What are the most important art museums in Europe?

Perhaps one of the most famous museums in the world, the Louvre is home to one of the most famous paintings in the world—the Mona Lisa. Originally a fortress for Philip ll, in 1989 the famous glass pyramid of I.M. Pei was added to the facade, causing quite a stir. Today the museum gets nearly 9 million visitors a year. read more

The museum’s focal point is Western European art—120 rooms in four buildings ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. Rembrandt, Rubens, Tiepolo, Titian, da Vinci, Picasso, Gauguin, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Goya are all represented here. read more

Elsewhere in Spain, the Guggenheim in Bilbao is one of the most unique and beautiful museums in the world, housing wonderful contemporary art and designed by world famous architect Frank Gehry. The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is another great, small, dedicated museum that reveals much about a single artist rather than a grand review of the world's art for all times and places. read more

While both museums are impressive, and the artwork at the Museum of Art History is world class, the Museum of Natural History remains one of the most important of such museums and houses around 30 million artifacts—part of a collection that began over 250 years ago. read more