The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is one of the largest art museums in the United States, set in the Museum District of Houston, Texas. Founded in 1900, it is the oldest art museum in Texas, and its campus of galleries, a sculpture garden and a collection running from antiquity to the present makes it the anchor of the neighbourhood.

The story behind it

The museum began as a civic project at the turn of the twentieth century, when Houston was still a young Gulf Coast city. Its first purpose-built building opened in the 1920s, and the museum has grown steadily ever since, adding wings and whole buildings by some of the best-known architects of their time. Mies van der Rohe designed modernist additions in the middle of the century, Rafael Moneo added the Audrey Jones Beck Building around 2000, and Steven Holl designed the Kinder Building, which opened in 2012.

Today the collection includes tens of thousands of works. European and American paintings are a highlight, with names such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Monet associated with the museum, and there are galleries devoted to Asian art and Latin American art. The museum also runs film screenings, book club discussions and live performances alongside its exhibitions.

What to look for

• The mix of architectural styles across the campus, from the older classical-style building to the clean modernist lines of the Mies van der Rohe wings.
• The Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, where you can stand in front of work by artists such as Monet and Van Gogh.
• The underground tunnel between the main buildings, which is also an artwork, James Turrell's light installation, and a striking walk in its own right.
• The Cullen Sculpture Garden, designed by Isamu Noguchi, where sculptures sit among lawns and trees just across the street from the main galleries.

Tips for your visit

• Allow two to three hours for the highlights, and more if you want to see a special exhibition or several of the buildings.
• Check current opening hours, admission details and any free-entry days before you go, as these change.
• Weekday mornings are usually calmer than weekend afternoons, and the sculpture garden is most pleasant outside the heat of a Houston afternoon.
• Other Museum District attractions and Hermann Park are close by, so the museum fits easily into a day of walking around the area.

See it on a quest

Playing Murder Mystery: Death in the Shadows in Museum District, Houston is a good way to see the museum in its setting. You reach it on foot as one stop on a longer route through the Museum District, the app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever suits you.

Dorothy’s Quest: The Trials of Oz in Houston takes the same approach with an Oz theme: you walk between places, hear about each one, and solve a puzzle in what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

Houston, we have a Conundrum: A Ken Clever Mystery is another self-guided walk that passes the museum. The app guides you from stop to stop, tells you about each place, and sets a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group.