bilbao fine arts museum (museo de bellas artes)

I visited on a Wednesday which is the open day and free entry. Spent about 2 hours looking round. Was very impressed with the lay out and the paintings on display. Well worth a visit

Incredible architecture building with awesome location. If you want to visit this place. I recommend you to leave a time also to see the river surrounding this area with a fine bridges and green area...

The brightness of Guggenheim Museum titanium covers cant shadow the magnificent of the fine Arts Museum of Bilbao, it is located by what we call here "the park" the only one for decades in Bilbao center, and more precisely "el parque de los patos" (ducks park), just 2 blocks away from the House of Puppy Museum.Wednesday MUST be your loved day.. admission is FREE all Wednesdays. Cant miss and deserves something like 2-3 hours minimum

While the Guggenheim museum is the tourist attraction, it is here, at the fine arts museum, where you can really see and enjoy fine art, both classical and modern. Here is where the locals come to see art. Check the temporary exhibitions; they are often very interesting and often attract crowds of locals.

Whilst I am not much of an art lover I did really appreciate the works of art in the Fine Arts museum. Some great exhibitions and collections and there is a lovely restaurant and coffee shop.I would recommend getting the ticket that covers the cost of the Fine Art Museum and The Guggenheim as it works out more cost effective.

We walked from the Guggenheim so were a little tired. There were a few nice things but mostly dark Basque painters - if you're into that sort of thing. Horrid hot choc and coffee in the cafe!

Beautifully designed and laid out art gallery. Most of the art was not really our thing but we still had a great couple of hours wandering around and admiring the various exhibitions including a very interesting modern Basque art section. Like the Guggenheim, really nice cafe with a lovely view over the biggest park in the city centre.

Overwhelmed by the Guggenheim notoriety this Museum deserves all the attention of a great Collection. I visited last week and a great exhibit on HIPERREALISMO 1967-2013 was on. Very interesting as the permanent collection that gather 8000 piece of arts, of course the majority by Spanish artists but also international as Leger, Bacon, Tapies, de Vos , Van Dick,Murillo,Goya.The building is also very interesting an recently restored. Visiting at night is specially suggestive for the lights .The entrance is paying, but I warmly advise you to get ,at the Tourist office ,the BISKAIA BILBAO CARD for 72 hours that for 40€ allows you to enter all the Museums and use the public transports : really worth it!

This place is worth a visit for its carefully chosen and presented collection, especially of Basque artists, which is probably hard to find elsewhere.

Until recently Bellas Artes closed the same day as Guggenheim but now if you buy a Bellas Artes combined ticket on a Tuesday you're out of luck unless you stay an extra day. If both open, you do save €4 by buying them together (although the audio tour isn't included so if you want that, just buy tix separately. Also kids are free and senior citizens and students highly discounted.

Not as stuffy as some of the other Belles Artes Museums I`ve been to in Spain. There were two temporary exhibitions one of which was Hyper~realism which was very good.

The art and exhibits here were much more interesting than that in the Guggenheim. The collections were much more complete and extensive whereas the Guggenheim seemed to be more noteworthy for its architecture. Also, the guards/custodians in the Guggenheim weren't very polite.

The Bilbao Art Museum was a real surprise as for a small international city it has some great historic paintings from local and Spanish artists. It complements the Guggenheim Museum's modern collection nicely. There is also a miniature bronze collection thousands of years old. On my visit there was a hyper-realism exhibition of paintings that look remarkably like photographs. Get there quick to check it out. Wednesdays are free at the Museum. Bilbao city is a beautiful lively place too and I have returned multiple times.PeterSydney, Australia

Often overshadowed by the Guggenheim this a marvelous collection focusing on Spanish artists many little known in the USA. It is a very doable size so you do not become overwhelmed. It provides a nice balance to the Guggenheim. Free on Wednesdays.

The Guggenheim looks good from the outside but often has nothing interesting on the inside. The Fine Arts Museum is the opposite. Not so intersting from the outside but always good art on the inside.