The 20 Best Art Museums in Europe (Updated 2024)
One cannot go to Europe and fail to visit the greatest art museums in the world. In this post, we highlight the museums of Europe including those in Italy (Rome and Florence), Paris, London, Spain (Madrid, Bilbao, and Barcelona), Athens and Amsterdam as our favorite cities to do some museum trekking. If you are particularly interested in Impressionist Art, we also suggest visiting our Best Impressionist Art Museums Post.
Criteria for Selection
Every major city, anywhere in the world, has a great art museum that is a worth a visit. These 20 museums are particular to European countries and are ones that we have visited and enjoyed. Some are the top museums in the world. However, they did not have to be the largest art museum in their home country to make the list, but many have that recognition. Most importantly, they all have great art and allowed us to learn a little bit more about art history,
That is our simple selection criteria, If we visit some new ones in Europe and enjoy them we will need to update the post.
We also have posts about museums in New York City and will developing interesting museum posts about other places that we have visited. If you are interested in learning more about Trip Advisor’s choice of the top European art museums, please visit their post here.
Best Art Museums Europe – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Much like Paris, see below, Amsterdam is a city of Museums. The Rijksmuseum is well known as it is the home of the Dutch Masters and the Van Gogh museum may be one of the most- visited museums in the world. We also enjoyed the Moco, a modern museums, and the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague.
Amsterdam – Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is a must-visit! It’s the national museum of the Netherlands, and one of the most famous museums in Europe. It is dedicated to Dutch arts and history and has an amazing collection of seventeenth-century dutch paintings.
Located at Museum Square in Amsterdam South, the Rijksmuseum is close to other famous attractions like the Vincent Van Gogh Museum and the Moco Museum. The Night Watch by Rembrandt is part of the permanent collection, as are other famous pictures by the Dutch masters.
Surprisingly, one of our favorite Vincent Van Gogh paintings, The Potato Eaters, is also at the Rijksmuseum and not at the Van Gogh Museum.
Amsterdam – Van Gogh Museum
As we stated earlier, Amsterdam is a city of Museums. The Rijksmuseum is the home of the Dutch Masters, however, we prefer the more modern and we believe the more interesting Van Gogh Museum. Perhaps it is our interest in impressionism, but it is also the amazing amount of work that Van Gogh produced in such a short, troubled life. The Museum does an excellent job of taking you through his life.
Amsterdam – Moco Museum
If you want to visit a real fun museum in Amsterdam, srt lovers will enjoy going to the Moco Museum. Not only is there plenty of fun modern art from contemporary artists, but they also have some important works from Banksy’s fine arts collection.
The Hague – Mauritshuis Museum
We decided on our second trip to Amsterdam in 2024, to expand our search for fine arts. Therefore, we decided to take a short trip to The Hague and visit the Mauritshuis Museum. As art lovers likely know, it is well known for iconic masterpieces, such as the Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer.
Best Art Museums Europe – Paris, France
Paris is the “City of Lights” and the best place to find french painting in the world. Of course, the Louvre Museum, with its famous Mona Lisa painting is well know and clearly not a hidden gem. However, we also wish to highlight three other museums that are certainly worth visiting while in the “City of Lights”:
The Louvre
The Louvre is a national museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. At any given point in time, approximately 38,000 objects from prehistory to the 21st century are being exhibited over an area of 72,735 m2 (782,910 sq ft), making it clearly one of the largest museums in the world, if not the largest.
Art enthusiasts will know that the Louvre has one of the greatest collections of middle ages art.
The Louvre also has the world’s largest collection of art, although only about 10% are on display at any given time. It is also the most visited museum in the world.
In particular to having the world’s greatest collections of art, the Louvre is home to some of the most canonical works of Western and Italian painting and other art. Highlights of the museum include the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory.
The Musée d’Orsay
Perhaps almost as well known as the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay is our number one favorite museum to visit while in Paris. It holds the largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionists paintings in the World and unlike its better known cousin, The Louvre, it is easily toured and can be visited thoroughly in less than a day. It hosts paintings from all the well known Impressionist Artists including, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, and Vincent Van Gogh.
Picture By Daniel Vorndran / DXR, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31953569
Okay, the Musee d’Orsay is not exactly a hidden gem. However, this picture with Robin looking out into Paris from behind one of the Museums great clocks is truly one of our best. The building hosting the museum was formerly a train station and as seen in the overall picture of the museum, these clocks are truly impressive. Below, are some of favorite pictures from the museum. The picture on the right is the famed American artist, James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s picture of his mother.
The Musée de l’Orangerie
Two other great museums in Paris that focus on the works of Claude Monet are the Musée de l’Orangerie and the Musée Marmottan Monet.
The Musée de l’Orangerie is located in the western corner of the Tuileries Garden near the Place de la Concorde. It is a little difficult to find, but once you are there you will be rewarded with the sight of the eight famous large Water Lillies paintings of Claude Monet.
The Musée Marmottan Monet
If you haven’t had enough Claude Monet at this point, then you must visit the Musée Marmottan Monet. This museum, located on the western side of Paris, near the Bois de Boulogne, hosts a collection of over 300 hundred of Claude’s paintings. They were gifted to the museum by Claude’s son Michel, his only heir.
For more information about all three of these great collections of impressionist and post-impressionist work (The Musée d’Orsay, The Musée de l’Orangerie, and The Musée Marmottan Monet) please see our Best Impressionists in Paris Post.
And if that is not enough Monet, we highly recommend you visit his home in Giverny. It is a short train ride or river cruise west of Paris following the Seine River on the way out to Normandy. See our discussion and pictures of Giverny in Our Favorite Gardens. If you want to read more about France, please visit Planning a Trip to France Post.
Best Art Museums Europe – Spain
Madrid, much like Paris and Amsterdam is a marvelous city to visit, especially to see the museums and the great works of art. We love the Prado Museum, and we plan on visiting the Reina Sofia National Art Museum on our next trip to Madrid in 2024. Having visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona in 2022, we desperately want to see his famous ‘Guernica” painting.
Prado Museum – Madrid
The Prado Museum is a world-renowned art museum located in central Madrid, Spain. It is the main Spanish national art museum and houses the world’s richest and most comprehensive collection of Spanish painting, as well as masterpieces of other schools of European painting, especially Italian and Flemish art. It is particularly known for its collection of baroque paintings, most notably those of Peter Paul Rubens.
The museum was opened on November 10, 1819, and was originally conceived as a house of science. However, King Ferdinand VII finally decided to use it as a museum to store the royal paintings.
The museum has an extensive collection of over 35,000 works of art, including paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings. Some of the most famous works in the museum’s collection include Las Meninas by Diego Velázquez, The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, and The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya. The museum also has an extensive collection of works by other famous artists such as El Greco, Titian, Rubens, and Rembrandt.
Picasso Museum – Barcelona
The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is one of the best museums in that city. It is a great museum to learn about the famous painter, Pablo Picasso. Notice the dog in the lower two pictures. It is one of this signature signs.
His most famous painting is “Guernica”. Created in 1937, this powerful anti-war piece was a reaction to the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. It is housed in Madrid at the Reina Sofía Museum. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to see it, but we will when we return.
Guggenheim Museum – Bilbao
Perhaps the most underrated city in Spain, Bilbao hosts one of the top museums in all of Europe. Architecturally, the Guggenheim Museum is a true work of art.
In addition to the design of the building, the modern art is impressive as is the friendly dog who meets you at the entrance to the museum.
Best Art Museums Europe – Italy
In many ways, Italy itself is just one big museum. Nevertheless, we found some fascinating museums in Rome and in Florence. If you want to read more about Italy, and in particular our visit to the Vatican Museum, please visit Planning a Trip to Italy Post. Of all the places we visited in Europe, we believe that Italy has the best collection of Renaissance masterpieces.
Rome – Palazzo Barberini
The Palazzo Barberini is a true Hidden Gem, as it is somewhat off the beaten path in Rome. It is a former palace facing the Piazza Barberini in the Rione Tevi section of Rome. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. The paintings are magnificent, including some from the famous artist Carvaggio.
Rome – Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums, while not hidden, located in Vatican City, are certainly a true Gem. While they are normally a pass through to get to the Sistine Chapel, they are actually one of the great art galleries in the world. They display works from the immense collection of fine arts amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy, throughout the centuries, including several of the most well-known sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance Masterpieces in the world. The museums contain roughly 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display. The tapestries, particularly the map of Italy, are in the Vatican Museum and are magnificent.
Florence – Uffizi Gallery
The Uffizi Gallery is one of the most important Italian museums and the most visited. It is also one of the largest and best known in the world. It holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance. The Uffizi is one of the first modern museums. The gallery had been open to visitors by request since the sixteenth century. In 1769 it was officially opened to the public, formally becoming a museum in 1865.
Florence – Accademia Gallery
While perhaps as not as well known as the Uffizi, the Accademia Gallery is well known for its famous statue of David. The museum has other artwork by Michelangelo. It also contains a large collection of paintings by Florentine artists, mostly from the period 1300–1600. It is smaller and more specialized than the Uffizi, the main art museum in Florence.
Verrocchio’s David
At a temporary special exhibitions that we visited in Florence we witnessed another famous statue of David. This one was created by Leonardo da Vinci’s teacher Andrea del Verrocchio. It is rumored that Leonardo served as a model for this sculpture.
Best Art Museums Europe – London, England
London is renowned for its vast number of museums, boasting over 200 of them. This includes world-famous institutions like the British Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Gallery of Art, and The National Portrait Gallery. While London has an impressive collection, it doesn’t hold the title for the most museums in a single city. That distinction goes to New York City, which has over 800 museums and cultural institutions.
British Museum
The British Museum has one of the world’s greatest collections of art including famous Greek and Egyptian ancient artifacts. Having visited the museum in 2024 after having traveled to Athens in Greece and seen the missing pieces of the Parthenon showing up in the British Museum, we were of course confronted with ones of the world’s greatest art controversies. Just why are these famous ancient art collections in London and not in Athens? Not sure of the answer. But, we were told that they will likely not be returned. Because if they were, the next request will be from Egypt to get back all their pieces, leaving the British Museum rather empty.
Nevertheless, we loved the British Museum and highly recommend a visit. It has an outstanding collection, and is clearly one of the best best museums in the United Kingdom. It even contains the original Rosetta Stone.
The Victoria and Albert Museum
The National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery in London is probably the most famous art museum in the country. It has art pieces from famous artists like Da Vinci, Botticelli, and Van Gogh.
Founded in 1824 and located on the North side of Trafalgar Square, this art museum contains one of the world’s largest collections of diverse pieces. Paintings from the Italian Renaissance, French Impressionists and as far back as the medieval period. With attractions like this, it’s not hard to see why it draws in millions of visitors annually.
The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan Van Eyck is in the permanent collection. Jan van Eyck was a pioneering Flemish painter active during the early 15th century. He is often credited with perfecting the technique of oil painting, which allowed for greater detail and realism in his works. There are also paintings from John Singer Sargent.
When we visited the National Gallery in 2022 there was a special, temporary exhibitions featuring Thomas Gainsborough’s Blue Boy (1770). It is a magnificent painting in all respects and the one that we remembered most from our visit.
The National Portrait Gallery
The gallery is located just in back of the National Gallery of Art. The National Portrait Gallery hosts portraits of some of the most famous British citizens of all time. We particularly liked the Portraits of the Royal Family, shown below. We will return to see King Charles’ latest controversial, all red portrait, when it is added to the museum.
Best Art Museums Europe – Athens, Greece
The Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum isone of the most important museums in the world. It houses the findings of only one archaeological site, the Athenian Acropolis. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes. It contains relics from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.
