The 10 cities whose museums are reason enough to go, from the Louvre and the Prado to the Bruegels of Vienna, and the city guide that gets you there.
We ranked these ten on the collections a visitor can actually see in a few days, then on how well each city runs its museums for a visitor: opening hours, booking and price. That second test is why free London sits second and Berlin, with the Pergamon shut, sits ninth.
The Louvre alone would put Paris first, and the Musée d'Orsay across the Seine holds the Impressionists. The Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030; plan around the Louvre shutting on Tuesdays and the Orsay on Mondays.
The national museums have been free since 2001, so the British Museum, the National Gallery, Tate Modern and the V&A charge nothing for their permanent collections. That lets you see London in short visits; book the British Museum's free timed slot ahead.
The Met spans 5,000 years of art on Fifth Avenue, with MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Frick a short ride away. Adult entry to the Met is $30, and New York State residents pay what they wish.
The Prado, the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Reina Sofía line one stretch of the Paseo del Prado, from Velázquez and Goya to Picasso's Guernica. The Prado is free for the last two hours of each day, though you still need a timed ticket.
The Uffizi holds Botticelli's Birth of Venus and the core of Renaissance painting, and the Accademia holds Michelangelo's David. Both close on Mondays and both sell out in season, so book the slots before you book the train.
The Vatican Museums end in the Sistine Chapel, and the Galleria Borghese packs Bernini and Caravaggio into rooms seen on a booked two-hour slot. The Vatican closes on Sundays except the last of the month, when entry is free and the queue is long.
The Kunsthistorisches Museum holds twelve paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the largest group anywhere, and the Upper Belvedere hangs Klimt's The Kiss. Add the Albertina and the MuseumsQuartier and the Habsburg collections fill three days.
The Rijksmuseum builds its Gallery of Honour toward Rembrandt's The Night Watch, and the Van Gogh Museum beside it on Museumplein holds the largest collection of his work. Van Gogh tickets are sold online only, with a start time, so buy them first.
Museum Island puts five museums on one island in the Spree, a UNESCO site since 1999, with the bust of Nefertiti in the Neues Museum. The Pergamonmuseum is shut for restoration and is due to reopen in part on 4 June 2027.
The National Museum of Anthropology is the finest museum of the ancient Americas, with the Aztec Sun Stone at the centre of its Mexica hall. Add Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul in Coyoacán, sold online in advance; both close on Mondays.
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