Fine Arts Museum of Asturias

A couple of steps from the cathedral, in palaces of the old quarter: Spanish and international painting from the 14th to the 21st century. Admission is free, as it is at the Archaeological Museum of Asturias, in the former convent of San Vicente, beside the cathedral. In the rain, link the two.

What is inside

The collection exceeds 15,000 works. It began in 1980 with about 350 and brings together holdings from the former Provincial Monuments Commission, the Academy of San Salvador and the now defunct Provincial Council; since 1996 it has held the Pedro Masaveu Collection on deposit. Painting is the core: Hispano-Flemish panels, the Baroque of Zurbarán, Murillo and Carreño de Miranda, and names such as El Greco, Goya, Sorolla, Picasso, Dalí and Miró. Asturians carry a lot of weight, with Evaristo Valle and Nicanor Piñole. The museum itself singles out among its masterpieces the Self-portrait by Darío de Regoyos and Peasants of Gandía by Hermen Anglada-Camarasa. There is also sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography and more than a thousand film posters.

The buildings

The museum occupies part of a block beside the cathedral. The 18th-century Velarde palace was its first home and holds the historic collections, from the 14th to the 19th century. The Oviedo-Portal house, from 1660, by the Cantabrian architect Melchor de Velasco, at calle Rúa, 8, holds a good part of the 19th century. The extension, from the 21st century, shows the art of the 20th and 21st centuries and has a temporary exhibition room on floor -1. The reference address is calle Santa Ana, 1-3.

Opening hours and admission

• Winter: Tuesday to Friday, 10:30 to 14:00 and 16:30 to 20:30; Saturdays, 11:30 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 20:00; Sundays and public holidays, 11:30 to 14:30.
• July and August: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:30 to 14:00 and 16:00 to 20:00; Sundays and public holidays, 10:30 to 14:30.
• Monday, closed all year.

Admission and services are free. In 2026 it also closes on 1 January, 1 May, 21 September, 12 October, 1 November and 24, 25 and 31 December, and opens reduced hours on a few more days, such as 8 December. Telephone: 985 21 30 61.

How to organise your visit

Allow an hour and a half for the essentials. If you are short of time, choose one building: the historic collection at Velarde or contemporary art in the extension. The museum offers leaflets with different routes through the collection. It is in a pedestrian area, next to the Fontán market and plaza de Trascorrales.

It fits into the same walk as the cathedral of San Salvador, next door, and the old town and the Fontán. For a meal afterwards, Casa Ramón is on plaza de Daoíz y Velarde, beside the Fontán.