SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - JUNE 04: The entrance of the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican Museum of Art) on June 4, 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Photo by Alfredo Sosa/The Christian Science Monitort

Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

Top choice in San Juan


San Juan boasts one of the largest and most celebrated art museums in the Caribbean. Housed in a splendid neoclassical building that was once the city’s Municipal Hospital, MAPR holds 18 exhibition halls spread over an area of 130,000 sq ft. The artistic collection includes paintings, sculptures, posters and carvings from the 17th century to the present, chronicling such renowned Puerto Rican artists as José Campeche, Francisco Oller, Nick Quijano and Nayda Collazo-Llorens.

The facility also boasts a hands-on exhibition space for kids, a 2.5-acre sculpture garden, a conservation laboratory, a theater and a good shop. Creative workshops are regularly offered for children too.

Don't miss the gardens, where winding paths invite visitors to stroll past 16 sculptures and more than 100,000 plants in a scene reminiscent of Monet’s water lilies.

Transportation

  • bus: T5, T21

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