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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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 Boston, 02115

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Call: +1 617-267-9300
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The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is the city's encyclopedic art museum, with a collection of nearly 500,000 works that runs from ancient Egypt and Nubia to contemporary art. It opened in Copley Square on July 4, 1876, and moved in November 1909 into the Beaux-Arts building on Huntington Avenue designed by the Boston architect Guy Lowell. I.M. Pei's 1981 West Wing, now the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, and the Wing for the Art of the Americas, which opened in 2010 after a master plan by Foster + Partners, have since been added.

It rewards a first-time visitor with most of a day to give it, and it is the city's best rainy-afternoon plan for anyone who likes art. The museum stands on Huntington Avenue in the Fenway, and the Green Line E branch has a stop named for it; the Orange Line and Commuter Rail stop at Ruggles. The Huntington Avenue Entrance is the main way in, because the Fenway Entrance is currently closed. The museum is too large to see in one visit, so it pays to pick a few collections before you arrive.

Where to start

Free 60-minute guided tours leave from the Sharf Visitor Center every day the museum is open, with guides choosing works from across the collection. With only an hour, the museum suggests its self-guided highlights tour on MFA Mobile, its guide inside the Bloomberg Connects app, which also carries audio descriptions and transcripts.

Collection highlights

The Art of the Americas galleries hold more than 16,000 objects, among them John Singleton Copley's 1768 portrait of Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty Bowl that Revere made the same year, and the museum holds the world's most complete collection of work by John Singer Sargent. The European department counts more than 21,000 works, including 35 paintings by Claude Monet, Renoir's Dance at Bougival, Gauguin's Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? and Degas's Little Dancer. The Asian collection passes 115,000 objects, and the museum calls its Japanese holdings the finest and largest outside Japan.

Special exhibitions and late nights

A general admission ticket is good for the whole day, but major special exhibitions need their own timed-entry ticket, with 30-minute entry windows and no re-entry once you leave. Thursday and Friday evenings, when the galleries stay open until 10 p.m., are the easiest time to fit the museum around a day of sightseeing.

Restaurants and cafés

Diners at every museum restaurant pay regular admission.

New American Café serves at the table in the glass-roofed Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, with regional dishes from across the Americas and North and South American wines and craft beers. It takes no reservations.

Taste, in the Linde Family Wing, is a coffee and wine bar for pastries and lighter savory bites.

Garden Cafeteria, on Level G of the Linde Family Wing, is the family option, with pizza, burgers, sandwiches, soups and a salad bar, and seasonal seating outdoors in the Calderwood Courtyard.

Sources: MFA hours and admission, tickets, free and discounted admission, getting here, parking, dining, accessibility, architectural history, gallery tours, Art of the Americas, Art of Europe, Art of Asia. Checked September 30, 2026.

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Contact Information

Company Name
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Phone Number
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Call: +1 617-267-9300
Location
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, 02115
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About Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Quick answer: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is a museum at 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. Nearly 500,000 works on Huntington Avenue, from Egypt and Japan to Monet and Sargent, with free daily guided tours and late hours Thursday and Friday.

Last updated

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is the city's encyclopedic art museum, with a collection of nearly 500,000 works that runs from ancient Egypt and Nubia to contemporary art. It opened in Copley Square on July 4, 1876, and moved in November 1909 into the Beaux-Arts building on Huntington Avenue designed by the Boston architect Guy Lowell. I.M. Pei's 1981 West Wing, now the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, and the Wing for the Art of the Americas, which opened in 2010 after a master plan by Foster + Partners, have since been added.

It rewards a first-time visitor with most of a day to give it, and it is the city's best rainy-afternoon plan for anyone who likes art. The museum stands on Huntington Avenue in the Fenway, and the Green Line E branch has a stop named for it; the Orange Line and Commuter Rail stop at Ruggles. The Huntington Avenue Entrance is the main way in, because the Fenway Entrance is currently closed. The museum is too large to see in one visit, so it pays to pick a few collections before you arrive.

Where to start

Free 60-minute guided tours leave from the Sharf Visitor Center every day the museum is open, with guides choosing works from across the collection. With only an hour, the museum suggests its self-guided highlights tour on MFA Mobile, its guide inside the Bloomberg Connects app, which also carries audio descriptions and transcripts.

Collection highlights

The Art of the Americas galleries hold more than 16,000 objects, among them John Singleton Copley's 1768 portrait of Paul Revere and the Sons of Liberty Bowl that Revere made the same year, and the museum holds the world's most complete collection of work by John Singer Sargent. The European department counts more than 21,000 works, including 35 paintings by Claude Monet, Renoir's Dance at Bougival, Gauguin's Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? and Degas's Little Dancer. The Asian collection passes 115,000 objects, and the museum calls its Japanese holdings the finest and largest outside Japan.

Special exhibitions and late nights

A general admission ticket is good for the whole day, but major special exhibitions need their own timed-entry ticket, with 30-minute entry windows and no re-entry once you leave. Thursday and Friday evenings, when the galleries stay open until 10 p.m., are the easiest time to fit the museum around a day of sightseeing.

Restaurants and cafés

Diners at every museum restaurant pay regular admission.

New American Café serves at the table in the glass-roofed Ruth and Carl J. Shapiro Family Courtyard, with regional dishes from across the Americas and North and South American wines and craft beers. It takes no reservations.

Taste, in the Linde Family Wing, is a coffee and wine bar for pastries and lighter savory bites.

Garden Cafeteria, on Level G of the Linde Family Wing, is the family option, with pizza, burgers, sandwiches, soups and a salad bar, and seasonal seating outdoors in the Calderwood Courtyard.

Sources: MFA hours and admission, tickets, free and discounted admission, getting here, parking, dining, accessibility, architectural history, gallery tours, Art of the Americas, Art of Europe, Art of Asia. Checked September 30, 2026.

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Phone: +1 617-267-9300

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What are the Museum of Fine Arts opening hours?+
Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; closed Tuesday. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The museum is closed on New Year's Day, Patriots' Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Q. How much are tickets to the MFA?+
Adults pay $30 and youths aged 7 to 17 pay $14. Children 6 and under and members get in free, but every visitor, including babies, needs a ticket. Phone orders on 1-800-440-6975 carry a $6 processing fee.
Q. Are there free or discounted days?+
On the third Thursday of each month admission after 5 p.m. is pay what you wish, with a $5 minimum, sold in person only. US active duty military and veterans get free admission for themselves and up to five guests in person. Massachusetts residents get in free on open-house days such as Indigenous Peoples' Day, and Bank of America cardholders get one free ticket on the first full weekend of each month.
Q. Should I buy tickets in advance?+
The museum recommends it. Online tickets arrive on your phone and can be added to a digital wallet. Tickets are non-refundable but can be exchanged before the day of your visit for a $4 fee.
Q. Do special exhibitions cost extra?+
Major special exhibitions need a separate timed-entry exhibition ticket; general admission does not include them. Entry slots are 30 minutes, you can stay as long as you like once inside, and there is no re-entry.
Q. How do I get to the MFA by public transportation?+
Take the Green Line E train to the Museum of Fine Arts stop, or the Orange Line or Commuter Rail to Ruggles. The 39 bus stops on Huntington Avenue at Ruggles Street or Louis Prang Street, and the 8, 19, 47 and CT2 buses stop on Ruggles Street at Huntington Avenue.
Q. Is there parking at the museum?+
Yes. The Huntington Lot, the Fenway Lot and the Museum Road Garage all enter from Museum Road. Nonmember rates run from $12 for an hour or less to $48 for six hours or more, with a $20 evening rate after 5:30 p.m. Spaces can sell out during school vacation weeks.
Q. What is the bag policy?+
Bags smaller than 11 by 15 inches are welcome; larger bags must be checked at the free coat check at the Huntington Avenue Entrance. Backpacks must be carried like a handbag or worn on the front, and outside food and drink are not allowed.
Q. Is the museum wheelchair accessible?+
Yes. The Huntington Avenue Entrance has ramps on both sides of the stairs and power-assist doors, and the Linde Family Wing Entrance on Museum Road is kept for visitors who need a level entrance. Wheelchairs, rollators and gallery stools are lent free on a first-come basis, and personal care attendants enter free.

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