art Archives

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is Qatar's flagship Islamic art museum, set on its own island along Doha's Corniche. This guide was updated in June 2026. MIA is closed on Wednesdays now, not Tuesdays as several older guides still state. Admission is no longer…

Visiting the Murano Glass Museum, Venice: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Museo del Vetro on the island of Murano in the Venetian lagoon is the world's most comprehensive museum of Murano glass history. It's housed in the former Bishop's Palace of Torcello — a building constructed in the 7th century. This guide was updated in…

The Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan, Italy.

Visiting the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Pinacoteca di Brera at Via Brera 28 in Milan is one of the most important art galleries in Italy. It was founded by Napoleon in 1809 and holds a collection of Italian painting from the 13th to the 20th century that is without equal…

Colonna Palace, Rome: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Palazzo Colonna at Piazza SS. Apostoli 66 is the oldest continuously inhabited private palace in Rome, Italy. It is still home to the Colonna family, and contains one of the most sumptuously decorated Baroque galleries in the world. This guide was updated in June…

Michelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence.

Visiting the Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence is home to Michelangelo's David — and to four unfinished Prisoners, a late Pietà, and one of the finest collections of Florentine Gothic and Renaissance painting in existence. This guide was updated in June 2026. Three things to know before…

Bargello Museum, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Museo Nazionale del Bargello at Via del Proconsolo 4 in Florence is the world's most important collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture — and one of the most undervisited major museums in the city. It houses two bronze Davids (Donatello and Verrocchio), Michelangelo's Bacchus and…

Visiting the Uffizi Gallery, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Galleria degli Uffizi on Piazzale degli Uffizi in Florence, Italy, holds the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance painting and one of the most important collections of Western art. This guide was updated in June 2026. Three pricing tiers now apply — most guides…

Visiting the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Palazzo Vecchio on Piazza della Signoria has been the seat of Florentine civic power since 1299 and today operates as both Florence's working town hall and one of its most visited museums. This guide was updated in June 2026. Two significant updates for 2026:…

Visiting the Medici Chapels, Florence: practical guide for first-time visitors

The Cappelle Medicee (Medici Chapels) at Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6 in Florence are the funerary monument of the Medici dynasty and home to Michelangelo's greatest sculptural achievements in a single room. This guide was updated in June 2026. The full admission price is…

The Angel of the North near Newcastle, North-East England

Visiting the Angel of the North with children: Getting there, parking fees & what to do

The Angel of the North looks very different up close – and children will turn Antony Gormley’s colossal sculpture into a playground. Why visit the Angel of the North? Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North is perhaps the most extraordinary and beloved piece of public…