Europe is home to countless incredible museums. The Louvre in Paris, the British Museum in London, and the Prado in Madrid are just a few classics. If you’ve already visited these iconic sites, consider exploring the modern museums in Europe. These recently opened cultural gems are reason enough to plan another trip to Europe!
La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux, France
La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux offers a journey through time, all centered around the theme of wine. This new space features around twenty immersive, sensory, and interactive experiences dedicated to wine culture and civilizations. Here, you’ll discover much more than just the French terroir. The setting, right in the heart of Bordeaux, is stunning.
Architects Anouk Legendre and Nicolas Desmazières of XTU drew inspiration from swirling wine and gnarled vines. On the ground floor, the Wine Tours Information Space helps organize wine tourism excursions in the region.
Chaplin’s World, Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland
Imagined by Canadian Yves Durand, this unique place allows us to revisit Chaplin’s prolific career and life. In The Studio, we meet Charlie before he became Chaplin, exploring his childhood in London’s working-class neighborhoods. Visitors are invited to touch, dress up, and act.
We discover his journey through his films and the characters he encountered. In the second building, Manoir de Ban, we enter the artist’s universe, where he lived with his family from 1953. This visit is full of emotions, where you’ll go from laughing to crying.
Musée Yves Saint Laurent, Paris, France
Before Instagram, Yves Saint Laurent was one of the greatest “influencers” of his time. The museum, inaugurated on 3 October 2017, showcases his creations, sketches, photos, and videos. Located in a Second Empire mansion on Avenue Marceau, it’s where Saint Laurent and his team designed collections for thirty years.
Almost a decade after his death, this museum is a wonderful way to rediscover the iconic pieces that made him famous. You’ll see everything from the pea coat to trousers once forbidden to women in companies, and the safari jacket.
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, France
As if there weren’t enough reasons to visit Paris, the Louis Vuitton Foundation invites contemporary art lovers to immerse themselves in the history of 20th and 21st century art. In addition to the collections, visitors can enjoy panoramic views from the various terraces. The building bears the signature of the important American architect Frank Gehry. Opened in October 2014, this private museum is located in the Bois de Boulogne, a few steps away from the Jardin d’Acclimatation. Beauty inside and out!
MIMA, Brussels
Inaugurated in April 2016, the MIMA, which stands for “Millennium Iconoclast Museum of Art”, in the heart of the Moleenbeck district, gives street art its rightful place in Brussels. Graffiti rubs shoulders with comics and 2.0 culture is on display in all its Brussels diversity.
Graffiti meets comic strips and 2.0 culture is on display in all its diversity. Although its birth, scheduled for the day of the attacks, was not without pain, its first steps have taken it much further than expected, with twice as many visitors as expected in its first year. A particularly relevant place in this era of artistic fusion.
Confluences, Lyon, France
Its architecture, inspired by the confluence of two rivers, the Rhône and the Saône, is bound to attract attention in Lyon. Open to the public since December 2014, the Musée des Confluences impresses even before you enter its rooms tracing the origins of humanity. Here, universal questions are explored in a permanent journey through four exhibitions.
At first glance, it may seem a bit of a hodgepodge, presenting everything from dinosaurs to contemporary objects and funeral rites, but it is ultimately a fascinating journey through the history of humanity and its complexity. Visit alone, in a group or with the family as there are workshops for children.
Acropolis Museum, Athens
Since 2009, this museum, just a stone’s throw from the Acropolis in Athens, has been offering a fabulous journey through the history of this mythical land. Even before you step inside, you’ll be amazed by the ancient city, visible through a glass floor. Archaeology lovers will be thrilled to discover some 4,000 objects dating from 1000 BC to 700 AD, displayed over 21,000 square metres. Amazing.
