Lille Museum of Fine Arts

Lille Museum of Fine Arts

The Lille Museum of Fine Arts was established in 1809 as the first museum created in France. It is the second-largest art museum and museum in France after the Louvre, and the largest museum in France outside of Paris. The museum is housed in a 19th-century palace-style building, which has undergone multiple renovations and expansions. A major restoration took place between 1991 and 1997, representing the most innovative expansion to date, increasing the exhibition space to 22,000 square meters.

The Lille Museum of Fine Arts houses a vast collection of famous paintings, sculptures, and ceramic works from the 15th to the 20th century. The collections are displayed by category: reliefs, French sculpture, medieval and Renaissance periods, among others. Other exhibits include street models of 15 towns in Belgium and France. Here you can admire works by Donatello, Goya, Rubens, Jacques-Louis David, Monet, and more.

The museum owns eight large-scale paintings by Rubens. During the 2004 European Capital of Culture events, the museum hosted numerous exhibitions and performances, attracting visitors from around the world. According to 2007 statistics, the Lille Museum of Fine Arts welcomed 239,975 visitors in a single year.

Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille

Must-visit reason: The largest museum in France outside of Paris

Continent where the attraction is located: Europe【Europe】

Country/Region where the attraction is located: France[France]

Province/State where the attraction is located: Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region [Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region]

City where the attraction is located: Lille [Lille]