1: The Five Greatest Museums

  • Le Louvre, Paris. Photo of Michelangelo bust. The Mona Lisa is smaller than most people think. If you just want to walk through all rooms you should spend at least a couple of days. The museum description in the Da Vinci Code novel is pure fiction, there are no toilets with windows towards the street.

  • British Museum, London. Displays famous Rosetta stone and much more. Hopefully the museum will get more space after the relocation of the library in 1999. During most recent visit in 2003, the museum was still small enough, that all rooms could be walked through in a few hours.

  • Hermitage, St Petersburg. If you just want to walk through all rooms that happen to be open, you should spend at least a couple of days. My favourite is the Scythian rooms. On my most recent visit in 1993, these rooms were closed because of lack of money. Photo of 2500 year old Scythian wooden sculpture.

  • Musei Vaticani, Rome. When I was there in 1977 most of the classical statues had little fig leaves glued onto their genitals. Looked strange. I hope that's removed by now.

  • Metropolitan Museum, New York. When I was there in 1989 I was very impressed by the excellent displays and guided tours. Everything was tip-top. Great contrast to many European museums lacking money for maintenance and renovation. Among others, an entire Egyptian temple is inside the museum.

Per Åkesson 1994, rev jul '12

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