2 Best Sights in Pamplona, The Basque Country, Navarra, and La Rioja

This museum 12 km (7½ miles) east of Pamplona commemorates Jorge Oteiza (1908–2003), the father of modern Basque art. In his seminal treatise, Quosque tandem, Oteiza called for Basque artists to find their own aesthetic and not acquiesce to the Spanish canon. Rejecting ornamentation in favor of essential form, he created the school of artists from which Eduardo Chillida (1924–2002) emerged. The earth-tone concrete slab of a building housing the museum was Oteiza's home for more than two decades.

Designed by celebrity architect Rafael Moneo, this contemporary art museum and event space is on the University of Navarra campus. It has an exceptional photograph collection dating to the birth of photography as an art form, and the permanent art collection features classic works by Rothko, Picasso, Kandinsky, and Tàpies.