# National Museum of Art Timișoara

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Banat](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/banat) › [Timiș County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/timis) › [Timișoara](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/timisoara)

> The museum in the Baroque Palace on Union Square holds old European painting, Banat and Romanian art and the Corneliu Baba collection, in a building begun in 1754.

**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.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 13:00 – 21:00 — Summer hours (1 June – 30 September): Wednesday–Sunday 13:00–21:00, last entry 20:15. Winter hours (1 October – 31 May): Wednesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:15, in force now. Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and public holidays.
- **Visit duration:** 1 – 1½ hours — estimate, permanent exhibitions
- **With kids:** Yes — children enter free
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — no car park; paid in the centre
- **Best season:** All year round — summer and winter hours
- **Address:** Piața Unirii 1, Timișoara, Timiș County
- **Coordinates:** 45.75735, 21.22929
- **Phone:** +40 734 775 554
- **Website:** https://mnart.museum/
- **Wikipedia:** https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muzeul_Na%C8%9Bional_de_Art%C4%83_Timi%C8%99oara
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18542193
- **Categories:** [Museums and memorial houses](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/muzee-si-case-memoriale), [Castles and palaces](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/castele-si-palate)

## About National Museum of Art Timișoara

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).

### What you can see

The **European Art** exhibition (15th–18th centuries) rests on the Ormós collection: Italian, Flemish, Dutch, Central European and French schools, with a Baroque Hall whose walls use colours inspired by Pompeii. **Banat Art and Modern Romanian Art** (17th–20th centuries) runs from the Baroque-influenced icons of the Banat to bourgeois portraiture, Impressionist landscape and academic painting, while the **Corneliu Baba Collection** gathers works by the painter, donated by his family.

The same palace holds a **visitable decorative art repository**, arranged like a cabinet of curiosities, with furniture, ceramics, clocks and silverware, and a **visitable restoration laboratory** (MNArT Open View) on the second floor, in the last room of the European exhibition. The ground floor hosts temporary exhibitions; in autumn 2026 "Utopia and Research" (the Timișoara groups 111 and Sigma), "Anton Schmidt – Forms of the Possible" and "LIMINAL" are on.

### Good to know

Opening hours change with the season: in summer the museum opens at midday and closes in the evening, in winter it keeps daytime hours. The entrance is from Union Square, and the building has no lift (mobile stair lifts are available on request).

## Don't miss

- The Baroque Hall in the European Art exhibition, with walls in colours inspired by Pompeii and works from the Ormós Zsigmond collection.
- The Corneliu Baba Collection, with works by the painter donated by his family.
- The Baroque-influenced Banat icons of the 17th–18th centuries, in the Banat Art exhibition.
- The visitable decorative art repository, arranged like a cabinet of curiosities, with furniture, clocks and ceramics.
- The visitable restoration laboratory on the second floor, where you can see how paintings are worked on.

## 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 contact@mnart.museum. 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

## Details

- **Construction period:** 1754–1886
- **Architectural style:** Baroque
- **Founder:** Count Vilana Perlas
- **Collection type:** European and Banat art
- **Guided tour:** Yes

## Frequently asked questions about National Museum of Art Timișoara

**What are the opening hours of National Museum of Art Timișoara?**

Opening hours at National Museum of Art Timișoara: Monday–Tuesday closed, Wednesday–Sunday 13:00 – 21:00. Summer hours (1 June – 30 September): Wednesday–Sunday 13:00–21:00, last entry 20:15. Winter hours (1 October – 31 May): Wednesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:15, in force now. Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and public holidays.

**How long does a visit to National Museum of Art Timișoara take?**

A visit to National Museum of Art Timișoara takes about 1 – 1½ hours (estimate, permanent exhibitions).

**Can you visit National Museum of Art Timișoara with kids?**

Yes, National Museum of Art Timișoara is suitable for children (children enter free).

**Where can I park at National Museum of Art Timișoara?**

There is paid parking at National Museum of Art Timișoara (no car park; paid in the centre). 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.

**How do I get to National Museum of Art Timișoara?**

National Museum of Art Timișoara is located at Piața Unirii 1, Timișoara, Timiș County. 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.

**When is the best time to visit National Museum of Art Timișoara?**

The best season for National Museum of Art Timișoara: All year round (summer and winter hours).

## Nearby attractions

- [Union Square (Piața Unirii)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/piata-unirii-timisoara) — Monuments and historic sites · Timișoara, TM · Free · ½ – 1 hours · 0 km
  Timișoara's oldest square, about 150 by 110 metres, laid out in the Baroque style around the Roman Catholic Cathedral, the Serbian Cathedral and the Plague Column, among colourful houses from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
- [Roman Catholic Dome of St George](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/domul-romano-catolic-timisoara) — Monasteries and churches · Timișoara, TM · 30 min · 0 km
  The Baroque cathedral of the Catholic bishopric of Timișoara, built between 1736 and 1774 on Union Square; restored with EU funds and reopened in April 2023, with the bishops' crypt under the altar.
- [Maria Theresia Bastion](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/bastionul-maria-theresia) — Fortresses and fortifications · Timișoara, TM · 40 lei · 1 – 1½ hours · 0 km
  The largest surviving piece of Timișoara's bastioned fortress, built by the Austrians in the 1730s and restored with EU funds, now home to the National Museum of Banat.
- [Memorial of the December 1989 Revolution](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/memorialul-revolutiei-timisoara) — Museums and memorial houses · Timișoara, TM · 20 lei · 1 – 1½ hours · 0 km
  The museum of the Memorial of the Revolution Association, in a former military building in Timișoara: clothes and flags from the days of December 1989, a chapel of the hero-martyrs and the only section of the Berlin Wall in Romania.
- [Huniade Castle](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/castelul-huniade-timisoara) — Castles and palaces · Timișoara, TM · 20 min · 1 km
  The oldest building in Timișoara, a royal residence in the Middle Ages and the historic home of the Banat Museum; closed for restoration and visible from the outside only.
- [Victory Square (Piața Victoriei)](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/piata-victoriei-timisoara) — Monuments and historic sites · Timișoara, TM · Free · 45 min · 1 km
  Timișoara's pedestrian esplanade between the Opera in the Palace of Culture and the Metropolitan Cathedral, lined with the Corso palaces and the place where Timișoara was declared the first free city in December 1989.

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Last updated: 8 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania