Montréal's Museum of Fine Arts is the city's most prominent museum, opened in 1912 in Canada's first building designed specifically for the visual arts. The original neoclassical pavilion is on the north side of Sherbrooke. Years ago, museum administrators recognized that the collection, now totaling more than 30,000 works, had outgrown the building. That problem was solved in late 1991 with the completion of the stunning new annex, the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion, directly across the street from the original building. Designed by Montréal architect Moshe Safdie, the new pavilion tripled exhibition space, adding two sub-street-level floors and underground galleries that connect the new building with the old. Throughout the museum, works are nearly always dramatically mounted, carefully lit, and diligently explained in both French and English.

For the best look at the results of the addition, enter the annex, take the elevator to the top, and work your way down. The permanent collection in the annex is largely devoted to international contemporary art and Canadian art created after 1960, and to European painting, sculpture, and decorative art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. On the upper floors are many of the gems of the collection. On the fourth floor are paintings by 12th- to 19th- century artists, including Hogarth, Tintoretto, Reynolds, Brueghel, El Greco, Ribera, and portraitist George Romney. On the third floor are works -- representative, if not world-class -- by more recent artists, including Renoir, Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne, Léger, and Rodin. The principal temporary exhibitions are also mounted on this floor. On the subterranean floors are works by 20th-century modernists, primarily those who rose to prominence after World War II, including the Abstract Expressionists and their successors.

From the lowest level of the new pavilion, follow the under-street corridor, passing primitive artworks from Oceania and Africa along the way, and then take the elevator into the original building, with its displays of pre-Columbian ceramics, Inuit carvings, and Amerindian crafts. Across the street, you'll find a street-level store with an impressive selection of quality books, games, and folk art, and a good cafe.