and with my student discount I only paid 2 euros for my ticket which was great. Definitely worth a visit." - Trip Advisor
"A great museum to visit and on a rainy day. Nice paintings collection. Very quiet so you can take time to enjoy it." - Trip Advisor
"The museum is set in part of the Hotel de Ville in a central position. It has 2 wings containing art works from several centuries including some from major well known artists like Picasso. Nice way to spend an hour or so. The garden between the 2 wings is a pleasant place to sit and relax for a while- when we visited there was a wedding party taking photos there having just got married in the neighbouring city hall." - Trip Advisor