London, Paris, New York… and Delhi? || Fine tune your art radar with a list of must visit art destinations of the world!

When you visit an art gallery, an art exhibition or an art fair, you are amongst those who stare at the art piece deliberating over it for a very long time and then go ‘ohh’ at that moment when you finally understand the work, whereas others around you just casually stroll by, then this article is for you.

The list below is of the destinations that you should travel and mix heavy doses of art with. Here’s a mini guide for best art destinations from around the world!

1. PARIS

This city has to be your first tryst with art, as you decide to venture open the doors to the realm of art with no parallels in the rest of the world. An opening to Mecca of art is this city of love and fashion, housing the most visited museum in the world.

The Louvre here is famous for Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, Rebellious slave by Michelangelo, Liberty leading the people by Eugene Delacroix and many such marvels. These are also some of the other must see museums and art galleries at Paris that cannot be missed at any cost. Musee d’ Orsay displays works of Matisse, Van Gogh, Manet, Renoir and Rodin including other amazing Impressionist work.

entre Georges Pompidou has over 70,000 works of art. Some of the best works on display here are that of Pablo Picasso’s.

Paris has showcased some of the most spectacular works of art over the years. For instance, The Treasures of Tutankhamun show gathered a crowd of 1.2 million people, Monet retrospective attracted over 920,000 visitors, and the other shows that attracted a huge response were Picasso and the Masters and The Dali show.

2. NEW YORK

What makes New York an artsy heaven for tourists and art lovers alike? The following list should be reason enough!

Museum of Modern Art is a proud owner of a collection of 150,000 individual pieces including The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh, L’Atelier Rouge (The red studio)  by Henri Matisse etc.

Solomon R Guggenheim Museum is home to ever extending collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art. The most prominent highlights from the collection available here are The Yellow Cow by Franz Marc, Red Balloon by Paul Klee and many more!

Vincent Van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, Oil on canvas

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest museum in USA. The prominent art pieces from their collection include Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer by Rembrandt, Self portrait with a Straw Hat by Vincent Van Gogh, The Oil Mill by Pablo Picasso, Cow by Arthur Dove, and many more.

The other museums and galleries that you should go to are Whitney museum of American Art, Storm King Art Centre and Gallery Chelsea.

3. CHICAGO

The city is famous for its public art projects. Some memorialise the events that gave shape to the city’s history. Millenium Park in downtown Chicago has an incredible combination of architecture, landscape designs, installations and sculptures such as Crown Fountain, Cloud Gate, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, BP Bridge and more. Most famous of these and the first to be installed in downtown Chicago is the Chicago Picasso.

Pablo Picasso, Chicago Picasso, 1967

Art institute of Chicago, Museum of contemporary art should also be on your art radar here!

4. LONDON

National Gallery in London houses over 2,300 paintings. The collection here includes works from American school, Dutch school, English school, French school, Flemish school, German, Italian and Spanish schools. Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Saatchi Gallery and Apsley House in London are a paradise for every art lovers, for they must not be missed!

London is also your own personal gallery when it comes to the amount of fantastic public and street art that is free to enjoy by the public and the master of such art is none other than Banksy, the location for Banksy’s art work can be found here.

Banksy, Pulp Fiction Bananas, 2007

Other street artists to watch out for when in London are Eine for huge brightly colored words and letters and Stik for the Stick men.

5. ROME

The place where there is something new to explore every day and the perfect ending to that day can be by grabbing a drink at any corner with fine musical notes filling the air. Museums are the ‘art beat’ of this fine city!

Vatican Museum The Sistine chapel with its ceiling decorated by Michelangelo and Stanza Della Segnatura decorated by Raphael are prominent works of art here. The most remarkable works housed here are The Adoration of the Magi by Raphael, St. Jerome in Wilderness by Leonardo Da Vinci, Transfiguration by Raphael, The Vision of St. Helen by Veronese, and Entombment by Caravaggio.

Galleria Borghese/ The Borghese Gallery houses Italy’s most mysterious work in terms of hidden symbolism and secrets i.e. Sacred and Profane love by Titian.

Museo Nazionaledi Villa Giulia, The Galleria Nazionale d’arte Moderna, The Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica are other most notable and important museums and galleries in Rome.

6. BERLIN

Berlin street art tour is not to be missed and contemporary art galleries support it for various reasons. Large Murals by Blu can be spotted on the preserved sections of Berlin Wall. Close by in the alleys one can spot Blu’s collaboration with French artist JR, along with works by artist like Bimer. Various international artists have come to work with the local artists in this city making it a nice walk down graffiti filled streets!

7. INDIA

Khajuraho Temple in Madhya Pradesh has sculptures which are unique as they are erotic in nature. These sculptures are intricate and are symbolic of Nagara Style. Their popularity has made it a UNESCO world heritage site. While the capital, New Delhi also boasts of National Gallery of Modern Art, School of Arts and Aesthetics (JNU), and Talwar Gallery.

Khajuraho Sculptures

8. FLORENCE

Florence is the home of Italian Renaissance and testament of rich history of architecture done by greatest of minds from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo.

Uffizi Gallery Some of the artworks here include Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus,  La Primavera, Parmigianino’s Madonna of Long neck, Titian’s Venus of Urbino, Flora; Raphael’s Madonna of the Goldfinch, Michelangelo’s Doni Tondo, Diego Velazquez’s self portrait,  and many more.

Galleria del Accademia, The Duomo and Palazzo Strozzi are other notable museums located here.

Uffizi

9. AMSTERDAM

Rijks Museum has on display over 8,000 objects of art. Some masterpieces include Rembrandt, Franz Hals and Johannes Vermeer.

Karanlik Kilise

One must conclude their art affair at Goreme open air museum! It is an essential pit stop for any visit to Cappadocia. There are various churches and chapels here. The major highlight here is Karanlik Kilise.