Museum of Fine Arts

Welcome to the Museum of Fine Arts. This grand neoclassical palace, inspired by the Petit Palais in Paris, was designed by Franco-Chilean architect Emilio Jéquier and inaugurated in 1910 to mark the centennial of the Republic. It was built to give a proper home to the Museum of Fine Arts, which had been founded in 1880 but was hidden away in a side wing of the old National Congress. That all changed with the unveiling of this stunning new building. The opening exhibition, which became the highlight of the centennial celebrations, featured a whopping 1,741 international works of art and was met with huge enthusiasm. Within just three years, the museum had already welcomed 28,000 visitors—a massive number for the time. Admission is free, so there’s no excuse not to step inside and explore! The museum’s galleries trace the story of Chilean art from colonial times to today, with a collection that now includes more than 5,600 works in every art form. It also regularly hosts temporary exhibitions by major international artists. This was the first fine arts museum in Latin America, and it’s officially recognised as a national historic monument—so don’t miss the chance to walk through its beautiful halls.