The Museum of Fine Arts is one of the most important art museums in Spain and the best place to see the Sevillian Golden Age painters in depth. The collection is housed in a gorgeous 17th-century former monastery with a baroque church at its centre, and the setting alone would justify a visit. The permanent collection is built around Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Francisco de Zurbarán — both were born near Seville and both are represented here with outstanding works.
The Zurbarán rooms, with their dramatic chiaroscuro of white-robed monks against dark backgrounds, are among the most atmospherically hung paintings rooms in Spain. The Murillo works are gentler but no less accomplished: tender religious scenes painted for city churches, many of which have never left Seville. Entry is free for EU citizens; a modest fee for others. The museum is a 15-minute walk north of the cathedral.