The collections of the Fogg Art Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum encompass more than 200,000 works, from ancient sculptures to contemporary photos. Before you get all excited, an important note: In June 2008, the Fogg and Busch-Reisinger are scheduled to close for extensive renovations. The Sackler will pick up the slack, showing highlights from all three institutions.

The Fogg Art Museum (32 Quincy St., near Broadway) centers on an impressive 16th-century Italian stone courtyard. Each of the 19 galleries displays something different -- 17th-century Dutch and Flemish landscapes, 19th-century British and American paintings and drawings, French paintings and drawings from the 18th century through the Impressionist period, contemporary sculpture, and more. Changing exhibits often draw on the museum's collections of paintings, drawings, prints, and photos.

The Busch-Reisinger Museum in Werner Otto Hall (enter through the Fogg) concentrates on the painting, sculpture, and decorative art of northern and central Europe, specifically Germany. Particularly notable are the early-20th-century collections, including works by Klee, Feininger, Kandinsky, and artists and designers associated with the Bauhaus.

The Arthur M. Sackler Museum (485 Broadway, at Quincy St.) houses Asian, ancient, Islamic, and Later Indian art. Here you'll find internationally renowned Chinese jades, superb Roman sculpture, Greek vases, Korean ceramics, Japanese woodblock prints, and Persian miniature paintings and calligraphy.

The museums' exhibit spaces also serve as teaching and research facilities; keep an ear out for instructors leading classes. To explore with a guide, take a tour of the Fogg weekdays at 11am, of the Busch-Reisinger weekdays at 1pm (both year-round), or of the Sackler at 2pm weekdays September through June, Wednesday only in July and August.