This site is about all things museums and of course, lunch… maybe dinner. We explore the beauty of museums around the world and provide enough information to give you choices to plan your days. This site started as an idea over lunch outside of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona. It took several years to come into play and here we are. Museums can be anywhere you go- they are certainly everywhere we go!
Notes from the author | Q+A
Museums take us into the past and soar us into the future. Museums document our history and ground us in the present. They teach and entertain and bring people together in a quiet world, if only for a few hours. The takeaway from the experience is sometimes subtle but will follow you, even if you do not know it at the time. Makes for great thought, conversation, or Double Jeopardy answers.
I love going to museums and cannot get enough of it. Museums are where I feel most comfortable, relaxed and happy.
Anywhere and everywhere. They are inside, outside, living and breathing places to go and enjoy. You can visit a museum near your home, across the world, while traveling or on your lunch break. There are over 100,000 museums worldwide (according to UNESCO, 2021), over 30,000 in the USA alone. The Vatican itself has over 25 museums and began in 1506 when Pope Julius II bought his first piece, Laocoon and His Sons. It is still there!
I typically plan my trips around them and choose my destinations for them. I can spend 2 months in Paris and not even hit the 125 plus museums there- Hey wait, I’m doing that now!
Everybody goes or has been to a few in their life. Old and young, alone or in a group, teachers and students, scholars and travelers. The oldest recorded museum was discovered in Southern Iraq and is dated around 500 BC. Artifacts gathered there were from all over the region and the curator was a princess! So, you see, “we” always went to museums so we could see our history.
My name is Dale Robyn Siegel and I go to museums…..all the time!
Anytime. Most museums are open all year round. There are late nights and free days and rainy afternoons to fill. It can be a short visit or a full day affair, whatever mood you are in.
I am always in the mood for a museum. I do prefer off hours- early entry or late nights tend to be less crowded and more enjoyable. A tip or two would be: start at the top floor- most people go bottom up. Visit special exhibits when the museum first opens- they get filled up fast.
So much more than one would think! A museum can be a private collection, a gallery on a college campus, a hospital from the 1800’s or even a collection of old statues in the middle of the desert. Here is the latest official definition of a museum from ICOM.
“A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.”
A museum is a place where I go to learn, to immerse myself in what is before me. I can use every one of my senses during a museum visit. It’s an exercise of my brain and my feet. As always, I wander the same path as other people before me but come out the other side with perhaps a different take-away.
Join us on our worldwide quest for the biggest, smallest, craziest and most interesting museums…… and hey, everyone has got to eat!
“Murals in restaurants are on a par with the food in museums.”
– Peter De Vries