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
Rembrandt paintings
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.
SOME OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST ART MUSEUMS
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.