Pérez Art Museum Miami: Hours, Prices and the Free Thursday Night

Here is the short answer. Pérez Art Museum Miami, PAMM for short, is the modern and contemporary art museum on Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami, and the smartest time to go is Thursday evening. The museum sits at 1103 Biscayne Boulevard, between the Arsht Center and the Kaseya Center. It is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday and Friday through Sunday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, and open until 9 p.m. on Thursday. An adult ticket is $18. On Thursdays after 5 p.m., admission is free. Every hour and price below came from the museum's own site, checked this week.

We are Brad and Justina, founders of Yours Truly Hospitality. We manage vacation homes across Southeast Florida, from Pompano Beach and Lighthouse Point through greater Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Miami. When guests ask us for one museum in Miami, this is usually the one. The building and the bay view are worth the trip before you see a single painting. Here is how to do it well.

What PAMM Is

PAMM collects and shows international art of the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum describes its focus as Miami's place at the crossroads of the Americas, with real depth in art from the U.S. Latino experience, the African diaspora, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

It is older than the building suggests. The museum opened in 1984 as the Center for the Fine Arts, a space for temporary exhibitions. In 1994 it became a collecting institution and took the name Miami Art Museum. In 2013 it moved into its current home in Museum Park and was renamed for Jorge M. Pérez, the Miami developer and collector whose gift of cash and art helped make the move happen.

The Building Is Half the Visit

The museum was designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the Pritzker Prize-winning architects. PAMM puts the building at 200,000 square feet, and its own FAQ lists the construction cost at $131 million.

Three things to notice when you walk up:

• The hanging gardens. The columns of plants hanging from the canopy were designed by Patrick Blanc with the architects. The museum counts 67 gardens holding 54,700 plants across 77 species, watered with collected rainwater and built to stand up to hurricane-force wind.

• The veranda. The building sits on a raised platform under a wide canopy, so the terrace stays shaded. A staircase the width of the museum runs down to the bay walk in Museum Park.

• The cold. The galleries are kept cool and dry to protect the art. The museum says so in its own FAQ. Bring a light layer, even in a Miami summer.

Thursday After Five: The Night to Go

Thursday is the one day PAMM stays open late, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and admission is free after 5 p.m. For a couple, that is two adult tickets you keep.

It lines up with the rest of the building too. The museum's public tour schedule lists Thursday tours at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., plus a Pride Tour at 6 p.m. Tours are first come, first served. Verde, the restaurant on the waterfront terrace, serves until 8 p.m. on Thursday, and the Verde bistro bar runs until 8:30 p.m.

Two cautions from the museum. Tickets are subject to capacity and can sell out, so it encourages you to book online ahead. And no tickets are sold in the last 30 minutes before closing.

Free Second Saturdays

The other free window is for families. PAMM runs a program it calls Free Second Saturdays, with hands-on art activities for kids and adults. The next one on the calendar is Saturday, November 14, 2026. The museum's listing says admission is free all day, with art activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., built around the ceramic work of Bahamian artist Anina Major. The page asks you to RSVP.

Hours and Prices, Straight From the Museum

When or who	Hours or price
Monday	11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday	Closed
Thursday	11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday through Sunday	11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Adults	$18
Seniors, 62 and over with ID	$14
Students with ID	$14
Youth, ages 7 to 18	$14
Children 6 and under	Free
Thursdays after 5 p.m.	Free

The museum also lists free admission, with ID, for active U.S. military and veterans, health care professionals and first responders, and Florida educators. Visitors who identify as disabled, and an accompanying caregiver, are free as well.

The Tuesday and Wednesday closure is the detail that catches people. Check the day before you build a downtown afternoon around it. The museum's site does not post holiday hours on its visit page, so confirm directly if your trip falls on Thanksgiving week or the last week of December.

What Is on View This Season

The museum's exhibitions page lists these among its current shows, with closing dates:

• Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols, through June 6, 2027.

• A show of Picasso, Klee and Matisse works from the Museum Berggruen, through February 28, 2027.

• John Baldessari: The End of the Line, through May 9, 2027.

• This Is America: Selections from PAMM's Collection, through May 23, 2027.

• Anina Major: The Sacred Mangrove, through August 1, 2027.

One more opens soon. Techno Firma, which the museum calls its first artist-driven AI exhibition, opens Saturday, November 21, 2026. Ongoing installations include the sculpture garden and Carlos Cruz-Diez: Chromosaturation.

If you are coming for Miami Art Week in early December, PAMM belongs on the list. Our Art Basel visitor guide covers how to fit it into that week.

Tours on Other Days

Public tours cover the collection, the exhibitions, the sculptures and the architecture. Beyond Thursday, the museum's posted schedule is:

• Friday: a Black Art Tour at 12 p.m., then 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

• Saturday: 1 p.m. in Spanish, 2 p.m., and a Pride Tour at 3 p.m.

• Sunday and Monday: 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Parking and Getting There

This is where a free night can stop being free. The museum garage sits under the building and charges an $18 flat rate, with limited space. You take a ticket and pay at the stations near the Knight Plaza elevator or at the bottom of the entry ramp. PAMM members get a $7 discount.

The museum points to other options: the Omni garage at 1645 Biscayne Boulevard, public lots around the museum run by the Miami Parking Authority, and a cash-only lot inside Maurice A. Ferré Park.

If you are already downtown or in Brickell, skip the car. Miami-Dade County's Metromover is free and runs 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. The county is upgrading the system and has posted temporary station closures, so check its service alerts the day you ride.

Small Rules That Save a Headache

• Bags. Backpacks, luggage and large bags cannot go into the galleries. The museum's pages disagree on whether storage is available, so do not arrive straight from the airport with suitcases.

• Photos. Personal photos without flash are allowed unless a gallery is marked otherwise. No tripods or extension poles.

• Food and drinks stay in the lobby. Verde handles lunch, and it closes at 4 p.m. on every open day except Thursday.

How We Would Do It

For two adults: Thursday. Arrive a little before five, take the 5 p.m. tour, walk the galleries, and finish on the terrace as the light goes down over the bay. For a family: a Second Saturday, in the door at eleven, lunch at Verde, then let the kids run in Museum Park.

We put together plans like this for guests all the time, so the trip feels easy from the first day. If you want a home base for a Miami weekend, take a look at our South Florida vacation homes.

Updated November 2026. Hours, prices, tours, exhibition dates, parking and policies verified against Pérez Art Museum Miami's website this week, and Metromover hours against Miami-Dade County. Museums change hours and programs. Confirm with PAMM before you go.