1-Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The view of one of Europe's best museums, the Rijksmuseum building. The Royal Museum of the Netherlands, or the Rijksmuseum, is home to some of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings. Rembrandt‘s The Night Watch and Vermeer’s Milkmaid are some of the best-known among them. Eight hundred years of Dutch art and history, with around 8,000 exhibits, are on display in the Rijksmuseum, making it one of the best museums in Europe to visit this year. Its building, built in 1885, is a work of art in and of itself. You can easily spend a day only by admiring its wall paintings and statues on its façade. It’s also probably the only museum in the world with a road going through it.The Rijksmuseum is not only one of the best museums in Europe, but it is also a museum that is great for kids. You can take a self-guided tour here if you have a toddler.
2 - Prado Museum, Madrid
The Prado Museum is one of Madrid's crowning achievements, and a visit there is not complete without it. Dating back to 1819, this impressive art museum houses 8,600 paintings and more than 700 sculptures for you to admire.The museum’s collections include Spanish, Italian, and Flemish masterpieces. Its Spanish collection is the largest one in the world. Spanish paintings made between the 11th and 19th centuries can be found in the various galleries. So, if you are a fan of Spanish artists like Goya, Velazquez, or El Greco, and you want to see some of their most famous works, you’ll love visiting the Prado.
3- Uffizi Galleries, Florence
If you are an art lover, you must definitely place the Uffizi Galleries in Florence on your list of famous museums to visit in Europe. Visiting the Uffizi is considered one of the top things to do in Florence, even though the city is art heavy, attesting to the quality and renown of its collection. Because it is in the historic center of Florence, the Uffizi Gallery is very popular. If you don't want to use the Firenze Card, you should make reservations in advance. The Uffizi houses Western art, both paintings and sculpture, from the Middle Ages to the Modern period. Its collection of the 14th century and Renaissance paintings is the star attraction. Birth of Venus and La Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, Doni Tondo by Michelangelo, Raphael's Madonna of the Goldfinch, Caravaggio's Bacchus and Medusa, and Titian's Venus of Urbino are among the masterpieces on display here. Annunciation by Leonardo da Vinci is a must-see because it’s his first significant work, painted when he was only 20 years old. Other than the paintings, the Uffizi houses several statues and busts that are old Roman copies of lost Greek works. They were collected by the Medici family, the de facto rulers of Florence.
4 -Fondation Beyeler, Basel
Although there are so many fantastic museums in Basel, my favourite place there was, without a doubt, the Fondation Beyeler. It’s located outside the city, in the small town of Riehen, but easily reachable from the city centre of Basel by tram.Renzo Piano designed the building that houses the museum in 1997. The art collection was private by Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, who transferred ownership to the foundation in 1982. The museum could be seen in around two hours, making it a perfect place to introduce some of the top names in the modern art world. Among the authors of the works displayed are Degas, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Picasso, Rothko, Warhol etc.
5 - Neon Museum, Warsaw
Neon Museum is one of the best museums in Warsaw. It is also among the most unique museums in the world. Located in Praga (the alternative and edgy part of Warsaw), in the former factory, the museum shows numerous neon signs that were part of the cityscape in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, the colourful signs fall into despair, forgotten by many. Fortunately, a group of enthusiasts has decided to save them, one after another. Eventually, the museum was created, and currently, it’s one of the biggest tourist attractions in Warsaw. Not only you can see beautiful neon signs there, but also learn about their history and the technique they were made in. People behind the museum are involved even in restoring old neons that are more and more present in the streets of Warsaw.
6- Lisbon's National Azulejo Museum
Portugal is famous for its ceramic tiles, and there is no better place to explore their history than at the National Azulejo Museum in Lisbon.The museum’s location is slightly out of the way, so many tourists don’t make it here. But it’s a unique Lisbon experience that should not be missed.The museum is housed inside the deconsecrated Madre de Deus Convent, which is an attraction itself. Inside the church, you can even see some azulejos in situ, as they were meant to be viewed, surrounded by lavish Baroque ornamentation. Some tiles are painted with intricate geometric patterns. In contrast, others are covered in elaborate scenes and are used to tell a story.In addition to the usual Biblical scenes, there are also some unusual, humorous motifs. For example, there is a series from the 17th century called singerie that features monkeys dressed up as humans, and a chicken riding in a carriage on the way to her wedding.The museum’s highlight is a huge panoramic panel made up of more than 1,300 tiles that depict Lisbon’s cityscape shortly before the 1755 earthquake that destroyed most of the city.
7 – Musée Louvre, Paris
The Louvre in Paris is, without a doubt, one of the best museums in Europe.Well known as the home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (watch my 3-minutes of art history video about that painting), it has one of the most significant art collections in the world. It is impossible to see it in a day, so planning your visit in advance is advisable. Open in 1793, it’s home to some 38,000 exhibits from Prehistory until the 21st century. Its collection of Renaissance art and Egyptian collection are the museums’s highlights. Besides the Mona Lisa, some of the top-rated exhibits there are Fayum mummy portrait, Ghirlandaio’s Portrait of an old man and his grandson, Michelangelo’s Dying slave, Nike of Samothrace, some Napoleon’s portraits, etc.
8 - The Acropolis Museum, Athens
You can see the massive rock of the Acropolis from nearly everywhere in Athens. This UNESCO World Heritage Site has been the primary religious centre in Greece for over 3,000 years. Atop the Acropolis, the Parthenon devoted to the goddess Athena is one of the most recognised structures in the world. But it’s completely empty.While the Parthenon is the largest Doric temple ever built in the ancient world, the valuables were considerably smaller and highly portable. Many artefacts were famously looted from the country, however many essential items remained. Those significant historical pieces related to Ancient Greece can now be seen in the beautiful Acropolis Museum at the base of the rock.The Acropolis Museum is one of the best museums in Greece. Here, visitors can learn about Greece’s history and artefacts from over 3,000 years ago. The museum houses an extensive collection of exhibits, including bronze figurines, carved statues, painted vases, friezes, and scores of other items. The objects are meticulously well preserved and presented in their proper historical context.
9- Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is unique because it was founded to highlight the Imperial collection of art gathered by the Habsburg family. In the second half of the 19th century, with the global changes in Europe, they wanted to make their art collection more accessible to the public.The buildings were designed by Gottfried Semper and Baron Karl von Hasenauer and constructed between 1871 and 1891. In the same year, Emperor Franz Joseph I. opened the museum. The interior of the building is unique among the European museums. It’s lavishly decorated with murals, gold leaf and marble, while fantastic stucco decoration is on the galleries’ ceilings. While wandering around the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, you can feel it was built as a museum to host the Habsburg art collection.One of Pieter Bruegel the Elder's largest collections can be found in the museum. The most well-known works are The Peasant Wedding, Children's Games, and Hunters in the Snow.
10 - Vasa Museum, Stockholm
Stockholm is home to so many wonderful museums. The Vasa Museum, on the other hand, is without a doubt the most well-known and exciting one. It’s located at Djurgården, also known as the Museum Island, because many of Stockholm’s museums are there.Vasa Museum is home to the 17th-century ship that sunken on its maiden voyage just in front of the shore of Stockholm. A huge Vasa ship is well preserved and a central piece of the museum today. You can see it from close, look at the material it was made of and see some beautiful decoration on it, too.
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