Top 5 Favorite Museums (Besides the Met)

[Mullenax]

My top 5 are not necessarily the best, just the ones I could go to once a week and never get bored. I ruled out the Metropolitan Museum of Art because I feel like it's the default answer (I could be wrong).

1. American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore MD
2. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC
3. International Center of Photography, NYC
4. US Air Force Museum, Dayton OH
5. Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC

[hammersavage]

Cooperstown if I can't say the Met.

[Snoogans]

The Biff Tannen museum

[underdog]

Cooperstown if I can't say the Met.

She said Top 5. You sure hammersavaged the question.

[TooLowBrow]

museum of the city of new york

Museum of the Moving Image, ny

Andy Warhol Museum, pitt

[hammersavage]

She said Top 5. You sure hammersavaged the question.

You think a person as uneducated as me has even been to 5 museum's?

[weekapaugjz]

1. british museum of history
2. van gogh museum
3. musee d'orsay
4. the louvre
5. prado museum

[TooLowBrow]

5. prado museum

sounds dangerous



http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/ctrl-v/2008/10/22/prado.jpg

[Mullenax]

1. british museum of history
2. van gogh museum
3. musee d'orsay
4. the louvre
5. prado museum

Jealous much!
I even went to Amsterdam, but the Van Gogh museum was closing in 15 minutes and I never went back. I need to up my travel, for sure.

[weekapaugjz]

Jealous much!
I even went to Amsterdam, but the Van Gogh museum was closing in 15 minutes and I never went back. I need to up my travel, for sure.

ive been lucky enough to go on several trips to europe. whenever i would go to a new city i would have to check out the some of the museums they had to offer. there is one in brussels which was pretty amazing as well, i forget the name of it though. they had a lot of ancient history with greek, roman, and egyptian artifacts. another one i really enjoyed but was very small was one in ghent, belgium. the collection of flemish tapestries were some of the most amazing things i have ever seen.

[weekapaugjz]

the philadelphia museum of art has a pretty amazing collection as well. they have a full cloister from a french monastery and a nice collection of medieval armor.

the last time i was there, a frida kahlo exhibition was in town. i'd never really known much of her work before that but i was blown away.

[drusilla]

the last time i was there, a frida kahlo exhibition was in town. i'd never really known much of her work before that but i was blown away.

i when i was in cabo 2 years ago we went to a restaurant called "frida's" & it had a lot of her work on display. it's all so fascinating to look at.



mfa, boston
museum of natural history, nyc
galleria dell'accademia, florence
national museum of american history, dc
the hall of science, nyc

[Mullenax]

ive been lucky enough to go on several trips to europe. whenever i would go to a new city i would have to check out the some of the museums they had to offer. there is one in brussels which was pretty amazing as well, i forget the name of it though...

I did go to the Rijksmuseum, something in Brussels, and several major museums in Prague including the one dedicated to Alfonse Mucha. They were phenomenal on a college trip; unfortunately, I was nineteen (and drunk) and don't particularly remember them individually. That's the bummer about those trips, they were only offered to underclassmen who didn't possess the background or maturity to appreciate everything fully. It was great fun.

[weekapaugjz]

I did go to the Rijksmuseum, something in Brussels, and several major museums in Prague including the one dedicated to Alfonse Mucha. They were phenomenal on a college trip; unfortunately, I was nineteen (and drunk) and don't particularly remember them individually. That's the bummer about those trips, they were only offered to underclassmen who didn't possess the background or maturity to appreciate everything fully. It was great fun.

the rijksmuseum was closed for renovations when i was in amsterdam. i was really looking forward to seeing it. i was pretty much drunk/stoned my last trip (6 weeks in belgium) to remember some of the names of the one in brussels and ghent. i want to go back so freaking bad.

[hedges]

1. Art Institute of Chicago
2. Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Wash. D.C.
3. National Gallery of Art / East Building, Wash. D.C.
4. The Louvre, Paris
5. The Pompidou, Paris

[Mullenax]

the rijksmuseum was closed for renovations when i was in amsterdam. i was really looking forward to seeing it. i was pretty much drunk/stoned my last trip (6 weeks in belgium) to remember some of the names of the one in brussels and ghent. i want to go back so freaking bad.

If I didn't stuff all the receipts from my pockets each night into a book I don't think I'd remember when I was where; it was the end of the era of film cameras without a date/time stamp, and yeah I was drunk the entire two weeks. Frankly, I wasted it by drinking Heineken and gawking at the red light district and chainsaw jugglers.

[PapaBear]

I've pretty much just been to the more old school Smithsonian museums and the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. But I do have fond memories of the Mariners Museum in Newport New, VA from when I was around 7 years old.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y229/snowmaninva66/Dimagescans0392Large.jpg

Edit: BTW... My evil older brother tried to make me believe a bird would fly out of the barrel and hit me in the eye.

[boosterp]

Wow, I have been to many. From the Smithsonian to smaller museums through Europe and nautical museums in Mexico.

It would be hard to pinpoint 5.

Loved the medical museum at the university in Heidelberg Germany, a Mayan museum (can't recall the name) in Mexico, an auto museum I think in San Diego, and my local favorite is the history museum here in Houston.

[spoon]

Man I love (...the Met).

[weekapaugjz]

As for medical museums, the mutter museum in Philly was a cool place to check out.

[Pitdoc]

...and I wasn't impressed with the Rijksmuseum. Other than the big hall with all the Rembrandts, it seemed to be about 80% a museum of 16th and 17th century furniture.However, if you DO go there, as you exit the big hall just to the right of the Nightwatch, there is a 150 yr old table there that has total mother of pearl inlay that is probably the most beautiful table I've ever seen .
The Van Gogh museum ,IMHO, has much better artwork.

...

...

..and, of course, you could get the company of a lovely lady then for only 25 bucks in the red-light district

[Foster]

1. Museum of Modern Art, NY
2. Museum of Natural History, NY
3. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, DC
4. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Annex, Dulles Airport
5. National Museum of American History, DC

This thread reminds me I'm long over due for a museum visit

[Ritalin]

Art Institute, Chicago
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth
Moma, New York
Louvre


and a crazy one: the Queens Museum of Art, only because of the diorama.

[ToiletCrusher]

Art Institute of Chicago
Albright Knox

[drjoek]

Cooperstown National Baseball HOF
Smithsonians National Museum of American History
Sistine Chapel awe inspiring the whole Apostolic Palace and the chapel is spectacular
Uffizi Gallery Florence
Santa Maria delle Grazie Milan, Italy.
Only one piece of art in this Leonardo's The Last Supper BUT it was the greatest "tour' Ive ever taken First you only have a 15 minute window that they are very strict about So you would think they would bring you in to see it but rather they bring you in and bring you to the other side of the room "paint' a visual portrait of the circumstances of the frescoe enploring it from afar then you are allowed to move close and appreciate it up close. Then whoosh your out again.
Loved it

[ADF]

1. The Louvre
2. MoMA
3. National Air and Space Museum
4. Library of Congress (maybe not a museum, but the historical documents are amazing)
5. Holocaust Museum

[JerseyRich]

1. Smithsonian
2. Whitney
3. Tate Modern(London)
4. British Museum(London)
5. Solomon R. Guggenheim

Special Mention: The College of Physicians of Philadephia: Mutter Museum

[~Katja~]

Naturkundemuseum Leipzig (http://www.leipzig.de/de/extern/naturkundemuseum/)
Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig (http://www.mdbk.de/start.php4?id=125)
Phila Museum of Art (http://www.philamuseum.org/visit/)
Grünes Gewölbe (http://www.skd-dresden.de/de/museen/gruenes_gewoelbe.html) (I visit that every time I go to Dresden, I am still impressed by the cherry pit with the 185 carved faces on it... it's something that stuck with me since my first visit there.) http://www.reiseportal-dresden.de/rpd/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/seite-museumstour-kirschkern.jpg

Pergamonmuseum Berlin (http://www.museumsinsel-berlin.de/index.php?lang=de&page=2_6_1)

With my son we really enjoy the Please touch museum in Philly.
I still want to visit the Muttermuseum!!!!

[KC2OSO]

4. US Air Force Museum, Dayton OH


Nice. This is a great one. My son and I are heading there this week combined with the Dayton Hamvention. Tons of planes and some rockets. Makes for a good trip.

[Mullenax]

Nice. This is a great one. My son and I are heading there this week combined with the Dayton Hamvention. Tons of planes and some rockets. Makes for a good trip.

I love the stuff, but my favorite thing about it is the staged mannequins giving each other "thumbs up" from across the hangar. There are relaxed mannequin scenes, intense mannequin scenes... it's such a curious aspect of the display methods.

[Ritalin]

Nice. This is a great one. My son and I are heading there this week combined with the Dayton Hamvention. Tons of planes and some rockets. Makes for a good trip.

I love the stuff, but my favorite thing about it is the staged mannequins giving each other "thumbs up" from across the hangar. There are relaxed mannequin scenes, intense mannequin scenes... it's such a curious aspect of the display methods.

Yeah, I forgot that one, too. It's an outstanding museum, one of a kind.

Unfortunately, you have to go to Dayton to see it.

[weekapaugjz]

Special Mention: The College of Physicians of Philadephia: Mutter Museum

I really wish the mutter museum allowed photography. There was some crazy shit that I wanted pictures from there.

[Thebazile78]

Does the Cloisters count as the Met? 'Cause I love the Cloisters as much as the Met ... and am forever going to the Costume Institute to see their special exhibitions. (They're running one called "Model as Muse" right now and it sounded neat. And, call me kooky, but I really enjoyed the Superhero Fashion one last summer.)

[~Katja~]

I really wish the mutter museum allowed photography. There was some crazy shit that I wanted pictures from there.

I bet you can take non-flash pictures... but their website has some virtual interactive images on.

[weekapaugjz]

I bet you can take non-flash pictures... but their website has some virtual interactive images on.

I'm pretty sure its "no photography allowed".

[~Katja~]

I'm pretty sure its "no photography allowed".

I know, but given today's compact camera sizes I think more pictures than ever are taken and floating around the web.
Most museum have a no photography policy though.

[Thebazile78]

I know, but given today's compact camera sizes I think more pictures than ever are taken and floating around the web.
Most museum have a no photography policy though.

It depends on the type of exhibition.

Usually, if the museum shop is selling some sort of guide or catalogue, there's no photography allowed (usually no photos in special exhibitions @ the Met, etc.) because they want to make $$ off the exhibition. Especially at a place like the Met where they don't charge you extra for the special exhibitions.

Most art museums will allow photos, but they flip out if you use a flash.

Also, sketching is usually allowed but not full-on painting. Just read the signs.