VACATION IDEAS

Photos: World's Most Beautiful Museums

No big city vacation is complete without a visit to a beautiful museum. Our favorite collections combine great locations—like Central Park, central Paris, or the Pacific Coast—with iconic, inspiring works of art.

By Robert Firpo-Cappiello, Monday, Dec 31, 2012, 11:00 PM | Subscribe to the magazine

Source Article: World's Most Beautiful Museums

The Louvre museum, in Paris, was once a fortress, then a palace, before it housed one of the world's most beautiful art collections.
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The Louvre features more oh-I-recognize-that pieces of art than any other museum in the world.
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Even the architecture at the Louvre is eye-catching and beautiful.
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The J. Paul Getty collection in Los Angeles is a relative youngster among beautiful museums founded in the 1970s.
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The Getty combines old-world art with views of the Pacific Ocean.
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The Getty's design is as inspiring as its art collection.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, houses the largest art collection in the U.S.
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The Met's Temple of Dendur is a favorite of visitors.
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The Great Hall at the Met features fresh flower displays that change with the seasons.
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The Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam, reflected in a pool.
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The Rijksmusem has an unparalleled collection of Dutch masters' paintings.
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Cyclists enjoy a ride past the newly renovated Rijksmuseum.
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The Hermitage, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was founded by Catherine the Great.
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The Hermitage combines ancient collections with masterpieces of European art.
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The Hermitage occupies several buildings that were once part of the Russian emperors' property.
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The Vatican Museums, in Vatican City, offer one of the most extensive art collections on earth.
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Staircases of the Vatican Museums.
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A noteworthy archway in the Vatican Museums.
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The Victoria and Albert Museum in the Kensington neighborhood of London.
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The Victoria and Albert Museum is a magnet for art and history buffs.
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London's Victoria and Albert Museum is named for its long-reigning 19th-century queen and her husband, Prince Albert.
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The British Museum in London boasts a collection drawn from Britain's colonial history.
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Detail of the facade of the British Museum, with the bas reliefs on its top entrance and its ionic columns.
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Admission to the British Museum is free!
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The Art Institute of Chicago's modern wing.
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The Art Institute of Chicago is located in Grant Park.
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Another view of the Art Institute of Chicago's imaginatively designed modern wing.
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The Guggenheim in New York City has one of the most distinctive designs of any structure in the world.
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The ceiling of the Guggenheim is worth a neck-craning look up.
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The Guggenheim is just up the avenue from the Met, part of New York City's famed Museum Mile.
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The Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, traces the evolution of art from the 19th century to the present day.
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MOMA draws crowds to its retrospective exhibitions, films, and other events.
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Recent expansions have created more space to show the extensive collection at MOMA.
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The pyramid of the National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC.
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The west building at the National Gallery of Art.
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The dramatic facade of the National Gallery's east building.
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The garden at the Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam, draws visitors year-round, but especially in spring.
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There's always a bustle in Museum Square, with the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum to attract the crowds.
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The Van Gogh Museum is a memorial to the distinctive artist whose work heavily influenced 20th-century modernism.
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The iconic sphinx outside the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
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Though many treasures of ancient Egypt were taken to far-flung museums the world over, the Egyptian Museum's collection is thorough and captivating.
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The Egyptian Museum was founded in 1858.
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