National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers

The Musee national des beaux-arts opened in 1930 on a terrace above the Jardin d'Essai, in a long building looking down over the garden and the bay, and it is usually described as the largest fine arts museum in Africa. The collection runs to several thousand works: European painting and sculpture from the Renaissance onward, a substantial holding of nineteenth-century French and Orientalist painting, prints and drawings, and the work of Algerian artists of the twentieth century, including the generation that shaped modern painting here. Part of the collection was removed at independence and later returned. The galleries are spacious and quiet, and the terrace view is worth the climb on its own.

What you actually see

• Nineteenth-century Orientalist painting - a large holding of the genre.
• Twentieth-century Algerian artists - the modern painting collection.
• European painting and sculpture - the older part of the holdings.
• The terrace over the garden - the view down to the Jardin d'Essai and the bay.

When to go

Year round. Two to three hours. Closed on some days; check locally. The climb from the garden is steep, so a taxi to the door is easier.

Honest expectations

Only part of the collection is displayed and rooms close without notice. Labelling is limited and mostly in French and Arabic. Photography is often restricted. The approach on foot from the garden is a hard climb.

Nearby

The Jardin d'Essai is directly below; central Algiers lies west.