There are destinations that people visit for their beaches, gastronomy, or nightlife. And then there are destinations that people visit because they have something no other place in the world has: a painting, an artifact, a fragment of history that changes the way in which you see the world. The best museums in the world are exactly that: portals to different times, cultures, and ways of understanding existence. With Royal Holiday Vacation Club and TravelXtra, these experiences are within reach for those who travel with vision and purpose.
THE LOUVRE, PARIS: THE MOST VISITED MUSEUM IN THE WORLD
With over 35,000 art pieces from ancient times to the 19th century, the Louvre Museum is the absolute reference for universal art. Its galleries cover full civilizations: Greece, Rome, Egypt, the Middle East, and the big European Renaissance artists.
Its most famous piece is, of course, the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, but the Louvre goes beyond that one painting. The Venus de Milo, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Hammurabi Code are only some of the treasures that make this visit an experience that’s impossible to sum up in a few hours.
Paris, with its gastronomy, architecture, and incomparable cultural offer, is the perfect frame for dedicating the Louvre the time it deserves. Discover Carcassonne, the French city that will captivate you.
2. THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON: EIGHT MILLION YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY
Founded in 1753 and free to enter, the British Museum in London has over 8 million pieces from every continent and period. Its focus is unique: sharing humanity’s history as a global tale, without borders and hierarchies.
The Rosetta Stone, key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics, is its most iconic piece. You’ll also find the Ramesses II, the Standard of Ur, and the Parthenon friezes, brought from Athens in the 19th century. London, a cosmopolitan and effervescent city, offers an opportunity to combine a visit to the British Museum with a cultural week including the West End, the Tate Modern, and the royal parks.
3. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (MET), NEW YORK: TWO MILLION WORKS OF ART BY CENTRAL PARK
Located on Fifth Avenue with views of Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is one of the most influential artistic centers in the world. Its permanent collection covers five million years of history and over two million pieces: Egyptian art, Japanese medieval armors, European Renaissance paintings, Islamic art, and a vibrant section of contemporary art.
Among its pieces, you’ll find the Temple of Dendur, transported stone by stone from Egypt, and an extraordinary collection of French Impressionism. A visit to the Met can be combined with Broadway, the High Line, or the Manhattan neighborhoods for a 100% complete New York week.
4. THE VATICAN MUSEUMS, ROME: THE SISTINE CHAPEL AND THE ART OF THE SACRED
The Vatican Museums are some of the most extraordinary museum complexes in the world, with a collection reflecting centuries of papal patronage and a concentration of art that you can’t compare. Its kilometres of galleries end at the Sistine Chapel, where the fresco painted on the ceiling by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, with The Creation of Adam as a central image, is still one of the most contemplated and photographed works in the history of art.
The School of Athens by Raphael, the Greco-Latin sculpture collection, and the papal rooms complete a tour that demands time, calm, and disposition.
Rome, the eternal city, offers the perfect context for a stay that includes the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and Italian gastronomy.
5. THE HERITAGE, SAINT PETERSBURG: THREE MILLION PIECES IN AN IMPERIAL PALACE
The State Hermitage Museum is part of the magnificent Winter Palace of the Russian Tsars right by the Neva River. It is one of the largest and richest museums in the world. Its collection exceeds 3 million works and includes pieces by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Picasso, and Matisse, as well as an extraordinary section of ancient art and archaeological artifacts from all of Eurasia.
The building’s architecture is spectacular in itself: its golden halls, marble stairs, and painted ceilings make each room a unique aesthetic experience, even before looking at the paintings. Saint Petersburg, with its neoclassical architecture and white summer nights, is a destination that surprises everyone discovering it for the first time.
EXPERIENCE IT WITH ROYAL HOLIDAY VACATION CLUB AND TRAVELXTRA
The best museums in the world are found in some of the most fascinating cities: Paris, London, New York, Rome, and Saint Petersburg. With Royal Holiday Vacation Club and the TravelXtra program, you can access these destinations with the flexibility, quality, and service your trip deserves. Designing an itinerary that combines culture, gastronomy, and rest is much simpler when you have a travel ally that knows the world just as much as you know it.
The art awaits. You just have to choose where to begin. Plan your route to visit the world’s best museums with Royal Holiday Vacation Club and TravelXtra. The world is a gallery: start to discover it.