Remarkable for the completeness of its enormous collection, the MFAH is housed in a complicated series of wings and galleries, many designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. When the Audrey Jones Beck Building, the work of famed Spanish architect Rafael Maneo, opened in 2000 it doubled the museum's size. Renaissance and 18th-century art is particularly well represented, and there's a fine selection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works. You'll also find an ample survey of Asian, Pre-Columbian, Oceanic, and African art, and an impressive collection of modernist paintings, prints, and sculpture. Across the street, the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden (Free) displays 19th- and 20th-century sculptures by Rodin, Matisse, Giacometti, and Stella in an outdoor space designed by Isamu Noguchi.
Visit the Travel Talk forums for help on planning your trip