The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States. Outstanding American and European art collections.

The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia. Awesome! Even the floors you walk on are works of art. Did you know that they have the largest Spanish art collection in the world, outside of Spain? Also, one of the world's largest collection of Rembrandts.

Musée du Louvre, Paris, France. This has to be the largest museum in the world. Literally, tons of art as well as tons of history. Something every art lover must see!

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States. The best museum on this side of the Atlantic. An outstanding Impressionist collection (actually, several collections put together). I specially love their American Wing.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, United States. When it comes to modern art, this is it! I doubt there is anything like it anywhere else in the world. You will find most of the paintings shown in most modern art text books hanging on its walls.

Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo, Norway. A very complete museum with good representation of all the eras and schools in the European art world. You will find Edvard Munch's "Scream" here.

The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., United States. A national treasure! What the Louvre is to France, the National Gallery of Art is to the US. You will find plenty of everything in its galleries. This is another of those museums that every artist or art enthusiast must visit.

National Museum of American Art, Washington, D. C., United States. An Smithsonian museum. It has the most comprehensive American art collection anywhere. I love those monumental landscape paintings by the Hudson River School artists.

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France. If you like impressionism, this is the place. Not to mention the fact that the way its architects changed this old railroad station into a beautiful gigantic gallery of art is nothing short of genius.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. An outstanding museum. It not only houses works from the Dutch Masters but an extensive collection of European art as well. Its most famous painting: Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" just recently restored to its original brightness and beauty.

Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. Home to my favorite baroque paintings by one of the greatest artist of all times, Diego Velasquez. Spanish Masters Rivera, Zurbaran, Murillo, El Greco, Goya and Sorolla are also well represented. Another of my favorite paintings which can be found here is Hieronymous Bosch's "Garden of Earthly Delights".

Galleria degli Uffizi/Il Polo Museale Fiorentino, Florence, Italy. The Polo Museale Fiorentino is an institution which administers the largest ensemble of art works in Italy. It includes twenty museums among them the Uffizi Gallery, Galleria dell'Accademia, Palazzo Pitti and others. The Uffizi exhibition space occupies the whole second floor of the Uffizi Palace built in 1560. Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" is housed here as well as many other works by Masters such as Canaletto, Caravaggio, da Vinci, Goya, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rembrandt, Tintoretto, Titian, et al. At the Accademia many works by Michaelangelo are exhibited including the famous "David". The Pitti Palace, which was formerly the residence of the grand-dukes of Tuscany and later of the King of Italy, now houses several important collections of paintings and sculpture, works of art, porcelain and a costume gallery, besides providing a magnificently decorated historical setting which extends to the Boboli Gardens, one of the earliest Italian gardens famous also for its fountains and grottoes.

Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam, Netherlands. A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. It provides the opportunity to keep track of the artist's developments, or compare his paintings to works by other artists from the 19th century in the collection.

Musei Vaticani, Vatican City. Founded circa 1503 these museums hold a vast collection of antiquities, including thousands of sculptures. The works range from the Greek Pre-Classic period through the High Renaissance. The museum of paintings (la Pinacoteca Vaticana) holds a great collection of paintings from the 13th to the 17th centuries. Some of the museum's most famous works, however, are "The School of Athens"  and the frescoes in the Stanze di Rafaello as well as Michelangelo's scenes from the Old Testament, on the ceiling, and "The Last Judgment", behind the altar, in the Sistine Chapel.