When you're traveling to any of these cities, be sure to make time to drop by these museums—for an hour at the very least. Checking out the artworks and artifacts is a great way to know more about the place you're visiting and to just fill yourself up with so much beauty and wonder. Whether you're an artist yourself, an art enthusiast, or someone who aspires to be either of those, you're in for a treat. (Pro tip: Research on exhibits that might be going on when you're planning to visit; they're temporary and pretty cool!)
PARIS, FRANCE
Louvre
Works to see:
Mona Lisa and Virgin and Child with St. Anne by Leonardo da Vinci; Four Seasons by Nicolas Poussin; Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault; Venus de Milo; Rebellious Slave by Michelangelo
The Winged Victory of Samothrace by Pythokritos of Lindos
Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova
The Seated Scribe
Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix
Sleeping Hermaphroditos by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
La Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
Museum of Modern Art
Works to see:
Water Lillies by Claude Monet; Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh; Les Demoiselles d'Avignon by Pablo Picasso; Dance by Henri Matisse; The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali; Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol
Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Works to see:
Greek terracotta vases; Wheat Field with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh; Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Antonio Canova
The Temple of Dendur by Roy Lichtenstein
Sculptures in the Roman Sculpture Court
Sculptures in the Carroll Milton Petrie European Sculpture Court
WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES
Smithsonian Institution
Works to see:
Mummified cat; "Mud Masons of Mali" exhibit
African Elephant
Dom Pedro Aquamarine
MADRID, SPAIN
Reina Sofia
Work to see:
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Museo del Prado
Works to see:
The Escorial Deposition (Descent from the Cross) by Rogier van der Weyden; The Third of May by Francisco Goya; The Dog by Francisco Goya; Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya; The Three Graces by Peter Paul Rubens; The Immaculate Concepcion by Giambattista Tiepolo; The Annunciation by Fra Angelico; Crucifixion by Juan de Flandes; Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymous Bosch
Las Meninas by Diego Velasquez
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Van Gogh Museum
Works to see:
Works, drafts, and practice drawings of Vincent van Gogh. (You'll see his progress as an artist!)
ATHENS, GREECE
Acropolis Museum
Works to see:
Sculptures in the Archaic Acropolis Gallery
Sculptures in the Parthenon Gallery
ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Hagia Sophia Museum
Works to see:
Virgin and Child and Archangel Gabriel mosaics
Islamic calligraphic roundels
ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
State Hermitage
Works to see:
Crouching Boy by Michelangelo; Statues of Atlantis; Madonna and Child by Raphael
Winter Palace
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
National Museum of Korea
Works to see:
Baekje incense burner; "Golden Treasures for the Great Tomb of Hwangham" exhibit
Pensive Bodhisattva
Gyeongcheonsa Pagoda
TOKYO, JAPAN
Tokyo National Museum
Things to see:
Samurai swords, woodblock prints, kimonos, and archeological finds
The National Art Center
The National Art Center has no permanent collection. It's an exhibition place (Japan's largest) for visiting shows. It's also the venue for the Japan Media Arts Festival.
Follow Stephanie on Twitter.