Visiting art museums

“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Edgar Degas.

It is the dream of almost every art-lover, whether artist or just admirer to visit the world’s famous art museums.

Visiting these museums can be an exciting, educational experience, but also an extremely tiring one. Standing in line for sometimes up to 2 hours at the Louvre in Paris or the Academia in Florence can be overwhelming, not to mention the amount of people inside. Some of these museums are so enormous, one would spend a whole day in them.

A couple of pointers when visiting Major Art Museums:

 Book your entry tickets before hand. Most of the museums have websites where one can acquire tickets. This saves a vast amount of time. When entering, take note whether you are allowed to take photos. In Italy it is not allowed, but most other Museums in Europe do not mind, as long as you don’t use a flash. Make use of the lockers for bags and coats, they do get heavy when strolling through the museum for a couple of hours.

When you visit a museum like the Louvre or Musee d’ Orsay, decide what tipe of art you are most interested in, whether Modern, Renaissance, Romantic, Sculptures, Egyptian etc. You might not have the time to do the whole museum.

Some of the most famous art museums include Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Tate Modern, London; The Hermitage, St Petersburg, Museum of Modern Art, NY; Uffizi, Florence; Louvre, Paris; Musee d’Orsay, Paris; Vatican Musuems, Rome; Smithsonian American Art, Washington. It is also worth mentioning that if you are a passionate follower of modern art the Guggenheim Museums in Venice, Bilbao and NY are not to be missed.

These are but a few, for in Europe every city has a couple of art museums, including artists’ own, like the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Salvador Dali in Paris, as well as the Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris.

For those who adore art, and there are millions, experiencing the beauty firsthand is the most exhilerating experience. Standing in front of the Mona Lisa or David just takes your breath away.