Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is the anchor of the Museum District and one of the largest art museums in the United States, with an encyclopedic collection that runs from antiquities and Old Masters to Impressionism, Latin American art and the newest contemporary work. Its main campus is a lesson in twentieth- and twenty-first-century architecture. The Caroline Wiess Law Building, designed in part by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, holds the soaring glass Cullinan Hall. Across Main Street, Rafael Moneo's Audrey Jones Beck Building houses European art and many of the visiting blockbusters. The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, designed by Steven Holl and opened in 2020, is devoted to modern and contemporary art, with galleries lit by a translucent, cloud-like roof and an excellent collection of postwar and Latin American work. The buildings are connected underground, and one of the tunnels is an artwork in itself: James Turrell's The Light Inside, a glowing passage of shifting color that is one of the most photographed spots in the city. Outside, the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden, designed by Isamu Noguchi, is free and open to all, with works by Rodin, Matisse and others among its walls and lawns. The All Access ticket covers the permanent collection and the special exhibitions; on Thursdays the museum has offered discounted special-exhibition entry and free general admission to the collection, so check before you go. The museum is closed early in the week, typically Monday and Tuesday, and stays open late on Thursday and Friday evenings. Parking is not included in admission.

Give the museum at least half a day, and choose a building rather than trying to conquer the whole campus. First-timers should start in the Beck Building for the European paintings and whatever major exhibition is on, take the Turrell tunnel across to the Law Building for Cullinan Hall, and finish in the Kinder Building, whose upper galleries and restaurant terrace are some of the most pleasant spaces in the city. Art lovers with a specific interest — photography, African gold, Asian art, Texas painting — will find deep holdings and should check the collection highlights online before visiting.

The MFAH also runs two house museums beyond the main campus. Bayou Bend, the former River Oaks home of the philanthropist Ima Hogg, holds a superb collection of American decorative arts in gardens above Buffalo Bayou, and Rienzi showcases European decorative arts in a mid-century house. Both require separate planning and are worth it for anyone interested in historic interiors and gardens.

Practicalities: the museum is on the METRORail Red Line at the Museum District station, a short walk from the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Children's Museum and Hermann Park, so it combines easily into a full Museum District day. There are cafes and a restaurant on campus. Last admission is about an hour before closing. Thursday evenings are lively and good value; Saturday afternoons are the busiest time. The sculpture garden is a lovely free stop even if you do not go inside. If you have only an hour, go straight to the Kinder Building's upper galleries for the postwar and Latin American collections, then walk the Turrell tunnel and finish in Cullinan Hall. Families can ask at the admission desks about family guides and activities, and the museum shop is one of the best places in the city for art books and design-minded gifts. Special exhibitions can sell out on weekends near their closing dates, so buy the All Access ticket ahead if a particular show is the reason for your visit. Food and drink are not allowed in the galleries, and large bags may need to be checked.