Bilbao Museoa

For years the Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao lived in the shadow of its famous neighbour, but many visitors who make the short walk through the Doña Casilda park consider it the more rewarding collection. Founded in the early twentieth century, it holds art from the Middle Ages to today, with Flemish and Spanish old masters, a strong showing of nineteenth-century and modern painting, and the best collection anywhere of Basque artists, from Ignacio Zuloaga and Aurelio Arteta to the sculptors Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida. In 2026 the museum completed the biggest transformation in its history. A project by Norman Foster and the Basque architect Luis María Uriarte, nearly four years in the making, added about six thousand square metres while keeping the 1945 and 1970 buildings in view. The headline is Agravitas, a glass-walled volume that seems to hover above the old museum, and beneath it the Arriaga Atrium, the former street between the buildings, now covered and free to enter, with Francisco Durrio’s monument to the composer Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga at its heart. There is a new transparent gallery for temporary exhibitions with a sculpture terrace, and a new design and architecture collection. The museum now calls itself Bilbao Museoa, and it reopened to the public on 6 October 2026. This page links to the official plan-your-visit page.

Planning the visit: the official site lists opening from 10:00 to 19:00 from Monday to Saturday except Tuesdays, with the collections closing at 18:00, and from 10:00 to 15:00 on Sundays. Tuesdays are free from 10:00 to 18:00, but only the Arriaga Atrium and part of the galleries are open, while Agravitas and other exhibitions stay closed, so pay for a full visit on another day if you can. General admission is moderately priced, reduced tickets are half price, and under-18s go free. From 14 October to 11 November 2026 there is a combined ticket with the Guggenheim. The museum is closed on 25 December and 1 and 6 January.

What to see: start in the Arriaga Atrium to understand how the three buildings fit together, then go up into Agravitas for the new displays and the views. In the older wings, look for the Basque painters, who give a vivid portrait of the region’s landscapes, ports and people, and for the rotating highlights of the Plácido Arango collection, shown in the opening exhibition La búsqueda del comienzo. A free audio guide covers the collection displays.

Practicalities: the museum is on the Plaza Eduardo Chillida, beside the Doña Casilda park. The nearest metro station is Moyua or Plaza Elíptica, and trams stop at Abandoibarra and Guggenheim. The café and shop have their own entrance and need no ticket. Allow two hours, more if you want to see both the new spaces and the old masters in depth.