Musée de l’Orangerie - Paris, France

Closed for renovation work since January 2000, completely reviewed and restructured, the Musée de l’Orangerie was reopened to the public in May 2006. Located in the Place de la Concorde, it is a little jewel in the Parisian museum landscape. If you love Impressionism and Monet (and you can’t love the former without the latter), you have to experience this museum, chosen and arranged by Claude Monet himself to showcase his eight “signature" masterpieces, the Nymphéas.

Inside: Two new rooms, oval shaped, host eight large Monet waterlillies. The rooms are aseptic, white walls, white veils covering the ceiling, it feels like a spaceship. But what is really extra-terrestrial is on the walls. Slightly curving following the oval shape of the rooms, in the first space four beautiful water reflections of lilies, trees, and leaves are the most impressive statement of the impressionist Master. Monet played with the color, each painting stressing a different reflection dominated at time by blue, green, or yellow. In the second room, you can admire the reflection of tree trunks on the water. This is amazing stuff. Just sit on one of the benches in the middle of the room and relax. The museum is a “haven of peaceful meditation,” which reminds one of the futuristic room at the end of time and space in 2001: A Space Odyssey. If you are short of time, a half an hour is enough. But one should not miss the remaining collection downstairs. On concrete walls, one can admire a fabulous concentration of masterpieces from the collection of art merchant Paul Guillaume, a highly original insight into modern art featuring Cézanne, Renoir, Picasso, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Matisse, Derain, Modigliani, Soutine, Utrillo and Laurencin. My favorites are: “Fraises” by Renoir (1905), “Portrait de M.elle Chanel” by Laurencin (1923), and “Odalisque a la culotte grise” by Matisse (1927). This museum is a gem. Don’t miss it. (Last visit 10/2008)

Musee Marmottan - Paris, France

Musee Marmottan is one of my favorites, not in Paris, but in the world. In the former hunting lodge of the Duke of Valmy (today located close to the Bois de Boulogne, in an elegant residential neighborhood), you can enjoy more than 60 paintings by Claude Monet, the world's largest collection of the famous impressionist. Monet wanted to paint something different, not what you see with your eyes, but what you feel. And he succeeded. He is the Master among the Masters.

In the Marmottan there is never too many people, especially when you compare with the huge crowd visiting Paris museums. Even if you are in Paris for a short weekend, you can still visit the Marmottan. It won't take you more than an hour or so. Of course, one can spend hours just sitting in front of the Waterlilies. No photos are allowed and every sign is strictly in French.

Inside: My suggestion is to go straight downstairs, where you can admire most of the collection in the same room. I got lost in front of the two London, The Parliament works (especially the sunset one) and I always get chills facing the famous Impression, Soleil Levant (the painting that gave the name to the movement Impressionism). Strawstuck is such an exercise in light and shadow through colors, while two of the numerous facades of the Cathedral de Rouen are real masterpieces. There is a lovely early Monet painting of a house reflected in a traditional way on water, when the Master was still drawing the line of the horizon. And then the series of Japanese bridges and Waterlilies from his garden in Giverny. Go close and you will see just layers of colors. The step back and squeeze your eyes, you will see the bridge surrounded by weeping willows. Magnifique!

On the upper level there some more Waterlilies. Here you can also admire the excellent work of Berthe Morisot. Undervalued for over a century, possibly because she was a woman, she should be considered among the top Impressionist painters. Her work focuses on domestic life, is fluid, 'legere', and colorful. Then, you should spend few more minutes strolling around the main rooms of the house which containts the original furniture. When you leave the museum, try to imagine this house in the wood with stags and deers running around, and the Duke’s party on horses ready for the hunting day. Not that hard, is it? (Last visited 10/2008)

Milwaukee Art Museum - Milwaukee, United States

The Milwaukee Art Museum has become a symbol of modern Milwaukee thanks to the eye-catching Quadracci Pavilion, designed by Santiago Calatrava in 2001. It is pure Calatrava! Modern, bright, white steel and glass, impossible to miss.

Outside: With its movable wings expanded to their full, the building looks either like a large white bird landing on Lake Michigan or the tail of a white whale emerging from the water. It is superb. The Museum’s signature wings, the Burke Brise Soleil, form a movable sunscreen with a 217-foot wingspan. The Brise Soleil is made up of 72 steel fins. It takes 3.5 minutes for the wings to open or close. Sensors on the fins continually monitor wind speed and direction; whenever winds exceed 23 mph for more than 3 seconds, the wings close automatically. And given that you are on Lake Michigan, you need some luck to see the wings open.

Inside: The gateway to the museum is the grand Windhover Hall, awash in white with marble flooring, filled with light through a front window and a glass ceiling located directly below the wings. On a sunny day, you need sunglasses! It is Calatrava’s postmodern interpretation of a Gothic Cathedral, complete with flying buttresses, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and a central nave topped by a 90-foot-high glass roof. The hall’s front is shaped like the prow of a ship, with floor-to-ceiling windows looking over Lake Michigan. Adjoining the central hall are two tow-arched promenades, with expansive views of the lake, that remind me of a spaceship. Don't miss the Cafe' Calatrava, right below the main hall. It offers superb views on the lake with floor-to-ceiling windows in a modern design environment.There’s art, too. Once you have finished admiring the building, you can spend a good couple of hours in the Museum’s permanent collection which includes Old Masters, 19th and 20th century art, American decorative arts, German Expressionism, folk and Haitian art, and American art after 1960. Modern highlights include Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pablo Picasso, Jóan Miro, Mark Rothko, Robert Gober, Roy Litchtenstein, Lucio Fontana, and Andy Warhol. The museum holds the beautiful Monet's Waterloo Bridge, Sunlight Effect, and Caillebotte's Boating on the Yerres, with its excellent water reflections. (Last visited 05/2006)

Museum of Barbarism - Nicosia, Northern Cyprus

The Museum of Barbarism is not a museum. It is a run down house in a quiet suburb to the west of the Old City, on the Turkish-Cypriot side of Nicosia. Here, on 24 December 1963 a mother and her children were shot dead in their bath by EOKA (Cypriot Liberation Movement) gunmen (Greek Cypriots). The bloodstained bathtub is retained as one of the exhibits in this rather macabre and quite disgusting place. You can see bullet holes on the wall, and photos of Turkish Cypriots murdered in the villages of Agios Vasilios and Agios Sozomenos. Although these events really happened, this is one of the last bastions of the Turkish-Cypriot administration propaganda struggle against the Greek-Cypriots. Go only if you are interested in the recent Cypriot history and wish to better understand the use of symbols, propaganda, and history on the divided island. (Last visit 07/2002)

National Struggle Museum - Nicosia, Cyprus

This museum is for those interested in the recent history of the island. It displays documents, photos and other memorabilia from the bloody 1955-59 national liberation struggle against the British.

Cyprus Archaeological Museum - Nicosia, Cyprus

If there is one museum you want to visit in Nicosia, this is the one. Located at 1 Leoforos Mouseiou Street, this museum houses archaeological artifacts from all over the island. Some objects date back to the 8th millennium B.C.

Outside: just go inside, the building erected in 1883 is in need of renovation.

Inside: The collection is remarkable. Highlights include a display of terracotta figures from the 7-6 century B.C., coming from a castle in Northern Cyprus. Look out for the three limestone lions and two sphinxes found in Tamassos necropolis, which show a definite Egyptian influence and were discovered only in 1997. You can also see the famous statue Aphrodite of Soli, which is featured on tourist posters and on the 5 pound banknote. An enormous bronze statue of the Emperor Septimus Severus can hardly be overlooked. The rest is an abundant and impressive, but quite boring, exhibits of bowls, craters, and statuettes from Cyprus' archaeological past. A unique feature of the museum lies in the basement, where several graves rest in a dark cellar complete with skeletal remains and grave adornments that have been reconstructed. (Last visit 07/2002)

Museum Nejjarine Museum of Wood Arts and Crafts - Fez, Morocco

The Musée Nejjarine des Arts et Métiers du Bois is a 14th-century "caravanserrai," without a doubt the Fez medina's most modern restored monument. The three-story building is beautiful, with wood decoration and a patio. You can have tea on the rooftop and admire a great panoramic view over the medina. Originally, the building was a hotel where travelers could rest their camels and horses, get food, and sleep in one of the small rooms on the upper floors. There is also a former jail cell on the ground floor. The building displays Morocco's various native woods, 18th- and 19th-century woodworking tools, and a series of antique wooden doors and pieces of furniture. Nothing special, but the building is really fine and worth a visit. Also, after spending a day in the intricated pathways of the medina, you will appreciate the museum's palatial, cedar-ceiling public bathrooms, certainly the finest of their kind in Fez. (Last visit 03/2000)

Guggenheim Bilbao - Bilbao, Spain

There is only one reason to go to see the Guggenheim Bilbao, and it is a very good one: the building. Architect Frank Gehry has achieved a daring, sculptural design that many see as the foretaste of architecture in the third millennium. This building is enough of a reason to visit Bilbao, rather off track from main Spanish touristic areas. But, the town also offers other outstanding architectures and great food.

Outside: Spend your time walking around the building, first from a certain distance, and then right under it to capture the details of every curve and shape. Completed in 1997, the building is an extraordinary combination of interconnecting shapes. Orthogonal blocks in limestone contrast with the curved forms covered in titanium. Glass walls provide the building with the light it needs. The half-millimetre thick "fish-scale" titanium panels that cover the building reflect light and water in different ways and colors over the course of each day's 24 hours. It seems impossible that the building actually stands, being so sinuous and contorted. It is amazing! The museum was featured at the beginning of the James Bond movie "The World is Not Enough" with Pierce Brosnan.

Inside: Again, it is the building you really want to admire once inside. Curved white walls and steel and glass windows form a post-modern cathedral with huge spaces for art installations. The permanent collection is fine, if you haven't seen any of the other Guggenheim museums. There are works by de Kooning, Rosenquist, Rothko, Serra, Warhol and many other contemporary and avant-guarde artists, in particular Basque and Spanish artists. When I went, there was an interesting exhibition of Giorgio Armani's sartorial creations. (last visit 05/2000)

British Museum - London, UK

Where should I begin describing the British Museum? It is a must for anyone interested in art, with over six million artifacts and eighty galleries, ranging from archaeological fragments to massive statues from all over the world. There is no right or wrong way to visit the British Museum. Every time you visit, you will discover something new. My suggestions is to focus on the highlights during your first visit, and then explore section by section on your future trips.

Outside: The origins of the British Museum lie in the will of the physician and collector, Sir Hans Sloane, who wanted his collection of more than 71,000 objects to be preserved intact after his death. He bequeathed it to King George II, but the King had no interest. The Parliament was persuaded to accept the gift and established the British Museum in 1753. In 1754 the British Museum acquired Montagu House in Bloomsbury, and it remains on this site today. Around the original house, many extensions were built in the years. The last renovation transformed the Great Court, the Museum's inner courtyard, with the famous Reading Room at its centre, now covered by a spectacular glass roof , into the largest covered public square in Europe. Designed by Norman Foster and Partners, the glass dome is fantastic, built like a giant jigsaw puzzle! Visitors have now direct access west into the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery, east into the King's Library and north into the Wellcome Trust Gallery. Inside the courtyard, two monumental staircases encircle the outside of the Reading Room and lead to the Great Court Gallery, and the Court Restaurant. From the restaurant level a bridge link takes visitors into the upper galleries of the Museum.

Before beginning to visit the collection, you should go inside the Reading Room, at the center of the Great Court. Using cast iron, concrete, glass and the latest heating and ventilation systems, it was a masterpiece of mid-nineteenth century technology. The bookshelves surrounding it were also made of iron to take the great weight of the books and protect them against fire. In all, the library containes three miles (4.8 kilometres) of bookcases and twenty-five miles (forty kilometres) of shelves. It opened on 2 May 1857 and for more than 100 years the Reading Room was a centre of learning. Among those who spent time in the room were Karl Marx, Lenin, Bram Stoker, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Inside: Start with the King’s Library, at the right of the Great Court. This is not necessarily the most interesting part of the museum, but you can see how the British Museum looked in the 1800s. Built between 1823 and 1827, restoration work between 2000 and 2003 revived the room to its original glory. You can admire the oak and mahogany floor and classical architectural features, with the yellow and gold ornamentation and the re-gilded balcony. Thousands of objects from the Museum collection are crammed in huge wood cabinets, as it was in use in the Age of Enlightenment.
Then go for the highlights: the Rosetta Stone at the entrance of the Egyptian Hall (room 4), the Parthenon sculptures (room 18, awesome!), the sculptures from the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos (room 21), the Oxus Treasure from ancient Iran (room 52) and the beautiful Assyrian carvings and statues (room 6-10). The Asia rooms hold the richest collections of Chinese art in Europe (room 33). Room 34 has some of the finest Islamic pottery, while the Korean Gallery features a full scale scholar's house, which you can only see in Korean museums (room 67). The Aztec selection is phenomenal, with the famous turquoise mosaic mask of the god Tezcatlipoca (room 27).

I find the Africa section one of the best in the world (room 25). Look for the brass plaques from Benin. When they came to Europe at the end of the 1800s, people believed the plaques to be fake because they thought impossible for Africa to produce such beautiful artifacts (!). The Medieval Britain section features the famous 2000-year-old bog body known as the Lindow man (room 50), while in room 41 you can see the Medieval Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. And of course don't miss the vast collection of Egyptian and Sudanese objects (a lot of mummies in room 62 and 63!), and the Greek and Roman art in rooms 11-23. (Last visit 07/2008)

Jardin Majorelle - Marrakesh, Morocco

Jardin Majorelle, a beautiful garden and Islamic art museum, is a colorful oasis of calm in dusty and chaotic Marrakesh. This was Yves Saint Laurent's haven of peace in the city he made his second home after Paris and where his ashes were scattered after his death in June 08. It is a quirky, magical, inspirational place. Try to get there at opening time, before the rest of weekending Marrakesh turns up after breakfast.

Outside: the magnificent garden with its elaborate cacti, yuccas, water lilies, jasmines, bougainvilleas, and vividly colored canary-yellow and florescent blue pathways, vases, fountains, and buildings is a joy of sight. The garden was built by the French painter Majorelle.

Inside: the blue house built in 1931 by the architect Paul Sinoir shelters the Islamic Art Museum, the personal collection of Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent. It presents objects of Islamic art coming from the Maghreb, the Orient, Africa and Asia. It is an extraordinary collection with ceramics and potteries of a great value, weapons and magnificent jewelry, textiles, carpets, woodworks (the wood doors are amazing) and other treasures. A space is also devoted to the works of Jacques Majorelle. (Last visited 05/2001)

National Museum of Korea - Seoul, South Korea

Once in Seoul, if you want to see another museum after the Leeum, you should go to the National Museum of Korea. You will experience a crash-course in Korean history and art, just strolling along the three floors of the Museum, manageable in a couple of hours. And it is free!

Outside: The building in granite, steel, and glass, reinterprets the traditional architectural spirit of Korea in a contemporary style. There is an open plaza between the two buildings which symbolizes maru (wooden floor), a unique architectural space of Korea. There is a pond in the center of the building site, which, with the backdrop of the Korean mountains, creates the sense of harmony and balance as Yin and Yang. Inside: You should start with Paleolithic (who knew there were dolmen in Korea as well!). The Silla dynasty era is the most impressive, with its golden crowns and belts. You can walk through the long section on calligraphy. Koreans invented metal mobile print almost 100 years before Guttenberg printed his famous bible in 1455. The section on porcelain is beautiful. Don't miss the green porcelain vases (celadon), shaped like reversed anphoras. Asian silk screens are also featured prominently. My favorites are the Japanese screens (take a look at the beautiful 14th century plum blossom in ink strokes and light colors). There are also rooms with Asian art, although if you have seen the Metropolitan Museum in NY, you have already seen more. (Last visit 06/2008)

Leeum Samsung Museum of Art - Seoul, South Korea

Leeum Samsung is a beautiful museum to visit. Composed by three radically different buildings, it displays a superb collection of Korean traditional art and serious modern and contemporary art. If you have only one day in Seoul, this is the museum to visit.

Outside: The first building looks like a brick castle, by the Swiss architect Mario Botta. If the outside does not capture your attention, wait to see the inside white staircase, shaped like a funnel, with large windows at the top and smaller at the bottom. Superb!
The second building by the French architect Jean Nouvel is in black stones (wrapped in metal cages), wood and metal with large windows. Excellent!
The third building is by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, in glass and steel. Inside, a spaceship-shaped building within the main building is a brilliant surprise.

Inside: Botta's building displays a beautiful collection of Korean traditional art, collected by the late Samsung chairman. I loved the huge 10th century bronze pagoda, the jade vases, and a minimalist 1915 silk screen by An Jung-sik representing a village view with mountains.
In the second building there is a good collection of modern and contemporary art. There are few Korean paintings from the 1930s, clearly inspired by Monet and Cezanne. There are 3 Rothkos, one cut canvas by Fontana, and Sketches of the Gates by Christo (here called an environmental artist!). Some don't consider Damien Hirst an artist. Whatever he is, his "Dance of Death," a window cabinet with thousands of colored pills is phenomenal! The painting Waterdrops by Korean Kim Tschang-yeul is also eye-catching and inspirational.
The third building is for temporary exhibitions. When I was there, I saw a nonsense exhibit on the concept of a vacuum. (Last visit 06/2008)

Tate Britain - London, UK

In case you wonder whether it is still worth visiting the Tate Britain (the old Tate Gallery) after the opening of the new Tate Modern, the answer is yes! Keep an eye on the exhibitions, because there is always something interesting.

Outside: The building was opened in 1897, by the Thames on Millbank, at the time an out of the way area of central London. The site had previously been occupied by a large prison. The building was the dream of the sugar magnate and art collector Henry Tate, who paid for the building and endowed it with his own collection of British art.

Inside: The layout is like that of the old museums, with big entrance hall and a large staircase. If you like the grandiose and mythological landscapes by Joseph M.W. Turner, this is the place for you. There is also an impressive collection of British royal portraits. The section of British contemporary art can easily go unseen. When I visited, there was the highly interesting exhibition "The Lure of the East." I knew how politically charged such an exhibition can be, after all has been said on orientalism. Personally, I didn't see anything detracting local cultures in these paintings. Of course, they are sometimes unrealistically exotic, and always reflect Western perspectives. But most emerged from the very real fascination with a newly discovered world and culture, like James Sant's "Captain Colin Mackenzie," who, after serving in captivity in what is now Afghanistan, asked to be portrayed in local Afghan costumes. John Frederick Lewis's paintings of Cairo's bazaar (in which he often portraits himself in local costumes) are fresh and exotic in his way. Thomas Seddon's landscapes of the land around Jerusalem are magnificent. If you approach this art with an open mind, the exhibition is educational and fascinating. (Last visit 07/2008)

Kunstmuseum - Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Yes, Liechtenstein is just larger than Manhattan, but with its magnificent Alpine views it is definitely worth a visit. And, if you are making an effort to come this way, you should visit the Kunstmuseum. Unfortunately, the original Liechtenstein Prince's collection of old masters has been relocated in Vienna. But temporary exhibitions can be delightful.

Outside: Built by the Swiss architects Meinrad Morger and Heinrich Degelo, along with Christian Kerez, the building is a "black box" of concrete and black basalt stone. The smooth surface of the facade invites touching and reflects the surroundings. A row of white windows is open at the bottom of the black cube. Walk by at night because the effect is very coo

l. A big Botero woman lays naked on one side of the building.

Inside: White and clear, as black and dark as the outside. When I visited, there was a good exhibition of 17th century South Italian landscapes by Dutch painters. The perm

anent collection includes modern and contemporary pieces, mainly sculptures and installations from abstract and

minimal art, conceptual art and Arte Povera.

Depending on the number of exhibits, this museum is a pleasant two-hour break from hikes or skiing. (Last visit 08/2008)