South America's best known museums lean heavily toward art and pre Columbian history, with a handful of standouts spread across the continent's major cities.
Sao Paulo's MASP is instantly recognizable for its architecture alone, a glass and red concrete building raised on giant support beams, and holds one of the most important art collections in Latin America. Bogota's Museo del Oro houses one of the largest collections of pre Columbian gold artifacts in the world, drawing visitors specifically for the scale and craftsmanship of the pieces. Buenos Aires adds MALBA, a well regarded museum focused on twentieth century Latin American art in a striking modern building of its own. Lima's Museo Larco takes a different approach, set inside a colonial era building surrounded by gardens and known for its extensive pre Columbian ceramics collection.
Most of these museums are easy to reach within their respective city centers and pair well with a half day of walking nearby.
