Louvre, Paris
The queues to the Louvre are counted not in meters but in kilometers – this is the most eloquent proof of its coolness! Today the collection of the museum consists of more than 350 thousand objects and works of art that were created in the period froxm antiquity to the first half of the XIX century. The exhibits are thematically organized into several exhibitions: Ancient Orient, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Etruria and Rome, Islamic Art, Sculptures, Objects of Art, Fine Art, and Graphic Art. Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Mona Lisa” and the sculptures “Venus of Milos” and “Nika of Samothrace” are considered the main attractions of the Louvre.
Vatican Museum Complex, Vatican City
The objects of art exhibited in this complex are a source of genuine delight. There are 22 art collections in the Vatican Museums and perhaps the most famous is in the Pius-Climenta Museum, where the magnificent classical sculptures are on display. But of course, the main attractions of the Vatican museums are the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, and the stanzas of Raphael.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is the largest art museum in the United States with the largest collection in the world. It contains true cultural treasures that have been created from antiquity to the present day. In the museum you can see paintings and sculptures of almost all European masters. There are Botticelli, Rembrandt, Degas and Rodin – the grandeur and beauty is breathtaking.
Smithsonian Institution Museums, Washington, DC
This is the largest museum complex in the world with 19 museums and galleries. The most famous are the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Astronautical Museum, and others. The Smithsonian Institution’s museums contain more than 137 million objects describing American history. Seeing everything at once is of course unrealistic, so focus on a couple of museums or exhibitions.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
This museum has one of the world’s finest collections of American and European masters. Paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, sculptures, medals, and decorative arts tell gallery visitors about the development of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day. Masterpieces in the collection include works by Rembrandt, Monet, and Van Gogh. The National Gallery of Art features America’s only Leonardo da Vinci painting.
British Museum, London
This museum in London is dedicated to the history and culture of mankind. It exhibits archaeological and ethnographic collections, which number more than eight million objects. And the museum’s Egyptian Gallery boasts the second best collection of Egyptian antiquities in the world, including, for example, the Rosetta Stone with an inscription of thanks inscribed on it in 196 BC.
Tate Modern, London
This is the most popular contemporary art gallery in the world! Tate Modern opened in a former power station on the banks of the River Thames in 2000. The collection includes art from 1900 to the present day and includes works by Picasso, Malevich and Kandinsky. Impressionism, abstractionism, cubism, surrealism, pop art and other modern genres are represented here. In addition to paintings, in the Tate Modern you can see sculptures, posters and installations.
Imperial Palace Museum, Taipei
The Imperial Palace Museum is one of the national museums of the Republic of China. Located in Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, it houses some 696,000 ancient Chinese artifacts and works of art. Such an impressive collection tells the story of more than 8,000 years of Chinese history from the Neolithic to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Much of the collection was formed by the emperors of China. The main attractions of the museum are paintings and calligraphy, as well as rare books (the collection has up to 200 thousand unique volumes). In 2018, the museum received 8,610,092 visitors. Surely a credit card can help you on your journey. Read here about milestonecard.com/activate.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The largest and most visited museum in the Netherlands opened its doors in the early 19th century and became “home” to more than 8,000 exhibits. Paintings by famous Dutch artists like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Hoch, Sten, van der Gelst, van Scorel and many more are kept here. In addition to the worthy collection of this museum, the building itself also acts as an architectural treasure.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
Around 4,000 famous artifacts from the Acropolis of Athens, the most important sanctuary of the ancient city, are housed in this archaeological museum. It is a must-see for lovers of antiquity. The museum collection is located on three floors. On the first floor you can see the ancient elements found on the slopes of the Acropolis. The floor there in some places is made of glass to be able to observe the excavations that are still going on.
The museum keeps exhibits and sculptures from other buildings of the Acropolis, such as the temples of Nika Apteros, Erechtheion and the Propylaeum, as well as artifacts from other eras – Roman and early Christian. Most of the exhibits of the museum are related to religion, for example there are antique statues of gods, which in ancient times were used in religious ceremonies.
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
To find out more about ancient culture, visit the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. It’s a veritable treasure box, an amazing collection of myths and legends embodied in statues, vases, and sculptures. The permanent exhibition of the museum consists of more than 20 thousand items of different ages, and the collections of ceramics and sculptures are considered some of the richest in the world.
Museo del Prado, Madrid
If you find yourself in the capital of Spain, make sure to visit the Prado Museum. It houses some of the most comprehensive collections of Bosch, Velázquez, Goya, Murillo, Zurbarán and El Greco. The works in the halls of Italian painting date from the early Renaissance (Fra Angelico, Mantegna, Botticelli) to the 18th century. In this amazing museum you can see paintings by Raphael, Caravaggio and Gentileschi. One of the most rich pictorial ensembles of the Prado is formed by the works of artists of the Venetian school – Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese and Bassano.
