3 Best Sights in Galicia and Asturias, Spain

Santiago's premier contemporary art museum is housed in a stark yet elegant modern building that contrasts with Santiago's ancient feel. Inside, a lobby of gleaming Italian marble gives way to white-walled, high-ceilinged exhibition halls filled with mind-bending conceptual art—some of which might be a bit "out there" for the uninitiated. The temporary exhibits are excellent. Portuguese designer Álvaro Siza built this museum from smooth, angled granite to mirror the medieval convent of San Domingos de Bonaval next door.

Housed in a refurbished prison on Vigo's main shopping drag, this museum doesn't have a permanent collection but hosts intriguing temporary exhibitions and solo shows of featured artists.

Housed in a converted convent on the edge of the old town, this fine-arts museum has French, Spanish, and Italian paintings from the 16th through 20th centuries and a curious collection of etchings by Goya.