“To travel is to live”, said Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. And we couldn’t agree more. 

Why not add a dash of culture and opulence to your trip by incorporating some of these international art galleries and museums to your travel bucket list. 

Here’s our top 5 list.

1. Louvre (Paris, France)

One can’t think about international art galleries without the Louvre coming to mind. 

The world’s most visited museum was built back in 1793 and is located in what once was a royal palace. 

The Louvre exhibits eight world-renowned collections, including art of ancient Egypt like the  “The Great Sphinx”, art of ancient Greece and Rome like the “Venus of Milo”, Islamic art like “Josse’s Shroud”, sculptures like Michelangelo’s “Dying Captive”, paintings like Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”, Art Craft like “Harbaville Triptych” and graphic arts like “Liberty Leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix. 

The Louvre displays 35 000 exhibits at a time, including the “Rothschild Collection” and the “Chalcography” section.

It’s no surprise that the Louvre got Beyoncé and the Carter’s stamp of approval as they shot the music video for Apesh*t at the one-of-a-kind museum. Following the release of the video back in 2018, the museum marked a 25% rise in visitors. 

2. The Museum of Modern Art (New York, USA)

Established in 1929, the Museum of Modern Art or MoMA started as a space for modern art to make a temporary home before making way for the next exhibition. 

MoMA is constantly expanding its collections as it welcomes installation, conceptual, performance, and video art, paving the way for the future of the digitisation of modern art.

You can view the likes of Max Beckmann’s “Before the Mirror”, Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night”, and Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica”.

3. The British Museum (London, UK)

This one is for the history buffs. The self-proclaimed “first national public museum of the world” was founded in 1753. 

The museum has a unique perspective as it views objects as reliable witnesses and documents of human history. The collection primarily consists of monuments of ancient history, with around eight million objects that cover about two million years of human history.

The British Museum organises their exhibitions according to collection themes that include Africa, the Americas, China, Egypt, animals, death and memory, and desire, love and identity.

In recent years, the British Museum has come under fire for how objects were acquired in certain regions under British colonial rule. 

Since then, the British Museum has established a “Collecting Histories” initiative aimed at researching how certain objects were acquired. As a result, there are ongoing discussions around the repatriation of objects to their countries of origin where acquisitions may have been unethical.

4. National Museum of China (Beijing, China)

If the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History came together and had a baby, the result would be the National Museum of China.

Founded in 2003 the permanent exhibition consists of over one million exhibits.

The National Museum of China features an extensive numismatic collection, including the Houmuwu ding, bronze zun from the Shang Dynasty, and jade burial suits sewn with gold thread from the Han Dynasty to name a few.

5. Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Cape Town, South Africa)

Zeitz MOCAA is the largest contemporary art gallery in Africa. 

Situated against the striking panoramic backdrop of the Mother City, the public, non-profit museum spans over nine floors, where Zeitz MOCAA exhibits, collects, preserves, and researches contemporary art from Africa and the diaspora.

The museum includes temporary, rotating exhibitions, as well as a dedicated space that houses businessman Jochen Zeitz’s impressive private collection of African artworks and installations.

The Zeitz MOCAA institution also includes the Centre for Art Education, the Centre for the Moving Image, and a space dedicated to emerging artists.

Get your cultural fill with these top 5 international art galleries and museums from 5 big cities around the world.

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