Also, the second most popular museum in the world is the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. The Louvre is only the 13th most popular museum in the world. The most popular museum in Germany is Topography of Terror. The most popular museum in Hungary is the House of Terror Museum.
You'd think art would be more popular, but perhaps it's just not that popular with the sort of people who go into TripAdvisor and write reviews.
Anyway, The Museum of Broken Relationships began as an art project.
Museum of Broken Relationships is a physical and virtual public space created with the sole purpose of treasuring and sharing your heartbreak stories and symbolic possessions. It is a museum about you, about us, about the ways we love and lose.From the museum's website:
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45 comments:
Seems it's going to be a slow day in Madison.
I have long thought that Washington, D.C. needs a Museum of Senseless Government Acts
Do I value the opinion of those who want to share their opinion obsessively on TripAdvisor? What actual qualifications do the Reviewers actually have?
I say that as someone who occasionally will review things on Yelp, and who will use Yelp to find a place to eat. But I don't really believe any review I find.
I once stumbled across a Yelp-er who sounded exactly like Titus by the way. Can't remember the restaurant.
I did like the Spy Museum in DC. It was interesting, although I am not sure I learned very much. I didn't go on TripAdvisor (or Yelp) to register my reaction however.
The Stasi museum in Leipzig was both fascinating and creepy. It was very nicely put together, very orderly and descriptive, located in the former Stasi headquarters. Every once in a while, I realized it wasn't just a display, but that real lives were destroyed in that building, often using indirect ways that were intended to demoralized, like arranging everything in life would just go wrong for a person.
Attached was the records room, where Germans had access to files the Stasi kept. That records room was lot less dramatic than the spy-craft gadgets, but a lot more scary.
"I have long thought that Washington, D.C. needs a Museum of Senseless Government Acts"
It already has one. It's called Congress.
*rimshot*
I'll be here all week, folks.
The German Museum in Munich has lots of neat German aircraft.
Don't miss the tour of Control headquarters in DC. (Get Smart 2008)
Let's attract attention to our product by publishing all these bizarre museums customers might have visited.
Italy, and other countries in Europe (do they still have countries there?), has a strange, relatively new industry of horror museums. There's even one in San Gimignano, which is a beautiful town with no good reason to have a horrible tourist craptraction.
In fairness there's not a lot to do in Zagreb. The Terror museums are free to visit. That may have something to do with it's ranking.
I've been to the Hungarian Terror museum. It is very interesting. They bluntly state the Nazis and communists were the same except the uniforms were a little different.
"Do I value the opinion of those who want to share their opinion obsessively on TripAdvisor? What actual qualifications do the Reviewers actually have?"
I travel a great deal (the wife and I were in 11 different countries just the past 12 months) and I have found that Tripadvisor's reviews are extremely helpful wherever we go so long as there is a reasonable number who have reviewed a given resturant. It's like markets, the more people involved, the more accurate the consensus. We usually look at the top ten or so rated resturants and pick the one most convenient to our location unless we're looking for a specific type of food. I can count on one hand the number of bad experiences we have had in the last 10 years using the Tripadvisor's concensus picks.
BTW, the reviewers' qualification is actually having eaten in the place. What would better qualify one to comment on the atmosphere, service, food quality and value in a resturant?
Well you know I had a bad day. Cause she left and went away.
I should collect up all her junk. Her cups, her albums, put it all in a trunk.
Maybe then my sadness might ebb. If I send it by post over to Zagreb.
(But not the Dylan or Costello. That I can use, when I'm feeling mellow.)
The WW2 Museum is is great museum. I would recommend it if you are in NO.
The Torture Museum in Rothemberg, Germany was interesting, too.
Art museums in Europe with well known artists are awful because they are often overcrowded and it is impossible to stare and consider the painting you looking at because of noise and jostling.
My fav museum in England was Bletchley Park, the code breaking centre the Brits operated during WWII.
The first time I toured around Europe, I was most fascinated by history of torture museums, I went to two or three of them and they were gruesome, astonishing what humans do to one another.
We visited the House of Terror with our two Hungarian children last May. Beginning with the Hungarian Arrow Cross (Nazis) and ending with the 1956 Revolution's aftermath, it convincingly treats the entire period as a continuum rather than separate periods. The presentation of the exhibits is remarkably original and highly affective.
I've been to Tuol Sleng. They had some English-speaking guides available who had been victims as children and survived, though their families did not. Can you imagine what that must be like working there? At the time I visited, some of the architects and perpetrators of that monstrous crime had still not been punished and were living relatively normal lives. I think that's changed since.
But Cambodia also has Angkor Wat which is beautiful and amazing.
I love museums and visit them obsessively. The Kennedy Space Flight Center has the best docents. If you see one wearing a Silver Snoopy ask them.
Never looked at online reviews though.
"The Stasi museum in Leipzig was both fascinating and creepy. It was very nicely put together, very orderly and descriptive, located in the former Stasi headquarters."
Paddy O - Likewise the Terror Museum in Budapest. It's quite a shock when you eventually realize that fact.
The best museum in Croatia is probably the city of Dubrovnik. It is gorgeous. Sort of like Venice without water.
I use Trip Advisor, too. And have posted a few reviews there of places I have stayed.
Large art museums and famous Cathedrals/Temples are on everyone's agenda their first trips to Europe. Beyond the resulting crowds and lines, your eyes just glaze over at some point. Small scale museums with a single quirky theme are a breath of fresh air and probably stick in the mind of the returning tourist.
Even in this country, I've always enjoyed an afternoon at the Frick more than a day at the Met.
Here is a museum question: Should people dress up to visit the Holocaust Museum in DC? I'm of the opinion that a visit requires business attire or similar. Other people obviously disagree. What say you?
One of the things that makes St. Louis great: The big museums are free!
jwl: Art museums in Europe with well known artists are awful because they are often overcrowded and it is impossible to stare and consider the painting you looking at because of noise and jostling.
The great museums are not quite so bad in off season (would't go anywhere near them in summer), and still worth it, despite the hordes of annoying selfie-takers who don't seem interested in the art at all.
My favorite museums in Europe are the small regional (local interest/specific subject) ones, though. Especially ones that haven't been recently "improved", i.e., PC-ed and dumbed-down. This sort of thing is very, very well done by the French, in particular. (E.g., the Musée Champollion, numerous local Gallo-Roman sites, etc.)
This "improved by not being improved" situation also holds for the U.S., though the ranks of the "unimproved" appear to be rapidly diminishing. Fortunately there are some places, like the Air and Space Museum (especially the Udvar-Hazy annex) which are by their nature more resistant to being PC-ed and dumbed-down. So Air and Space is still arguably the world's coolest museum. I seem to recall reading somewhere that it is the most visited museum in the world.
Also, you should come to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. You will like it. All of you.
One very scary thing about the Budapest Terror House is that all the torture and murder occurred in a nice building on a beautiful street right in the middle of town.
In London must-see visits are 1)British Museum 2)Victoria & Albert 3) Tate Galleries 4) Imperial War 5) Courtauld Gallery (one of my favorites-still in original bldg with industrial cage "lifts" Excellent impressionism and post impressionism collection inclu Gauguins Tahitian series, Manets' masterpiece "A bar at the Folies-Bergere." German expressionists Kandinsky, Heckel and Kirchner are well represented too. Also "Female Nude" by Modigliani, one of his most recognizable masterpieces..Monet, Van Gogh and huge collection of Cezannes there too) A smallish gallery inside of Somerset House, not to be missed..
"Oh, Somerset House," said Miss Marple.
There's a sign on I-95 south of the Capital Beltway for the world famous Weems Botts Museum in Dumfries, Virginia's first Scots-Irish town.
We pulled off on a 300 mile trip and found it once 40 years ago, but it was closed that day, so be sure to check the schedule before your visit, as it's still understaffed.
Yes, it's that Weems.
In London must-see visits are
Have you, has anyone here, been to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich?
www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum
Come to the National Maritime Museum
>Have you, has anyone here, been to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich?
I've been there. Enjoyed myself a lot, although they didn't allow photography, the bastards.
Weirdly, they had an exhibit on Tintin.
I'll toss in a vote for the small but amazing Man in the Sea Museum in Panama, FL.
Perhaps it is on the Avenue of Broken Dreams?
Worthwhile museums in the LA area include definitely The Getty, a wonderful collection of art (including my all-time favorite piece), and amazing architecture, but it's often crowded. The Getty Villa is also worth visiting. The Norton Simon in Pasadena is wonderful, much less crowded. I spent many hours there, getting the audio tour device, and walking through very slowly. La Brea Tar Pits in LA itself is amazing, as it brings you back to prehistoric experience of Los Angeles. LACMA is right there, but I've never been quite as drawn to it.
The Crocker in Sacramento is also really interesting, best collection of California art anywhere, located in a historic 19th century mansion (and expansions). Really nice mix of styles and approaches. The railroad museum in Sacramento is also really worth visiting, as it's really well designed and organized, without feeling like it's taking away from the roughness of the trains.
Oh! I forgot to mention the really great Huntington Library and Gardens. That's a full day of sensory delight, with both interior and exterior, human-made and natural art. The art collection itself isn't as great as the Getty, but on a lovely Fall day, the Huntington makes for a better overall experience.
Small scale museums with a single quirky theme are a breath of fresh air and probably stick in the mind of the returning tourist.
I recommend the Musee Carnavalet especially if you re a fan of the French Revolution.
When I was there years ago, they had the arrest warrant Robespierre was writing out when his rivals burst into the room and shot him. His blood was on the paper, which was pretty dramatic.
The last time I was there the arrest warrant was gone. Maybe it's back by now. They also had the toys Marie Antoinette's children played with while they were in captivity.
There is also an oddball museum in London that was owned by one eccentric collector. It is near the Inns of Court where the lawyers' office are. I can't recall the name. It is three houses tied together.
>LACMA is right there, but I've never been quite as drawn to it.
Don't they have the SR-71 tandem cockpit trainer in LA, or am I misremembering?
This is it. An amazing eccentric collection.
One amazing series is the Rake's Progress series of paintings by Hogarth.
"Don't they have the SR-71 tandem cockpit trainer in LA, or am I misremembering?"
It's by the Colosseum near the air and space museum, which also has a Shuttle.
>It's by the Colosseum near the air and space museum, which also has a Shuttle.
Right, Endeavor. That's the only one I haven't seen yet. I'll have to check it out once they get it displayed in the launch stack.
Assrat: Weirdly, they had an exhibit on Tintin.
Captain Haddock connection, I guess.
There's an Hergé museum outside Brussels.
We walked past this in July.
Didn't go in. But we could see through the windows: it looked like a bunch of gals, no dudes accompanying them.
Not sure much can be made of that. Just a fleeting anecdote. OTOH.
>Captain Haddock connection, I guess.
Pretty much. Also, Tintin had a lot of boats in in, all so meticulously researched that fans have suggested that Haddock's ancestor, sailing for France, was ex Royal Navy, based on the way his cannon were secured.
When Tintin did screw up, it was still understandable. The acceleration couches on on his moon rocket were traced to a Von Braun moon lander.
Weirdly, they had an exhibit on Tintin.
Captain Haddock connection, I guess.
As I recall, the Secret of the Unicorn, on the three slips of paper, did not use a reference to Greenwich, but rather to Paris.
>As I recall, the Secret of the Unicorn, on the three slips of paper, did not use a reference to Greenwich, but rather to Paris.
Right. "Sailing for France" in the sense that he was working for the French government, but his cannon were secured the way an English sailor would have done it. I'm not an expert on cannon securing, but certainly there was enough turmoil in England to inspire emigration.
"You'd think art would be more popular..."
The linked article says that The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is the world’s number 1 museum, followed by the Musee d'Orsay in Paris at number 3, The Art Institute of Chicago at number 4, and the State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace in St. Petersburg at number 5.
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