There are several great museums to visit when travelling in Europe. Here are just a few great suggestions if you are planning to be in the following cities:

Art Museums

While there are well over 60 museums in Paris, they focus mostly around the arts. The most popular ones are:

Paris – The Louvre Museum:  This is the largest museum in the world. Established in 1793, the Louvre displays several works of western art and is divided by, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Oriental Antiques, Islamic art, Paintings, Sculptures, Prints and Drawings. It also includes a whole section that is devoted to just the history of the Louvre. (See below to combine your visits with The Order of Liberation museum also located in Paris).

Paris – The Rodin Museum: To view the bronze and marble works of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917).  Visitors can enjoy long walks through several large sculptures and gardens.

War Museums

Europe also has many museums that focus around War and Remembrance.  Here are a few suggestions for some of the more popular ones:

Amsterdam – The Anne Frank House: Visit the site of the home where Anne Franks life led to her hiding out from the Nazis in a dim annex of her father’s jam factory. While is Amsterdam, interested visitors can also look up the National War and Resistance Museum.

Berlin – The Holocaust Museum: Visit a villa in Wannsee, Berlin where the Wannsee Conference was held to discuss a “Final Solution” to the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews.

Copenhagen – The Danish Resistance Museum: Visit this museum to see various apparatus that the determined resistance fighters used. It also features the long roll of toilet paper with notes about what it was like to live in a concentration camp. Without pens, the letters were formed by pricking holes with a pin. This was then discovered hidden in a vent.

Paris – The Order of Liberation: This is France’s second National Order, following the Legion of Honor.  Established by General De Gaulle, the Resistance Museum is entered through the Musee de l’Armee.

London – The Imperial War Museum: This museum is a great exhibit of England’s military vehicles, weapons, and war memorabilia. It also includes an extensive library that is open Mondays through Saturdays and contains a massive photographic archive, a 20th century art collection and more. It used to occupy the former Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane (“Bedlam”) and was originally founded in 1917.

London (Liverpool) – The Beatles Museum: A national museum dedicated to the Beatles. It included an exhibition of some of the Beatles related musical and personal items. Visitors may are welcome to shop at the museums gift shop where many treasures can be found.

Rome – Vatican City Museum: Visit the Vatican museum and see Michelangelo’s masterpiece inside the Sistine Chapel. Visitors can also experience St. Peter’s Basilica and St. Peter’s Square. Enjoy watching guards and citizens wearing Renaissance-style uniforms in the bright colors of the Medici Popes. The tour includes boutique shopping and visits to the Castel S. Angelo, The Tapestry Gallery, The Raphael Rooms and the Vatican Library.