To be honest, I feel like we struck out a bit with the ‘formal’ art institutions in Valencia. The street art was a lot more interesting to us than the two museums we tried. That said, both art museums were free to visit while we were in town, so no financial loss!

The Museu de Belles Arts de València 

Eric had noted that this museum was supposed to have a great collection, so when we got our tickets and entered into the main gallery behind the entrance and saw the entire space filled with iconography, we were a bit confused. After exploring a little more, and seeing no end to the religious paintings, I finally went to the front desk to get a map. The booklet (not a map) I received was over two years old, and via wifi, Eric discovered he had researched a museum with the same name in a different city. Oops! We decided to just go with it and finally discovered an entirely different wing through a beautiful blue courtyard and up another staircase with a few hallways of modern Valencian art – finally.

 
flowers and iconography; a modern art portrait

Institut Valencià d’Art Modern

Another instance of a museum full of art that didn’t really speak to us. The highlights here were the sculptures by Julio Gonzales and paintings by Josef Albers. At least it was a nice way to get out of the sun for a bit.

 
whoever drew these little icons did an amazing job!

Sala d’Exposicions Junta Municipal de Ciutat Vella: Time Condensate (two week art exhibit)

Spread over several floors, this two-week exhibit featured drawing and paintings from contemporary artists, most of which were unframed on paper. My favorite was this collection of drawings by Katya Kononenko, a Ukrainian artist.

Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias

We didn’t go into any of the buildings along this section, but we did admire the iconic architecture and design.