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Extraordinary Museums in Europe!!

Mon 19 September 2011

, Nicole Bader, Charming Travel Choices

When travelling through Europe both on a personal level and for Charming Travel Choices, I always enjoyed the opportunity of visiting beautiful and impressive museums. I've seen some of the world's most famous pieces of art from just inches away: the Mona Lisa at the Musée du Louvre in Paris, Greek and Roman archaeological treasures at the London British Museum, Botticelli's Birth of Venus at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Picasso Museum in Barcelona, the Night Watch in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum and the Albrecht Dürer's collection at the Albertina Museum in Vienna. There are however a few extraordinary museum that have truly captured my heart and which I like to share with you in this blog!

Jacquemart Andre Museum in Paris

Just a stone's throw from the Champs Elysées in Paris, you find the Jacquemart Andre Museum. This rather unknown and relatively small museum is situated in a luxurious late 19th century mansion. Walking through the different elegant rooms of the museum, you will find amazing paintings, sculptures and furniture's of masters like Rembrandt, Botticelli, Bellini, and Fragonard.

At the same time you can catch a glimpse of the life of the original owners Nélie Jacquemart and Eduard André. The museum possesses a bookstore, a gift shop and a popular tearoom occupying the former Dining Room of the mansion where you can enjoy a light lunch and or a lovely afternoon tea.

Bargello Museum in Florence

Another museum worth mentioning is the Bargello Museum in Florence.
This National Museum has its setting in one of the oldest buildings in Florence and is considered one of the most beautiful in Italy due to its elegant irregular and unique courtyard, open staircase, balcony and the enormous and impressive entrance hall on the first floor.

What the Uffize Museum offers in painting, the Bargello Museum offers in sculpture. Renaissance sculpture! Sculpture masterpieces by Michelangelo, such as his Bacchus, Pitti Tondo (Madonna and Child), Brutus and David-Apollo, as well as masterpieces of Donatello, Luca della Robbia, Verrocchio and Cellini can be admired. The museum also has a fine collection of bronzes, majolica, enamels, medals, seals, ivories, tapestries, furniture and textiles from the Medici collections and those of private donors.

New Acropolis Museum in Athens

The New Acropolis Museum in Athens reflects upon the beauty and timeless architecture of the Acropolis. Located at the foot of the Acropolis, the museum enables a dialogue between the museum's exhibition spaces of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. In this incredible beautiful museum you can admire amazing excavations which are clearly visible beneath the glass flooring at the entrance, while its upward slope alludes to the ascent to the Acropolis.

As you pass through the museum it is interesting to note how close you can get to the sanctuary pieces, allowing visitors to scrutinize the Greek letters and inscriptions, dating back to the 6th Century BC. Besides a 200-seat auditorium the museum contains a café overlooking the archeological excavation, a museum store and a restaurant with a public terrace commanding dazzling views of the Acropolis.

Treat yourself to a wonderful European history and art appreciation by roaming the extraordinary galleries of the museum jewels mentioned above. They might also become your favorite museums one day!