National Museum of Art Timișoara

About National Museum of Art Timișoara

At a glance: Museums and memorial houses in Timișoara, Timiș County. Opening hours: Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 13:00 – 21:00. The visit takes 1 – 1½ hours. Information verified on 8 October 2026.

The palace on the southern side of Union Square was begun in 1754 as the residence of the first civil president of the Banat, Count Vilana Perlas, on the foundations of older buildings of the Mining Office and the Military Treasury. It later housed the county administration and then the prefecture, which is how it got the name of the Old Prefecture Palace. Between 1885 and 1886 the architect Jakob Klein remodelled it to the taste of the day: he demolished the wing between the two courtyards, gave the roof facing the square a mansard and changed the façade decoration. After the Second World War the building was used by an agronomy faculty, and restoration began in the 1980s.

The museum's collection goes back to 1879 and the donation by Ormós Zsigmond of the European paintings he left to the city. The art section gradually separated from the Banat Museum, moved into one wing of the palace in 1986 and has been an independent institution since 1 January 2006. Today the museum bears the title "national" and, besides its permanent exhibitions, stages large temporary shows, among them "The Lights of Caravaggio" (2024–2025) and "The Fragility of the Eternal", about Pompeii (2025–2026).

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: Timișoara is ~55 km from Arad (~45 minutes on the A1), ~170 km from Oradea, ~320 km from Cluj-Napoca and ~540 km from Bucharest. The museum is in the old town, on Union Square, where car access is limited: leave the car in the central area and walk a few minutes.

Public transport: from the Gara de Nord railway station it is ~2 km to Union Square, ~30 minutes on foot or a few stops on the city's public transport. From Traian Vuia Airport (~12 km) you can reach the centre by taxi or public transport.

Where to park

The museum has no car park of its own. Around the old town there is paid on-street parking and a few barrier car parks, 5–10 minutes' walk away; check the zone and the rate on the signs on the spot. In the evening and at weekends, when there are events on the square, spaces fill up quickly.

Fees & discounts

The entry ticket price does not appear in the text of the museum's information page; tickets are bought online or at the ticket office, so confirm the rate before your visit. Free entry for children and pupils, people with disabilities and their companions, employees of Romanian state museums, journalists, members of AICA, ICOM, ICOMOS and UAPR, visual arts teachers and students of fine arts faculties, and pensioners enter free on the third Wednesday of every month (with the pension slip and ID). Guided tour: 175 lei per group of up to 25 people, paid at the desk and not including the entry ticket, booked at least 48 hours ahead at [email protected]. A fee applies for photography and filming in the exhibitions.

Rules

Entry is allowed only with a valid ticket, kept for the whole visit, and after a security check. Backpacks, umbrellas, large bags and coats go in the cloakroom. Flash photography, food and drink in the galleries (water up to 500 ml, preferably outside the galleries), animals (except guide dogs), smoking and touching the artworks are not allowed. Pushchairs are admitted only in some exhibitions.

Facilities

cloakroom · toilets on floors 1 and 2 · wheelchair access by mobile stair lifts (announce your visit 48 hours ahead) · tactile guidance marks for blind visitors · online tickets · guided tours on request · visitable restoration laboratory