'Vaquero' sculpture at Museum of Art.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

El Paso Museum of Art

Top choice in El Paso


This thoroughly enjoyable small-scale museum is housed in a former Greyhound station. Its pride and joy is a 13th-century Byzantine Madonna and Child, but the Southwestern art is terrific, too, and the engaging modern pieces round out the collection nicely. All this and it’s free? Well done, El Paso, well done.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby El Paso attractions

1. El Paso Museum of History

0.15 MILES

This museum has a shiny new location in the heart of the downtown museum district. It's not particularly big and sometimes there seems to be a lot of…

2. El Paso Holocaust Museum

0.3 MILES

El Paso might not seem an obvious location for a Holocaust museum. Created by local survivors, though, this excellent little memorial holds thoughtful and…

3. Magoffin Home

0.83 MILES

One of Texas' best-kept secrets, this El Paso landmark was built in 1875 for Joseph Magoffin, an early El Paso politician and businessman. With 4ft-thick…

4. Chamizal National Monument

2.29 MILES

This park celebrates the cultures of Mexico, the United States and the borderland between them, as well as the settlement of a property dispute between…

6. El Paso Zoo

2.76 MILES

Home to a large number of endangered animals, including the Asian elephant, Sumatran orangutan, Malayan tiger and the rare Amur leopard. All told, more…

8. Western Playland Amusement Park

5.6 MILES

Small but fun, this old-school amusement park (just over the border in New Mexico) is a great way to burn off the pent-up energy of kids on a long drive…