Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts: reopening in 2026

Bilbao’s historic art gallery has just completed a radical transformation that brings it into the future. The refurbished complex reopened all its facilities on 6 October 2026, transformed into a spectacular building thanks to the ‘Agravitas’ project

The Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts is entering a new era now that the refurbishment and extension works, which began in November 2022, have been completed. The cultural institution had set 6 October 2026 as the date for its grand reopening.

This ambitious architectural project entails a 60 per cent increase in the centre’s operational floor area, by adding more than 6,700 square metres of new floor space and refurbishing nearly 8,000 square metres of its historic structures dating from 1945 and 1970. The total investment amounts to between 48 and 52 million euros, contributed equally by the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Bilbao City Council.

‘Agravitas’: Foster and Uriarte’s avant-garde floating gallery

Designed by Norman Foster and Luis María Uriarte, the ‘Agravitas’ project features a floating structure suspended 15 metres above the neoclassical and modern buildings. Without touching them directly, it creates a large, column-free, open-plan gallery measuring 2,200 m², linking the atrium with Chillida Square and Doña Casilda Park.

The opening of the ‘Agravitas’ space will enhance the museum’s programme from its reopening onwards and throughout 2027. The permanent collection will be reorganised into a chronological display spanning from the Romanesque period to contemporary art, showcasing masters such as El Greco, Goya and Chillida. In addition, the new open-plan gallery will host large-scale exhibitions and temporary projects such as La búsqueda del comienzo and the monographic exhibition Obras maestras del arte español.

This project cements the Bellas Artes as one of the city’s major attractions and confirms its position as the second-largest museum of its kind in Spain, after El Prado.

Expansions since its opening in 1908

The origins of the Bilbao Museum of Fine Arts date back to 1908, although its current neoclassical building in Doña Casilda Park was opened on 17 June 1945.

To keep up with the growth of its collection, its first major extension –a modern adjoining building– was completed in 1970, followed in 2001 by a major refurbishment of the entrances prior to its current landmark development.

BILBAO FINE ARTS MUSEUM

Plaza Eduardo Chillida
48009 Bilbao, Bizkaia

Tel. +34 944 39 60 60

Opening hours
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10:00 am to 7:00 pm (collections until 6:00 pm)
Tuesday: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, free admission to the collections
Sunday: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm