The National Museum of Fine Arts (Musée National des Beaux-Arts) is the largest art museum in Algeria and one of the most important in North Africa. The collection includes French academic paintings from the colonial period alongside Orientalist works, Algerian modern art, and a good section of European old masters — the latter reflecting the French-administered accumulation of artworks during the colonial era.
The Orientalist collection is particularly interesting: 19th-century French painters depicting Algeria and North Africa in often romanticised terms, viewed from the context of the country they were painting. The Algerian contemporary art section shows the post-independence generation working through questions of identity and history. The building sits in the Hamma district next to the botanical garden.
Open 10am–5pm Tuesday to Saturday. Free on Sundays.