The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
(Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal)

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a must see for all connoisseurs of fine arts

Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion - Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Photo Bernard Fougères and Jean-François Lejeune

The world of fine art is rather a strange one. It allows you a glimpse into the minds of some of the world's greatest artists. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal) allows you to take that look into the minds of artists and see their amazing works.

The museum was founded in 1860 by Bishop Fulford in an attempt to encourage the appreciation of fine arts in the people of Montreal. The museum started life as many artists do, as a nomadic display in a variety of venues around Montreal. Is was only in 1877 that a permanent home for the museum was donated by Benaiah Gibb along with his collection of 72 canvases and 4 bronzes. Since then the collection has grown exponentially. There are now over 38 000 different works of art displayed in the museum's collections.

The works of art are displayed in four pavilions and grouped into categories. This makes it much easier for you to see those pieces of art that relate to a period of interest. The Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion is dedicated to archaeology and world cultures, the Liliane and David M. Stewart pavilion displays art works related to decorative arts and design. The Jean-Noel Desmarais pavilion houses the early to modern international art collection as well as the international contemporary art collection. The Claire and Marie Bourgie pavilion contains Quebec and Canadian art for something a little closer to home. You can see images of some of the art contained here on the museum's website. They are truly something to behold!

The museum also displays themed exhibitions on a regular basis. This offers you the chance to see some truly famous works that would otherwise be kept in the storage facilities of the museum. These exhibits feature artists such as Jules de Balincourt and Laurent Craste.

If fine art is something that inspires you or if you simply want to be fascinated and beguiled with what goes on in the minds of our finest artists, then the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is the ideal museum to visit.

Facts For Your Visit

Fee: Yes; Free admission to children under 12.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Hours:
Opening hours may differ on holidays

  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
  • Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Friday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
  • Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Address: 1380 Rue Sherbrooke O, Montréal, QC H3G 1J5, Canada

Phone: (514) 285-2000

Official Website: The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Reviews

Rated 4.7 out of 5 Star Rating

5 Star Rating Absolutely loved this museum. Amazing collections. Loved the care and attention taken to not only provide artists names and dates but many (most?) of the pieces included a paragraph or two explanation about the artist and/or the piece - very informative and interesting to read. They enjoy having many square feet of exhibition space and getting between the various buildings is relatively easy. We spent four hours and felt like we saw most of what we wanted to see. There was a really well done exhibit on the works of Marisol - who I knew nothing about before (I’m relatively ignorant in art) and found it very interesting. Kudos to the curators and staff here. Highly recommend!
Karl Peterman - 3 months ago

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5 Star Rating Amazing art museum to visit while in Montreal! I would definitely recommend allocating more time than you would think as three hours was not nearly enough to visit all three of the buildings here. We stuck to the main entrance hall pavilion and the attached Pavilion for Peace and it took us around three hours to walk through and appreciate it all. Some amazing pieces here so definitely want to make sure you don’t miss it, particularly the Cabinet of Curiosities on the 3rd floor of the Pavilion for Peace. Definitely my favorite room of the museum.
Kieran Iapoce - a month ago

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5 Star Rating This was a beautiful Museum. I especially liked the floors with paintings from the 1600 - 1800s. I found those to be the most beautiful. I recommend going to the highest floor and working downwards if you want to maximize your time here, it's easy for time to fly by if you're not careful. Modern art is on the lower so I recommend skipping those floors if you are short on time.
Faiyaz Khan - 2 months ago

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5 Star Rating A museum full of wonders! If you’re a fan of art and history you will definitely enjoy visiting. Antiques gathered from all over the world. Paintings, statues, … Seeing the thinker statue was one of the best parts, and also we enjoyed watching the abstract paintings.
Arefeh Nrz - a month ago

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5 Star Rating Love this museum. I’ve visited so many times and still love here. I just wanna share a small story. I accidentally lost my hat here on Wednesday and I was busy on these days. So I can only come back today to look for it. Their staffs are so nice. They have organized all the missing stuffs in the list and kept it until I come back (about two days). I found my hat back successfully. Thanks so much!!!!!
Rae Zeng - 3 months ago

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Directions

Metro Line Nearest Station Walking Time
Line 1 -GreenGuy-Concordia6 Minutes

How to get to The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts by Metro

By Metro: Take Line 1 to Guy-Concordia Station and take the Guy Street exit. Go right from the exit and then right again at the corner walking northeast along Blvd de Maisonneuve to Bishop Street; then go left to Sherbrooke Street W then go right to the museum entrance which is just ahead. Note that while the museum itself occupies 4 Pavilions inside separate buildings, access is only via the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion at 1380 Sherbrooke Street West.

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