Tel Aviv Museum of Art: A Guide for Art Lovers

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is Israel's flagship art institution - the place where the country's collection of Impressionists, modern masters and Israeli art lives, in a complex that is itself worth the visit. Even if museums aren't usually your thing, this one doubles as an architecture experience: the 2011 Herta and Paul Amir Building, all twisted concrete geometry and an 87-foot spiraling atrium, is one of the most photographed interiors in Israel.

What's inside

The permanent collection runs from the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists through 20th-century modernism - with strong holdings of Picasso-era European art - into the world's most important survey of Israeli art, from early 20th-century pioneers to contemporary work. The Amir Building houses the changing exhibitions and Israeli collections; the original main building holds the classics and a sculpture garden. Photography, design and architecture get their own galleries, and there's usually a major temporary show worth timing your visit around.

How to do it

Give it half a day: two hours minimum for the highlights, more if a special exhibition grabs you. Start in the Amir Building's light-filled atrium and work down through the levels - the building is designed as a vertical journey. The museum sits in a cultural triangle with the Cameri Theater and the Opera House, a short walk from Rothschild Boulevard, so it slots easily into a city day: boulevard breakfast, museum afternoon, sunset at the beach.

Also consider

Art-focused travelers should know the museum's siblings: ANU - Museum of the Jewish People on the university campus (a bold, modern storytelling museum), and the Eretz Israel Museum complex for archaeology and local history. If you only have one museum day in Tel Aviv, the Museum of Art is the one.

Practical tips

Closed Sundays; Saturday is busy with local families. Buy tickets online in peak season to skip the desk. The museum café is good, and the gift shop is one of the city's best for design books and Israeli-made gifts. Check the website for evening openings and free-admission hours that change seasonally.