Museo Quiñones de León

The Museo Quiñones de León in Vigo houses its collection in the historic Pazo de Castrelos, one of the most architecturally significant buildings in Galicia. The origins of the estate date back to 1670, when it was built as the Pazo de Lavandeira. After several generations in the hands of the Gago de Mendoza family, the palace was transferred to the Vigo city council in 1918, after the last marquis died without heirs. The museum officially opened on July 22, 1937. Because of its cultural value, the building was designated a historic and artistic monument in 1962.

On the ground floor of the Baroque palace, the original living atmosphere of the former marquises is recreated with period furniture and decor. This is also where you'll find the permanent exhibition of European painting from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, which comes from the bequest of Policarpo Sanz. The collection includes important works of classical Italian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, and French art. An archaeological hall, which offers insights into the early history of the city, rounds out the offerings. The art collection is enriched by loans from the Museo del Prado and the Museo de Arte Moderno, while contemporary Galician art is shown in the neighboring Pinakoteca Francisco Fernández del Riego.

The museum is surrounded by extensive gardens that combine French and English influences and are protected as a historic garden. The grounds cover five hectares and are divided into five distinct areas, including a symmetrical French garden with formal plantings and a romantic English garden with natural paths and exotic plants. A particular highlight is the Antonio Odriozola Path, lined with camellias, which leads to an old tennis court believed to be one of the first of its kind in Galicia. The wooded part of the gardens also contains eucalyptus trees planted in 1872, as well as a dovecote with a managed colony of pigeons.