13 Best destinations for seeing world-class art

Amsterdam’s three top museums – the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Hermitage – justify its place as one of the world’s great cities for art. Many other smaller galleries and museums only add to its allure.

The Rijksmuseum alone ranks as one of the world’s greatest art collections, including the finest works of the Dutch masters Rembrandt, Hals and Vermeer.

Great art is in Barcelona’s blood. Although much was lost in the city’s turbulent past, the Catalan National Art Museum has the world’s greatest collection of Romanesque murals, salvaged from remote Pyrenean chapels.

Both Picasso and Miro, Barcelona’s 20th-century masters, were inspired by their bold otherworldly figures.

Thanks to art-mad former emperors, colonial requisitions, and a generous amount of public funding, Berlin’s state-owned museums rank way up there on the world’s A-list of art collections.

No less impressive is its thriving contemporary arts scene – the most fertile in Germany – with more than 600 private and commercial art galleries showcasing a wealth of well-known, emerging and undiscovered talent.

With around a million paintings, frescoes and sculptures, Florence harbours the world’s densest concentration of Renaissance art.

But it’s not just about the numbers. The quality is also unmatched, with works by everyone from Leonardo to Michelangelo, and two world-class collections at the Accademia and the Ufizi.

In recent decades, young, vibrant Istanbul has become a world-class centre for contemporary art, with its several new museums, as well as the Biennale and Istanbul Contemporary art fairs.

Its centuries as an imperial capital have also left it some extraordinary art – gorgeous mosaics from the Byzantine era, and woodwork and calligraphy from Ottoman times.

London‘s galleries range from vast, palatial buildings filled with classical paintings to edgy white-cube galleries showcasing up-and-coming artists.

Huge riverside museums offer dozens of themed galleries, for ticking off bucket list works and learning about the evolution of painting and sculpture.

Look out for smaller specialist venues, too, especially around East London.

Madrid was the epicentre of Spain’s 16th- and 17th-century Golden Age, when the kings and clergy patronised artists such as Velazquez, Murillo, Zurbaran and El Greco.

Seek out uncountable of masterpieces waiting in the ‘Triangle of Art’ – the world-class Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía museums, all in close proximity.

The staggering wealth and cultural aspirations of New York‘s industrial magnates helped lure some of the world’s finest art here during the 20th century, making NYC a global powerhouse rivalled only by London.

Masterpieces proliferate, but the Big Apple’s modern and contemporary art collections are equally staggering.

Nice can rightly claim France’s best hoard of modern art outside of Paris.

Much of it was created here, in the early 20th century, when the Riviera’s light, colour and warmth attracted artists such as Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Chagall and Cocteau – all of whom now have dedicated museums here.

Paris‘ Louvre Museum is arguably the world’s most famous treasure trove of art – and a sight in itself, with its iconic pyramid entrance and cavernous depths.

But there’s so much to see beyond it, from the Impressionists in the Orsay Museum to the modern art at Centre Pompidou, and dozens of tiny, edgier galleries.

Art in Provence is synonymous with two world-famous artists: Cezanne and Van Gogh. See the studio where Cezanne painted; walk in Van Gogh’s footsteps, from the locations of his paintings to his bedroom at the asylum.

But the region offers so much more than this dynamic duo, with a wealth of smaller foundations, galleries and museums.

Venice is a centre of religious art, daubed across small yet stunning Catholic churches and scuole.

There’s also a vibrant contemporary art scene: a slew of good commercial art galleries, the palatial collections of world-class patrons such as Peggy Guggenheim, and the world-famous Venice Biennale.

Munich’s Kunstareal (art district) is one of the world’s great cultural hubs, home to over 40 art galleries, 18 museums and three world-class art museums showcasing art through the centuries.

It’s largely thanks to Bavaria’s art-loving monarch King Ludwig I (1786-1868), who passionately collected priceless objets d’art from across the world.

Nearly everything about trendy, arty San Francisco has an artistic edge. There’s the exquisite Art Deco beauty of the Golden Gate Bridge, colourful heart sculptures – which debuted in 2004 – that still dot the streets, and a thriving local and street art scene.

The city is also home to several world-class art museums, including one of the world’s greatest modern and contemporary art museums (SFMoMA) and the De Young Museum for outstanding American art from the 17th to 21st centuries.