France Guide
The Pyrenees
Musée Bonnat
Address: 5 rue Jacques-Lafitte
Opening time: Daily except Tues & hols: May– Oct 10am–6.30pm; Nov– April 10am–12.30pm & 2–6pm; July– Aug open daily & also Weds to 9.30pm
Price: €5.50, €9 with Musée Basque
Website: www.musee-bonnat.com
The city's second museum, the Musée Bonnat holds an unexpected treasury of art. Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italian painting is well represented, as are most periods before Impressionism. Highlights include Goya's Self-Portrait and Portrait of Don Francisco de Borja, Rubens' powerful Apollo and Daphne and The Triumph of Venus, plus works by Murrillo, El Greco and Ingrès. A whole gallery is devoted to high-society portraits by Léon Bonnat (1833–1922), whose personal collection formed the original core of the museum. There are also frequent, worthwhile temporary exhibits in the annexe at 9 rue Fredéric-Bastiat.