The Ultimate Museum Bucket List

Museums and galleries preserve human’s greatest treasures. You can go back in time to explore ancient cultures, and appreciate art from different parts of the world. Museums are often a must-see when you travel, so we have compiled the Ultimate Museum Bucket List.

The Louvre is the largest museum in the world, and the most frequently visited. It has over 72,000 square meters of exhibition space. The gorgeous structure is a former royal palace. However, visitors cannot miss the modern addition of I. M. Pei’s pyramid at the main entrance. The museum’s collections range from Egyptian antiquities to impressionist paintings. Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is the most popular work of art at the Louvre. However, its other masterpieces include Venus de Milo, Liberty Leading the People, and Winged Victory of Samothrace. If you need to be reminded that you are inside a Palace, be sure to visit the (almost) entirely intact Napoleon III Apartments.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly referred to as “The Met” is the biggest museum in the Americas. It covers over 5,000 years of art from around the globe.   Its permanent collection (over 1.5 million items) contains classic and contemporary pieces. You can find art from Ancient Greece, such as the Marble Statue of a Kouros. The 6 1/2-foot-tall Athenian youth is over 2,500 years old! If you prefer European artists, you will find the likes of Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and Rodin. Interior design enthusiasts will be stunned by the period rooms in the American Wing. Twenty historic rooms have been installed (or recreated) in the museum, including one designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Over centuries, the kings and queens of Spain have collected (and commissioned) works of art. The Prado museum promotes the work of Spanish masters such as Velázquez, Goya, Picasso, and Dali. However, it also has a large collection of Italian art, including pieces by Titian and Raphael. One of the most popular paintings in the museum is Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez — which depicts the artist himself, painting a five-year-old Infanta Margaret Theresa.  Another frequently visited picture is The Three Graces by Peter Paul Rubens.

The British Museum was the first national public museum, and it is still free to enter. It has the world’s largest permanent collection: eight million works of art! The museum has a strong focus on archaeology and ethnography. Its collection purportedly covers two million years of human history. You must see the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs on the Rosetta Stone. Other prominent exhibits include the Parthenon Sculptures, Bust of Ramesses the Great, Aztec Serpent, and Edmund de Waal’s Library of Exile. While it is known for its ancient works, The British Museum also houses contemporary art. For example, it displays a counterfeit £10 note created by notorious British street artist Banksy. 

The spectacular Winter Palace houses a 3-million piece collection of art from the Stone Age to the early 20th century. The 14.2 hectare baroque palace was the official residence of the Russian Tsars from 1764 to 1917, before it was converted into the world’s second-largest museum. The building itself is beautiful, especially its opulent “Jordan Staircase.” The focal point of The Hermitage is Western European art. You will find works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Tiepolo, Titian, Picasso, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and more. Its most visited artworks include Di Vinci’s Madonna Litta, Michelangelo’s Crouching Boy, and Gauguin’s Woman Holding a Fruit. Our favorite piece was The Peacock Clock — a luxurious gold mechanical clock made by English jeweler James Cox, that was commissioned by Catherine the Great.

The Egyptian Museum is the oldest archaeological museum in the Middle East, and boasts the largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the world. The museum’s invaluable artifacts document the history of Egyptian civilization, from the Pre-Dynastic Period to the Graeco-Roman Era. Some of the masterpieces within its 170,000-artifact collection include the Masks of Yuya and Thuya, Menkaure Triads, Colossal Statue of Ramses II, and the Sarcophagus of Queen Hatshepsut.

The Vatican Museums consist of 24 galleries. They display works amassed by the Catholic Church over centuries. The immense collection contains at least 70,000 works of art — 20,000 of which are on display. You will find some of the most important Renaissance masterpieces ever created. The highlight of course, is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. However, the Raphael Rooms are a close second. They contain frescos such as the School of Athens, Battle of Ostia, Disputation on the Holy Sacrament, and Liberation of Saint Peter. 

Instead of going to one museum, you can explore the world’s largest research and museum complex. The Smithsonian consists of 19 different museums and galleries that contain over 137 million objects. The most visited are the Natural History, Air and Space, and American History museums. You will find iconic bits of Americana such as the original Star-Spangled Banner, a piece of Plymouth Rock, the Spirit of St. Louis, and Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. The Smithsonian Institution also houses an incredibly valuable jewel: The Hope Diamond. The (supposedly cursed) 45.52-carat deep-blue diamond is estimated to be worth $200-$350 Million. 

The foregoing are just some of the amazing museums you should visit on your global travels. Other popular destinations are The Acropolis Museum in Athens, The National Museum of China in Beijing, The Guggenheim in Bilbao, and The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. If you have a personal favorite, please share it in the comments below. 

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