Rio's Museums

Rio's museum scene has spent the last several years mid-transformation. A cluster of major institutions are reopening, partially reopening, or finally finishing renovations that in some cases have run a decade or more. That makes right now a genuinely interesting moment to visit, but it also means hours, prices and even whether a given museum is open at all can change fast. Treat what's below as a starting point and check each museum's own site before you go.

A striking, futuristic science museum designed by Santiago Calatrava, the centerpiece of the revitalized Porto Maravilha waterfront. Five sections (Cosmos, Terra, Antropoceno, Amanhãs, Nós) walk visitors through climate change, sustainability and possible human futures using dozens of interactive exhibits. The cantilevered building itself, cooled with water from Guanabara Bay, is as much the draw as what's inside, and the plaza out front has one of the best sunset views in Centro.

Facing the same plaza as Museu do Amanhã, MAR occupies a restored 19th-century palace joined to a modern annex, with a collection spanning contemporary and historical Brazilian art, photography, and Afro-Brazilian and urban art. Free on Tuesdays. The rooftop terrace looks out over the bay, the Rio-Niterói bridge and Museu do Amanhã all at once.

A former presidential palace, most famous as the site of President Getúlio Vargas's 1954 suicide, now a museum of Brazilian republican history set in genuinely beautiful gardens. Admission is free every day, and the gardens alone are worth the trip even on a day you don't go inside.

Brazil's premier fine-arts museum, home to the country's largest collection of 19th-century Brazilian painting, closed for renovation since 2020 with only a single preview gallery open in the meantime. Once it fully reopens it will be the essential stop for classical Brazilian art in the city; for now, check current status before planning a visit around it.

An icon of Brazilian modernist architecture in its own right, designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy in 1958 and set inside Burle Marx's landscaped Flamengo Park, right on the bay. Entry runs on a pay-what-you-can basis with a suggested amount. Worth visiting for the building alone, even before considering the collection of modern and contemporary Brazilian art inside.

Still recovering from the catastrophic 2018 fire that destroyed most of its 20-million-item collection, the historic palace at Quinta da Boa Vista has reopened periodically for free, ticketed temporary exhibitions since 2025, showing restored pieces and surviving highlights like the Bendegó meteorite. Full reopening of the permanent collection is now targeted for 2029. It's neither closed nor fully open, so check the museum's own booking system before planning a visit.

After roughly sixteen years of construction, MIS's striking new beachfront building on Avenida Atlântica began partially opening to the public in 2026, with full completion still ahead. If the timing works out, it's worth seeing for the building and the story behind it alone, a genuine architectural landmark that spent over a decade as a Copacabana construction site before finally opening its doors.

Museu Histórico Nacional, next to Praça XV, holds an unusual highlight: a hands-on collection of 19th-century carriages alongside a serious numismatics collection, one of the largest in Latin America. Instituto Moreira Salles, Rio's most important photography institution, is closed for a major renovation at its landmark modernist Gávea house, with its programming hosted at partner venues in the meantime. Museu Chácara do Céu, a hilltop Santa Teresa mansion, holds the largest public collection of painter Cândido Portinari and pairs naturally with a walk past the nearby Selarón Steps. And the Maracanã stadium tour, while not a museum in the traditional sense, puts you on the pitch of the stadium that hosted two World Cup finals, which is its own kind of history.