Museums, great and small

[KCGeezer]

Saw this list of ‘must see’ museums and thought a thread devoted to members experiences, questions, and recommendations for museums might be a good idea.

I’d never heard of a couple of these but travel plans will definitely include a few of them if possible. Have any to add, or stories to share?

We’ll see how long before a thorough discussion of whether the world’s largest ball of twine (Cawker City, Ks) qualifies as a museum or not.

18 Must-See Museums From Around the World

 

[Ronstar]

Wow. I haven't been to any of the museums on that list. I like Washington DC's Smithsonian museums - especially the air and space museums.

 

[athena53]

Interesting list. LOVED the Hermitage and the Prado. Louvre and Musee d'Orsay were so crazy we didn't enjoy them at all. We DID find an exhibit of Slovenian impressionists at Le Petit Palais on our visit to Paris- far calmer and we could actually experience the paintings. I wish we'd known about the Museum of Broken Relationships when we were in Zagreb!

Sometimes the smaller museums are more interesting and less hectic. Planning on visiting a special exhibit of Gustav Klimmt paintings at the Atelier des Lumieres in Paris next month.

Can't believe they missed this one. My browser "banned" the actual museum site!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_Phallological_Museum

 

[W2R]

Personally I could never omit the British Museum, which to me is so far above all other museums that there ought to be another word for it than "museum".

Of the rest, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry is wonderful although I haven't seen it since the mid 1950's.

 

[Ronstar]

Personally I could never omit the British Museum, which to me is so far above all other museums that there ought to be another word for it than "museum".

Of the rest, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry is wonderful although I haven't seen it since the mid 1950's.

I forgot about the Museum of Science and Industry.. Where else can you tour a WWII German submarine?

 

[W2R]

I forgot about the Museum of Science and Industry.. Where else can you tour a WWII German submarine?

I was just a kid maybe about 7-8 years old when I saw it, but to me the most memorable and mind boggling exhibit was the Foucault pendulum. I sat by it for a very long time and was blown away that I was actually seeing proof of the Earth's rotation right before my eyes.

Frank and I were just talking yesterday about how maybe sometime we might want to see the Smithsonian aerospace museum (if we ever decide to go anywhere at all). He has seen it but would like to go again, and I have never seen it.

 

[Ronstar]

^That pendulum is impressive. I remember being shocked by the fetus exhibit when I was a youngster.

 

[W2R]

^That pendulum is impressive. I remember being shocked by the fetus exhibit when I was a youngster.

I remember that exhibit, too. Not sure if I was in "ewww!!!" mode, or if I thought it was mildly interesting, or somewhere between the two. I remember that my big brothers refused to answer any questions about it.

 

[Bamaman]

I have been to half of the list. I agree that the British Museum is a must see--where the wealthy sons of the English deposited the stolen antiquities of Egypt. Amsterdam has great museums as does Budapest and Dresden.

 

[davebarnes]

The Kirkland in Denver is great and small.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The Henry Ford Museum is pretty cool. Kind of like Science and Industry in that the cutting edge of technology has largely passed both of them by. But they're both still very worthy museums.

There's a museum near Science and Industry on the U of Chicago campus called the Oriental Institute. They have a great collection of artifacts from ancient civilizations in the Middle East.

 

[tulak]

We went to the Musee d’Orsay and it was too busy to enjoy. We saw the few pieces we were interested in and left.

Then we went to Musee de l’Orangerie to see Monet’s Water Lilies.

That was fun. The highlight was we weren’t overwhelmed with art. Just a couple of rooms of great artwork.

I’m realizing that going to big museums feels too much like a chore. Better to see and appreciate a few pieces and then move on.

 

[6miths]

I have DW to thank for being to a number of these. I agree that the British Museum is pretty spectacular. We make a point of trying to hit these in the off season. We went to the Hermitage and the Vasa museum on the same trip 2 summers ago. We had a wonderful guide for the Hermitage. Honeymooned across from the Rijksmuseum many years ago and planning to go back in then next year or two for 3 months. My favourites are military museums which didn't get much love on this list.

 

[samclem]

Frank and I were just talking yesterday about how maybe sometime we might want to see the Smithsonian aerospace museum (if we ever decide to go anywhere at all). He has seen it but would like to go again, and I have never seen it.

It is wonderful. And for those interested in aircraft and space, the much larger Udvar-Hazy museum near Dulled airport is a must-see as well. It houses the very interesting Smithsonian air and space artifacts that wouldn't fit in their museum on the mall.


And a plug for the National Museum of the United States Air Force in beautiful Dayton, Ohio (Wright-Patterson AFB). Huge and very well done, an exhibit with the famous B-17 "Memphis Belle" opened this year.


I visited the National WW-II Museum this year, it was tremendous. Yes, it has great artifacts, but beyond that, it does a better job than any military museum I've visited in making the stories and the experiences of combatants and those at home come alive. Admittedly told from a US perspective. It was emotionally exhausting, but worth it. W2R, New Orleans has a real gem in this attraction.

 

[Luvdogs]

DD and I went to a quirky museum in Amsterdam when we couldn't get into the Anne Frank house--Museum of Bags and Purses!

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I find it hard to fathom that the "Museum of Broken Relationships" made this list but the Smithsonian and the British Museum didn't.

I got to work on the National Museum of the Marine Corps building at Quantico, just south of DC. The exhibit designers did a fantastic job of immersing the visitors in the exhibits. I had an extra hour between meetings so I wandered around. More than once I was sure I had crossed the velvet rope somewhere and was in an exhibit.

Plus, it's free.

 

[6miths]

It is wonderful. And for those interested in aircraft and space, the much larger Udvar-Hazy museum near Dulled airport is a must-see as well. It houses the very interesting Smithsonian air and space artifacts that wouldn't fit in their museum on the mall.


And a plug for the National Museum of the United States Air Force in beautiful Dayton, Ohio (Wright-Patterson AFB). Huge and very well done, an exhibit with the famous B-17 "Memphis Belle" opened this year.


I visited the National WW-II Museum this year, it was tremendous. Yes, it has great artifacts, but beyond that, it does a better job than any military museum I've visited in making the stories and the experiences of combatants and those at home come alive. Admittedly told from a US perspective. It was emotionally exhausting, but worth it. W2R, New Orleans has a real gem in this attraction.

Was lucky enough to get to Dayton last summer on the way to the solar eclipse in Gallatin, Tennesee. And had been to the RAF Museum and RAF chapel in London along with IWM Duxford earlier in the year. Smithsonians and Arlington this summer. I had no idea that New Orleans was the home of the US National WW2 museum. On my list.

 

[Bestwifeever]

The House of Terror museum in Budapest added another layer to my understanding of Hungary. It is very moving. Not in the OP’s list but oh my.

I loved London’s Victoria and Albert Museum mentioned in the OP’s link. So crammed full and a new delight around every corner.

 

[USGrant1962]

Article title is misleading, should be "Must See ART Museums", and even then it is missing Tate Modern, The Louvre and probably some others - but I'm not a big artsie...

It does not really claim to be a list of the best, but no British Museum or Smithsonian is nonsense.

I gotta say, the Brits stole the best stuff ever! [And preserved it.] I mean the Rosetta Stone, Cleopatra's coffin, a mummy from 3400BC, Crouching Venus, the Elgin Marbles! Come on... the British Museum is da bomb...

 

[Scuba]

I really like the California Science Museum. The Endeavor space shuttle is very
Interesting, and there are other cool exhibits there too. Have to agree with others about the Smithsonian. Can’t believe it wasn’t on the list,

 

[athena53]

A few more to add to the list, depending on your interests:

1. The World War I Museum in Kansas City.

2. The Military Museum in Brussels. Wow. DH and I were going to spend the morning there but ended up going out for lunch and coming back- acres of planes, tanks, uniforms, weapons, etc. from the last few centuries.

3. The Ignatz Semmelweiss Museum in Budapest. DH and I had each read of him separately and when we stumbled across it in our wanderings, we said in unison. :The Ignatz Semmelweis Museum!" (Yes, we were a match made in heaven.) Semmelweiss, a doctor, noticed that there was a lower rate of childbed fever, which frequently killed new mothers, among women whose babies had been delivered by midwives. He was ostracized for this theory that doctors, who would go from treating a fatal case of TB to delivering a baby, ought to change into a clean smock and wash their hands first. The museum is the house where he was born and lived most of his life.

 

[JoeWras]

Article is way low on the science and technology. Rebecca must have hated science. And of course, the bias against the non-coastal USA. Of course. The fly-overs are used to it.

So the first thing that came to mind was the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Lo and behold, I notice multiple posters had the same idea. It is an absolute must see in Chicago.

Get your nerd on! Tour a real submarine!

 

[ERD50]

Article is way low on the science and technology. Rebecca must have hated science. And of course, the bias against the non-coastal USA. Of course. The fly-overs are used to it.

So the first thing that came to mind was the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Lo and behold, I notice multiple posters had the same idea. It is an absolute must see in Chicago.

Get your nerd on! Tour a real submarine!

Also the Field Museum in Chicago. And the Art Institute in Chicago is fantastic. I hadn't seen those two mentioned.

I'll need to check out the Oriental Institute that Mr._Graybeard mentioned, and I agree with him, I found the Henry Ford Museum fascinating - I could go back there with just my brother, and probably spend a few days (DW and kids get bored before that).

And no list is complete without:


-ERD50

 

[Koogie]

DD and I went to a quirky museum in Amsterdam when we couldn't get into the Anne Frank house--Museum of Bags and Purses!

You could have completed the outfit by going to the Shoe Museum in Toronto...

Bata Shoe Museum » An unusual and unique Toronto attraction: a museum of footwear.


I used to live for a while not very far off Museum Row in London. My favorite by far was the Science Museum.

https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

 

[REWahoo]

Another quirky and highly rated museum: Toilet Seat Museum