Bilbao's architectural showpiece by the famous Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry still looks incredibly modern even if it was inaugurated back in 1997.
The Guggenheim Museum, one of the world's most spectacular buildings that you should appreciate from all angles, contains a collection of 20th-century American and European art and temporary exhibitions of modern art.
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- Important Masterpieces: 2
- Highlight (apart from the incredible building): Puppy by Jeff Koons (1992), 12.4 m x 830 cm x 910 cm (40 ft 8 3/16 in x 27 ft 2 3/4 in x 29 ft 10 1/4 in)
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This is our selection of the five best artworks of the Guggenheim Museum:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Puppy, Jeff Koons (1992)
Jeff Koons / CC BY-SA 4.0
2) Maman, Louise Bourgeois (1999)
by Doalex / CC BY-SA 3.0
3) Tall Tree and the Eye, Anish Kapoor (2009)
by Kamahele / CC BY-SA 3.0
4) The Matter of Time, Richard Serra (2010)
by Ardfern / CC BY-SA 3.0
5) Tulips, Jeff Koons (2006)
by dalbera / CC BY-SA 2.0
Modern Art Museum | Modern Architecture
Gallery Space: 11,000 m2 (120,000 ft2)
Galleries: 21
Artworks on Display: ca. 200
Established: 1997
Visitors (2018): 1,265,756
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 17
Official Webpage (English): guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en
This famous museum in Midtown Manhattan displays significant works of modern and contemporary art.
Among the highlights of the collection are masterpieces by Van Gogh (“Starry-Night”), Picasso (“Les Demoiselles d'Avignon”), Signac (“Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon”), Chagall (“I and the Village”) or Henri Rousseau (“The Sleeping Gypsy”).
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- Important Masterpieces: 54
- Top 200 Paintings: 5
- Total Masterworks of Painting: 118 (world-class), All Ranks of the Top 5 Paintings Added (low score is better): 263 (world-class), Mentions of the Top 5 Paintings in Influential Art Books: 51 (world-class)
- Highlight: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (1889), 73.7 cm × 92.1 cm (28.7 in × 36 1⁄4 in)
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This is our selection of the eight best paintings of the Museum of Modern Art:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh (1889) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 2) The Sleeping Gypsy, Henri Rousseau (1897) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 3) I and the Village, Marc Chagall (1911) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 4) Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso (1907) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 5) Portrait of M. Félix Fénéon, Paul Signac (1890) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 6) The Persistence of Memory, Salvador Dali (1931) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 7) Christina's World, Andrew Wyeth (1948) 8) The City Rises, Umberto Boccioni (1910)
Modern Art Museum
Gallery Space: 11,600 m2 (125,000 ft2)
Galleries: 72
Artworks on Display: ?
Established: 1929
Visitors (2017): 2,752,719
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): USD 25
Official Webpage (English): moma.org/
Opened in 1973, this museum contains the largest collection of works by Vincent van Gogh in the world.
Among the two hundred paintings on display are some of van Gogh's most famous works.
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- Important Masterpieces: 5
- Top 200 Paintings: 1 (+1)
- Total Masterworks of Painting: 17 (decent), All Ranks of the Top 5 Paintings Added (low score is better): 1510 (excellent), Mentions of the Top 5 Paintings in Influential Art Books: 20 (impressive)
- Highlight: Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent van Gogh (1890), 50.2 cm × 103 cm (19.8 in × 41 in)
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This is our selection of the 5 best paintings of the Van Gogh Museum:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Wheatfield with Crows, Vincent van Gogh (1890)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
2) Irises, Vincent van Gogh (1890)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
3) The Potato Eaters, Vincent van Gogh (1885)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
4) Vincent's Bedroom in Arles, Vincent van Gogh (1888)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
5) Still Life: Vase with Fourteen Sunflowers, Vincent van Gogh (1889)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
6) The Sower, Vincent van Gogh (1888)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
Art Museum
Gallery Space: ca. 7,000 m2 (75,347 ft2)
Galleries: ca. 30
Artworks on Display: 600 (200 paintings)
Established: 1973
Visitors (2017): 2,300,000
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 19
Official Webpage (English): vangoghmuseum.nl/en
The Art Institute of Chicago is considered one of the best art museums in North America with a collection spanning 5,000 years from all over the world.
The outstanding permanent collection consists mainly of impressionist and post-impressionist work.
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- Important Masterpieces: 19
- Top 200 Paintings: 4
- Total Masterworks of Painting: 64 (excellent), All Ranks of the Top 5 Paintings Added (low score is better): 424 (excellent), Mentions of the Top 5 Paintings in Influential Art Books: 68 (world-class)
- Highlight: Two Sisters (On the Terrace), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1881), 100.5 cm × 81 cm (39.6 in × 31.9 in)
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This is our selection of the ten best paintings of the Art Institute of Chicago:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Two Sisters (On the Terrace), Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1881)
by Wikimedia, Pierre-Auguste Renoir / Public Domain
2) A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat (1886)
by Wikimedia, Georges Seurat / Public Domain
3) Paris Street; Rainy Day, Gustave Caillebotte (1877)
by Wikimedia, Gustave Caillebotte / Public Domain
4) Nighthawks, Edward Hopper (1942)
by Wikimedia, Edward Hopper / Public Domain
5) The Old Guitarist, Pablo Picasso (1903)
by Wikimedia, Pablo Picasso / Public Domain
6) American Gothic, Grant Wood (1930)
by Wikimedia, Grant Wood / Public Domain
7) At the Cirque Fernando: The Ringmaster, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1888)
by Wikimedia, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec / Public Domain
8) Woman at Her Toilette, Berthe Morisot (1875/80)
by Wikimedia, Berthe Morisot / Public Domain
9) At the Moulin Rouge (Self-portrait in the crowd), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1892) by Wikimedia, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec / Public Domain
10) The Child's Bath, Mary Cassatt (1891–92)
by Wikimedia, Mary Cassatt / Public Domain
Art and Archaeological Museum
Gallery Space: 26,000 m2 (280,000 ft2)
Galleries: ca. 260
Artworks on Display: ca. 4,800
Established: 1879; in present location since 1893
Visitors [2016]: 1,621,861)
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): USD 25
Official Webpage : artic.edu/
Considered one of the great art museums of Europe Vienna’s Museum of Art History houses the outstanding former private collection of the Imperial family in a splendid purpose-built building lavishly decorated with marble, stucco embellishments, and gold-leaf.
- Important Masterpieces: 19
- Top 200 Paintings: 5
- Total Masterworks of Painting: 99 (excellent), All Ranks of the Top 5 Paintings Added (low score is better): 427 (excellent), Mentions of the Top 5 Paintings in Influential Art Books: 76 (world-class)
- Highlight: The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563), 114 cm × 155 cm (45 in × 61 in)
This is our selection of the twelve best artworks of the Kunsthistorisches Museum:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) The Tower of Babel, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1563) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 2) Hunters in the Snow, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1565) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder / Public Domain 3) The Artist's Studio (aka Art of Painting or The Allegory of Painting), Johannes Vermeer van Delft (1666-1668) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 4) Salt Cellar sculpture, Benvenuto Cellini (1543) #3 by Benvenuto Cellini (Jerzy Strzelecki) / CC BY-SA 3.0 5) Jupiter and Io, Correggio (Antonio Allegri) (1489-95) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 6) Madonna in the Meadow, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) (1505-1506) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 7) The Last Judgment, Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1482) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 8) Triptych: The Crucifixion, Rogier van der Weyden (1445) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 9) Portrait of a Venetian, Albrecht Dürer (1505) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 10) The Crowning with Thorns, Caravaggio (c. 1602-1607) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 11) Portrait of Jan de Leeuw, Jan van Eyck (1436) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 12) The Peasant Wedding, Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1568-69) by Wikimedia / Public Domain by Wikimedia / Public Domain
Art and Archaeological Museum
Gallery Space: 14,000 m2 (150,000 ft2)
Galleries: ca. 120
Artworks on Display: ca. 4,800
Established: 1871-1891
Visitors (2015): 1,400,000
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 16
Official Webpage (English): khm.at/en/
The recently successfully modernized Rijksmuseum displays a world-class collection in a beautiful historical building.
Among its 8,000 works, visitors will find famous paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn or Johannes Vermeer.
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- Important Masterpieces: 4
- Top 200 Paintings: 2
- Total Masterworks of Painting: 59 (excellent), All Ranks of the Top 5 Paintings Added (low score is better): 1823 (excellent), Mentions of the Top 5 Paintings in Influential Art Books: 46 (world-class)
- Highlight: The Night Watch, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1642), 363 cm × 437 cm (142.9 in × 172.0 in)
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This is our selection of the five best paintings of the Rijksmuseum:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) The Night Watch, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1642) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 2) The Milkmaid, Johannes Vermeer van Delft (1660) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 3) Portrait of Two Figures from the Old Testament, also known as ‘The Jewish Bride’, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1667) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 4) De Magere Compagnie, Frans Hals (1637) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 5) Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, Johannes Vermeer (1662-1663) by Wikimedia / Public Domain
Art and Archaeological Museum
Gallery Space: 12,000 m2 (130,000 ft2)
Galleries: ca. 205
Artworks on Display: ca. 8,000
Established: 1885
Visitors (2017): 2,160,000
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 19 (online), EUR 20 at the ticket counter
Official Webpage (English): rijksmuseum.nl/en
This excellent and unique museum, located on Museum Island on the River Spree, is famous due to its extraordinary historical reconstructions on an exceptionally large scale.
Highlights include the massive marble Pergamon Altar (which is closed due to renovation until 2023), the giant blue Ishtar Gate, the Market Gate of Miletus, and the Umayyad Palace of Mshatta.
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- Highlight: Ishtar Gate (reconstruction, original about 575 BCE), 14 m (46 ft) high and 30 m (100 ft) wide
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This is our selection of the five best treasures of the Pergamon Museum:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Ishtar Gate (reconstruction, original about 575 BCE) 2) Pergamon Altar (reconstruction, original 2nd century BCE) by Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 3) Market Gate of Miletus (reconstruction, original 2nd century CE) 4) Umayyad Palace of Mshatta (8th century CE) 5) Aleppo Room (Ottoman Period) by Wikimedia / Public Domain
Art and Archaeological Museum
World Heritage Site since 1999 (Museumsinsel)
Gallery Space: 11,000 m2 (118,403 ft2)
Galleries: ca. 40
Artworks on Display: ?
Established: 1910
Visitors (2007): 1,100,000
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 19
Official Webpage (English): smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/pergamonmuseum/home
The Gemäldegalerie holds a remarkable and immense collection of European paintings from the 13th to the 18th centuries in seventy-two rooms.
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- Important Masterpieces: 18
- Top 200 Paintings: 3
- Total Masterworks of Painting: 72 (excellent), All Ranks of the Top 5 Paintings Added (low score is better): 878 (excellent), Mentions of the Top 5 Paintings in Influential Art Books: 45 (excellent)
- Highlight: Amor Vincit Omnia (Amor Victorious), Caravaggio (1602–1603), 156 cm × 113 cm (61 in × 44 in)
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This is our selection of the ten best paintings of the Gemäldegalerie:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Amor Vincit Omnia (Amor Victorious), Caravaggio (1602–1603) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 2) The Adoration of the Kings (Monforte Altar), Hugo van der Goes (1470) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 3) Madonna in the Church, Jan van Eyck (1440) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 4) The Fountain of Youth, Lucas Cranach the Elder (1546) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 5) Portrait of a Young Girl, Petrus Christus (1470) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 6) The Wine Glass, Johannes Vermeer (1658–1660) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 7) Virgin and Child Enthroned with John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, Sandro Botticelli (1545–1510) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 8) Portrait of the Merchant Georg Giese, Hans Holbein the Younger (1814) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 9) Hieronymus Holzschuher, Albrecht Dürer (1526) by Wikimedia / Public Domain 10) Madonna col Bambino, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) (1500–1504) by Wikimedia / Public Domain
Art Museum
Gallery Space: 8,000 m2 (86,000 ft2)
Galleries: 72
Artworks on Display: ca. 1,000
Established: 1830
Visitors (2017): 309,000
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 10
Official Webpage (English): smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/gemaeldegalerie/home
This late 19th-century building is home to an exquisite collection of ancient and classical Greek artifacts.
Key exhibits include the highly fascinating and intriguing Antikythera mechanism (the first known analog computer [150-100 BCE]), the golden mask of Agamemnon (1550–1500 BCE), and the stunning bronze age wall paintings of ancient Thera, Santorini (1700 BCE).
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- Highlight: Antikythera Mechanism (c. 150-100 BCE), 14 centimeters (5.5 in) in diameter
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This is our selection of the ten best artworks of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (click on the pictures to see them in the lightbox):
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Antikythera Mechanism (150-100 BCE) 2) Golden Mask of Agamemnon (1550–1500 BCE) 3) Wall Paintings of Ancient Thera, Santorini (1700 BCE) 4) Jockey of Artemision (c. 150–140 BCE) 5) The Antikythera Ephebe (70–60 BCE) 6) The bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon (c. 550 BCE) by Wikimedia / Public Domain
Archaeological Museum
Gallery Space: 8,000 m2 (86,000 ft2)
Galleries: 64
Artworks on Display: ca. 11,000
Established: 1829/1893
Visitors (2008): 299,691
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 10 (from April 1st until October 31st), EUR 5 (from November 1st until March 31st)
Official Webpage (English): namuseum.gr/en/
Museo Archeologico Nazionale is, without a doubt, one of the finest archaeological museums in the world, housing an immense collection of ancient artifacts, mainly from nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum such as the famous Rooms of the Temple of Isis.
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- Highlight: Woman with wax tablets and stylus (so-called "Sappho"), Artist unknown, (Fresco, c. 55-79 CE), 37 cm × 38 cm (14.5 in × 14.9 in)
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This is our selection of the ten best artworks of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples:
(click on the images to open in lightbox [recommended])
1) Woman with wax tablets and stylus (so-called "Sappho"), Artist unknown (Fresco, 55-79 CE)
by Wikimedia, Naples National Archaeological Museum / Public Domain
2) Portrait of Terentius Neo and his wife, Artist unknown, (Fresco, 20 CE)
by Wikimedia / Public Domain
3) The Alexander Mosaic, Artist unknown (c. 100 BCE), 272 cm × 513 cm
by Wikimedia, Berthold Werner / Public Domain
4) Farnese Bull (222-235 CE)
by Naples National Archaeological Museum / CC BY-SA 2.5
5) Dancing Satyr at House of the Faun, Artist unknown (150 BCE)
by virtusincertus / CC BY-SA 2.0
6) Farnese Hercules (c. 216 CE)
by Naples National Archaeological Museum / CC BY-SA 2.0
7) Achilles' surrender of Briseis to Agamemnon, Artist unknown (Fresco, 1st century CE)
by Wikimedia, Naples National Archaeological Museum / Public Domain
8) Mosaic of marine life (c. 100 BCE)
9) Farnese Atlas, Artist unknown (2nd-century CE)
by Lalupa / CC BY-SA 4.0
10) Flora, Artist unknown (Fresco, 1st century CE)
by Mentnafunangann / Public Domain
Archaeological Museum
Gallery Space: 12,650 m2 (136,163 ft2)
Galleries: 157
Artworks on Display: ca. 10,000
Established: 1777
Visitors (2017): 500,000
Entrance Fee (for 1 Adult): EUR 15, EUR 17 (online)
Official Webpage (English): museoarcheologiconapoli.it/en/
This was part 2 (#11-20) of our list of the best museums in the world in 2024.
Click on the following links to discover part 1 (#1–10), part 2 (#11–20), part 3 (#21–30), part 4 (#31–40), and part 5 (#41–60).
Please check out also the results of our analysis to determine the best cities in the world to visit as a tourist in 2024 and our famous list of the best aquariums in the world in 2024.
