Galleries and Museums around Europe – part I

Louvre is a national museum of Franc and is the most visited museum in the world with 9,7 million visitors per year. It was built in 12th century by Philip II. and was a residence for French kings. The building was upgraded through middle age, the museum was incomplete up to the French revolution when it was open for public. Museum stores more than 380000 objects and displays more than 35000 art works in 8 parts. Among them are also Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, works by Raphael and Michealangelo. Louvre is free for students of EU and free for everyone on first Sundays from October to March. More about the museums on: www.louvre.fr/en.

British National Museum in London is dedicated to human history and is one of the biggest museums in the world. We can see 8000000 objects from all around the world, some are the greatest and most important in the world. Each and every object tells a story of the world through 2 million years. It was founded in 1753 and it was open for public in 1759. Till the year 1997 we could also find the British library and the natural history museum in the same building. In the museum we can see a helmet from Pompeii, the Rosette stone and Egyptian mummies. In year 2013 it had a record number of visitors – 6,7 million. There’s no entrance fee.

Tate Britain and Tate Modern are one of the most famous British galleries in London. Tate Modern is a gallery of modern art and is the most visited modern art gallery with art from 1900 to today. There we can see installations, interactive shows, and exhibitions where the main attraction are living people. We can also take a free guided tour if you feel confused or like you need another explanation. In Tate Britain we can find works from British artists. A Triennial exhibition is also organised here every three years where a chosen curator makes an exhibition of current British artists. A controversial Turner prize exhibition is also placed here. The president of the gallery chooses four artists under 50 years of age in May and opens the exhibition in October. The winner is selected in December. Tate Britain also tries to be interesting for younger public – every first Friday in month there is an evening with live music and performance art. Entrance is free.

Prado Museum in Madrid is also one of the places that you cannot miss while seeing Madrid. We can see art from 12th to 19th century. Beside world art there is also an enormous collection of Spanish pieces with Velasquez on top that did not only gift the museum his works but enriched it with many objects from Italian artists. We can also see the art from home with a Google Earth programme that enables us to study some of the most famous art. Museum is free for younger than 18 years and for students from age 18 to 25.

In Prague National Gallery we can find the biggest art collection in Czech Republic. The special feature of the gallery is that you cannot find everything in one building but can find it in many historic buildings in the city. The biggest collection is in Veletržni Palace where we can see modern art. You can find more information on www.ngprague.cz/en.

Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam is also attractive to the eye. It was established in 1973 and we can find the biggest collection of Van Gogh art there. We can see drawings, paintings and letters from one of the biggest world artists and we can also find out a lot about his life. It is the most visited museum in the Netherlands. Rijksmuseum was established in 1808. It is a place where we can see more than a million objects of history and art. Objects made by computer are also very interesting. 

 

Visiting galleries and museums can mean spending a lot of money on it. To limit your expenses you can choose HI hostel where you can sleep for a fair price and you can get advice on visiting places in the city from employees or from other travellers. HI card owners have a 10% discount in HI hostels which means that you will have more money to visit more museums. You can find more about the HI card and hostels here: www.hihostels.com.