Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes

The national collection is split between two buildings a few minutes apart. The Cuban art building, a modernist block of 1954, runs from colonial painting through the nineteenth century to the vanguardia of the 1920s and 30s and on to contemporary work, and it is the better half by a distance: Wifredo Lam, Amelia Peláez, René Portocarrero and Servando Cabrera among others. The Universal Art building, in the ornate former Asturian Centre, holds European, ancient and Latin American work in a considerably grander interior.

What you actually see

• The vanguardia rooms - Cuban modernism of the 1920s and 30s, the strongest part of the collection.
• Wifredo Lam - major works by the most internationally known Cuban painter.
• The colonial and nineteenth-century galleries - the earlier history of painting on the island.
• The Universal building - the former Asturian Centre, with European and ancient collections under a stained-glass dome.

When to go

Year-round, since both buildings are indoors and this is a good rainy-day option. Both close on Mondays and keep shorter hours on Sundays. Mornings are quietest.

Honest expectations

Air conditioning fails regularly and some galleries close without notice, sometimes for long periods. The Universal building's collection is thin in places compared with the setting. Photography is restricted and bags go into lockers.

Nearby

Old Havana begins a few blocks east, and the Capitolio is between the two buildings.