Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is one of Spain's great museums housing medieval, 19th and 20th century art from Catalonia. Housed in the impressive Palau Nacional at the foot of Montjuic, its Romanesque collection is reckoned to be the world's finest. There are several frescoes and Gothic works on the lives and deaths of saints - some are not for the fainthearted. It's also noted for its Modernista collection.

In the same area as the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya is Caixa Forum. Originally a factory built in the Art-Nouveau style, it has become one of Barcelona's most lively cultural centres with exhibitions devoted to artists such as Dal, Rodin, Freud, Turner, Fragonard, Hogarth and Cartier-Bresson. It also hosts concerts, lectures and literary events.

The CosmoCaixa science museum lifted the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006 and is packed with fascinating displays for children and adults, all designed to make science interesting and comprehensible. There's fun to be had with interactive exhibits, particularly the Flooded Forest, an incredible recreation of a section of Amazonian rainforest, complete with frogs, turtles, snakes, fish and a steamy heat that is spookily realistic.

Artists who have lived and worked in Barcelona are now celebrated with their own museums, notably Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro and Antoni Tapies. The Museu Picasso is the number one Barcelona museum for his fans. Picasso arrived in Barcelona in 1894 when he was 14 and lived here until he was 23. He studied at the city's art college where his father was a tutor. The museum includes much of his early work housed in five medieval palaces in the Barri Gotic.

Take the funicular up Montjuic and you soon find yourself outside the Fundacio Joan Miro, a splendid purpose-built museum dedicated to the artist. Mir experimented with painting, sculpture, printing, ceramics, theatre and tapestry. Bemused visitors can learn about 'drippism' and the more sceptical may wonder in one gallery if some paintings are simply cracks in the wall. Do step outside where many of Miro's amusing sculptures are on view.

The Fundacio Antoni Tapies is in Eixample in a Domenech, a Montaner-designed building featuring a sculpture on the roof. Tapies was born in Barcelona in 1923 and is probably the greatest Spanish artist to emerge since the 1950s. Tpies started as a surrealist painter but soon become an abstract expressionist, working in a style known as "Arte Povera". In 1953 he began working in mixed media and was one of the first to create serious art in this way, adding clay and marble dust to his paint and incorporating waste paper, string, and rags in his works.

Keeping to contemporary art, the Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum (MACBA) can be found near the northern end of the Ramblas. MACBA focuses on art from 1945, with many temporary exhibitions. The huge, white building, designed by the American Richard Meier opened in 1995. While most museums in the city close on Mondays, MACBA is closed Tuesdays

There are several museums celebrating the history of the city and of Catalonia. The Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat is in the heart of the Barri Gotic. Its collection covers the city's history from Roman times in a beautiful old mansion with central courtyard, the casa Clariana-Padellas. There is a fascinating underground tour along Roman roads, houses, bathrooms, sewers and the old city walls. You can also trace the evolution of Barcelona through plans, sketches and models.

The nearby Capella de Santa Agata offers views of the Barri Gotic from the Torre del Rey Marti while the neighbouring Museu Frederic Mares, just behind the Cathedral, has a massive collection of medieval sculpture housed in an ancient palace with large courtyards and soaring ceilings.

We finish this brief tour down by the port with two intriguing exhibitions. The Maritime Museum is housed in the Drassanes, the medieval shipyards at the seaward end of the Ramblas. Barcelona was one of the great maritime powers trading across the whole Mediterranean basin. There is a copy of a 16th century Royal Galley, old maps, charts and even a virtual dive in a submarine.

In the newly renovated port area of Port Vell is the Museu d'Historia de Catalunya. This excellent museum is in a converted warehouse and it covers Catalan history. The imaginative exhibits include The Birth of a Nation; Our Sea; On the Edge of the Empire; A Steam-powered Nation; The Electric Years; and Defeat and Recovery.

Much of this will be new to visitors from outside Catalonia, so when you step back outside, you will fully appreciate why Barcelona is one of the great cities of Europe.

Museum of Archaeology and God's House Tower

The Museum of Archaeology in Southampton is an excellent museum with some great exhibits and collections on show, though when you visit this museum you also get to experience the interesting building in which it is housed.

God's House Tower is an historic building. In fact it is actually two buildings that have been merged together. The first, a gatehouse, was built in the 13th century, then two hundred or so years later a two storey gallery and a three storey tower were added. The building adopted the name of a nearby hospital, called God's House.

Having been used for a variety of important roles, it was decided in 1957 that it would be converted into the Museum of Archaeology, which opened its doors to the public in 1961.

This Southampton museum is now home to one of the best collections of archaeology from around England and treats visitors to the interesting history of the city from Roman times right through to Victorian times.

The Maritime Museum

Southampton has always had an important relationship with the sea, and visitors to the city can find out more about this part of Southampton's heritage at the Maritime Museum.

There are interesting exhibitions and displays here including special exhibits on the large liners that have called Southampton home. These include the Titanic, and the Maritime Museum features a permanent Titanic exhibition, called 'Titanic - Southampton Remembers'. This focuses on the crew members and passengers who lost their lives as many of them were Southampton residents.

Medieval Merchant's House

Unfortunately as Southampton was such a prime target for bombing during the Second World War, many of the city's great historical buildings were destroyed, however some do still remain. The Medieval Merchant's House is one that did survive and is now one of England's oldest surviving merchant's houses.

Construction of this house began way back in the year 1290 by merchant John Fortin. The building served as both a home and a place of business and is situated on a street that was one of the busiest in Southampton at that time.

Visitors can enjoy a tour of this historic building and popular Southampton museum. It has been restored and furnished to how it would have been in the mid-14th century.

Solent Sky (Southampton Hall of Aviation)

Many visitors to Southampton are well aware of the important part that the sea has played in the city's history, but not so many are aware of the relationship with the sky too.

The Hall of Aviation, also known as Solent Sky, is situated near to Southampton's popular Ocean Village, and focuses on portraying the history of aviation in the Solent area. There are some fabulous old aircraft on display here, as well as engines and a number of other major exhibits too.

National Motor Museum

The National Motor Museum, in Beaulieu, is one of the Southampton area's best known museums and also one of the most popular visitor attractions in the south east of England. Situated in the beautiful New Forest near the town of Brockenhurst, the National Motor Museum is less than a 30 minute drive from the city centre.

In addition to the National Motor Museum, visitors can also see the Palace House, Beaulieu Abbey, and an assortment of changing special exhibitions throughout the year.

More Southampton Museums

The museums above are just some of the most popular museums in Southampton. The city has even more museums than this to visit, and many other fun and interesting attractions too.

Attractions range from Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum to the lofty British Museum, home of the famed Egyptian Hall and some amazing European sculptors. For a more personal glimpse into the past, a visitor could try the Florence Nightingale Museum, Freud Museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum, or Jack the Ripper Walk, which traces the killer's deadly footsteps. The Victoria and Albert Museum is the jewel of the South Kensington area, which hosts a number of attractions and fine hotels. History buffs will treasure the National Army Museum, National Maritime Museum, and Natural History Museum.

If you like spooky old prisons, you've got the Clink Prison Museum, the Tower of London, and the London Dungeon to explore. The art connoisseur will certainly appreciate the Tate Britain Gallery, Tate Modern Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Arts, and the National Gallery. The Design Museum, Clockmaker's Museum, London Toy and Model Museum, and Bramah Museum of Tea and Coffee cater to specialized tastes.

Whatever your preference, there's a first-class London hotel within easy walking distance and numerous tube stations to get a visitor to more distant locations. New booking sites on the Internet allow you to search for a London hotel by neighborhood and proximity to various attractions. A helpful website offers maps, tube station locations, photos, and sightseeing tips to make the most of a trip to London without scouring guidebooks for information. Prices and rankings are important criteria, too, but there's nothing like the convenience of choosing a hotel by location. Your lodging is important, because it becomes a sanctuary for dinner and respite after a long day of exploring the past. In fact, many London hotels are virtual museums all by themselves, offering a glimpse into Victorian and Elizabethan England.

Don't stay too long in that lovely hotel room, because London nightlife beckons. Combine a trip to the West End theater district with a stop at the Theatre Museum near Covent Garden. The possibilities are endless, but your stay in London isn't. So choose a London hotel that allows you to make the most of your time, and keep track of the places you don't visit for your return trip.

#1. Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. The largest museum in the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum sees more than one million visitors annually at its unparalleled collection of Dutch art. The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum (#2) are situated in Amsterdam's Museum Quarter, the most fashionable district in the city, rich in cultural institutions, restaurants and fashionable holiday accommodations.

#2. Van Gogh Museum. Dedicated to the Netherland's most famous artist, the Van Gogh Museum houses 200 paintings and 550 sketches of the master, together with his letters to his contemporaries.

#3. Amsterdam Tulip Museum. This is a small museum dedicated to the national symbol of Netherlands: the tulip. This museum features multimedia presentations and a museum shop with rare tulip bulbs.

#4. The Anne Frank House. Across the canal from the tulip museum is the Anne Frank House. The historic World War II hiding place of Anne Frank and her family, the museum features original pages from her famous diary. Visitors can also walk through the haunting quarters in which Anne and her family hid.

#5. Museum van Loon. Housed in a patrician canal house in the center of Amsterdam, the van Loon Museum is owned by the aristocratic Van Loon family and provides visitors a unique view into the life of the Dutch upper class.

#6. Museum Willet-Holthuysen. Another museum offering a glimpse into the wealthy class, the Museum Willet-Holthuysen is housed in a 17th century home and features an impressive personal collection of silverware, paintings and furniture.

#7. Amsterdam Historical Museum. The perfect museum for history buffs, the Amsterdam Historical Museum has permanent exhibitions about various periods in the history of the Netherlands.

#8. Hortus Botanicus. The Amsterdam Botanical Garden was first established in 1638 as an herb garden for Dutch doctors. Today it is a living museum with botany samples from around the world.

#9. NEMO. The ultimate hands-on museum, the NEMO Museum has hundreds of please touch exhibits for children and adults alike about science and technology.

#10. Ajax Museum. Dedicated to Amsterdam's champion football club, the Ajax Museum includes photographic and video images from the last century of Ajax football.

#11. Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum. The Netherlands Scheepvaart, or Maritime, Museum has the world's largest collection of boats. The museum features model boats and real-life ships, plus a number of maps and historical documents about Dutch naval history.

#12. Heineken Experience. Come learn about the history of brewing at one of the world's best beer manufacturers.

#13. The Venustemple. This sex museum houses the foremost European collection of erotic paintings and objects throughout history.

#14. Erotic Museum. For more on sex, check out the Erotic Museum. Situated in the heart of the Red Light District, the Erotic Museum has five floors of erotic artwork together with a historical overview of the District.

The museum is based on typical museum layouts of Europe and the exhibits of its collection of about 2000 pieces are placed according to the major themes relevant to the history of the maritime industry of china and Portugal. Mostly it exhibits traditional ships and marine equipments of China and a variety of boats by which the Portuguese arrived to Macau. The main structure of the museum has been designed in the shape of a marine boat in full sail which make the impression of a giant boat in the Macau port.

The museum is composed with five main sections such as Fishing industry, Technology, Transport, and Chinese and Portuguese discoveries. The first floor of the museum is dedicated for the traditional fish-cultivation technology of fishery industry of Macau. More over not only models of fishing boats and nets but also some tactics of catching fish are also demonstrated by some scenes. The explorations and geographical discoveries of China and Portuguese are illustrated in the second stage of the establishment. Thus this section is basically focused on the important historical episodes of Macau region. The top floor of the museum houses the display of technology in fish cultivation and navigation and dredging the sea world. Apart from that, a three-dimensional model of Macau region has been put on display in this section. Also the very first light house of China Guia light house can also been observed in this segment.

Furthermore, the museums aquarium consists of four containers which are devoted for different themes of marine life. The first tank exhibits a fresh water riverbed and the second one features the Macau harbor. Amazing coral reef can be seen in the third container while forth one displays the scene of a sunken boat in the sea water. The out side of the museum is the square from which the guests have the occasion to please their eyes with scenery of the harbor and the seashore and also the guests have the opportunity to even set sail on the sea with the wide range of sailing boats offered by the museum.

Macau is truly a paradise for tourists and a heaven for comfort and luxury, the large number of Macau luxury hotels such as Venetian Macau is an obvious testament to this fact.

One can find a plenty of museum in Santorini such as; The Archaeological Museum, The Megaron Gyzi, The Museum of Prehistoric Thira, The Folklore Museum, The Naval Museum, Wine Museum and many more.

The Archaeological Museum

The Archaeological Museum is based in Santorinis capital Fira just opposite of the cable car station. There is a great collection Hellenistic and Roman sculpture ranging from Archaic to Roman period. How ever this Archaeological museum consists of vases and clay figurines which are the very precious finds range from Geometric to classical period.

This Archaeological Museum gives a wide idea about the long history of the Santorini Island and represents various things found by different excavations in island of Santorini.

The Megaron Gyzi

The Megaron Gyzi museum is located in Fira behind the Catholic cathedral. Fira is also known as Thira, The capital city of Santorini. The museum Megaron Gyzi exhibits a fine collection of engravings dating from 16th century to 19th century. This museum is a cultural center and the prime aim of this museum is for spiritual development and advancement in whole Cyclades.

During the up season or tourist period the Megaron Gyzi organizes various exhibitions such as: photo exhibition, painting exhibition, stage plays, musical events, film shows and many more to let the tourists know about the rich culture of the whole Cycladic Island.

The Folklore Museum

The Folklore Museum which was built in 1861 in the capital of Santorini, housed in a conventional cave house. This museum exhibits Traditional winery, barrels, wine press, linens and antique utensils. However one can get evidence of various volcanic excavations in the Cycladic Island. Here you can find the art gallery, historical archives and glimpse of past life of people on the Santorini Island.

The Museum of Prehistoric Thira:

This museum is situated at capital city of Santorini, Fira. Many things admire this museum such as masterpieces of art fro the prehistoric time, history of Thira, geology of Thira, and hey day of the city at Akrotiri.

Wine Museum:

The wine museum exhibits the life and history of wine dating from 1660 to 1970. However the wine museum is an amazing natural cave which 300 meters long and situated 6 meters below the ground level.

The Naval Maritime Museum:

The Naval museum is located in the famous and traditional village of Oia on the northwest coast of Santorini Island. This museum consists of huge and rich collection of maritime items by retracing the Santorini's naval history. This maritime museum gives a wide idea about the prosperity of Oia was in pick in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The MV Wentworth is a ship that was once used as a port services vessel. From 1948 until 1992, the MV Wentworth was used almost on a non-stop basis, servicing Port Kembia, Sydney Harbor, and Botany Bay. When the idea arose to use the 59-year-old MV Wentworth as both a display and a part of the museum, it was discovered that the vessel needed extensive restoration to bring it back to its former glory. The cost of this work was covered with the aid of contributions by the people of Port Macquarie and other folks in nearby cities.

Visitors to Port Macquarie can take a guided river cruise tour on the Hastings aboard the MV Wentworth. It is not too often that one has the opportunity to be aboard a historical ship of this age. This is a lovely way to see the waterways of Port Macquarie for yourself. In fact, taking this heritage river tour before you enjoy the exhibits in the museum can help you to understand more about how the rich maritime history happened.

The three sites that make up the Mid North Coast Maritime Museum consist of displays that do a good job of telling the story of the history of shipping and the explorations of the Europeans in Port Macquarie, Hastings, and the Mid-North coast of the area. You will find that there is plenty to see here, and most of it should be of interest to all ages.

If you enjoy boats and boating, you can see antique relics that came from actual shipwrecks on exhibit here. The many scale models of ships are a very popular exhibit. There are also a collection of charts and maps used by the captains of the ships of long ago for navigation purposes. Maritime photos are well represented at the Mid Coast Maritime Museum, with a large collection of historical prints on exhibit for visitors to study at will.

There is a chance you may want to spend more than just a day at the Mid Coast Maritime Museum in order to best take in all it has to offer. You can choose your Port Macquarie accommodation so that it is as close to the museum as possible. This will enable you take your time, and immerse yourself in all of the visual history the museum is well known for. The museum is about 10 minutes from the centre of town, so plan accordingly.

The Mid Coast Maritime Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 AM until 3 PM. The cost of admission is $4.00 per person.

The idea for a historical maritime museum emanated from the enthusiasm of a few individuals with connections in shipping firms and the navy who had helped to raise the awareness about maritime history.

Situated in a 350-year old warehouse, originally built for the Admiralty of Amsterdam as the National Maritime Magazine, the Netherlands Maritime Museum contains one of the world's most important maritime collections with a vast display covering four centuries of Dutch naval history.

Stretching over more than twenty five rooms, the permanent exhibition reveals the importance of the Netherlands as a sea-faring nation from its Golden Age' of explorers and merchants through to the modern day container port. The exhibits consist of paintings as well as antiquarian maps and navigation instruments. There are also numerous models and a full-sized replica of the Dutch East-India merchantman, Amsterdam', which sank off the south coast of England on her maiden voyage in 1749. The ship is open all year round, but between April and October it is managed by actors who display what life would have been like on board. The displays continue throughout the day and include artillery exercises, a burial at sea, an officers meeting and a typical ship's meal.

In the museum area are specialist nautical and maritime shops selling modern and antiquarian books and maps, replica instruments and the largest selection of model ships and kits in Europe.

The present home of the Dutch Maritime Museum is situated in the arsenal of the Netherlands Navy long ago in the 18th century. The Naval Depot was built in 1656, and then crammed with everything that warships and their crews require. Later it was used to store clothing for navy personnel. The National Naval Depot is the location of one of the most important sights in Amsterdam, due to its rich historical charge.

The Dutch Maritime Museum has a collection of remarkable collection of maps, models and displays of real-sized ships. Tourists are offered the chance to visit Amsterdam Ordnance Datum and get a better image of how things must have looked like in middle age Amsterdam and how commerce was made back then. The Netherlands Maritime Museum also brings some of the flavor of the colonies and the countries overseas.

A unique feature of the museum is Jan Carel Josephus van Speijk a true blue 19th-century Dutch naval hero. The true Dutch naval commander has been immortalized in many paintings and on objects. In the Maritime Museum Amsterdam one can admire a rather bizarre and unique relic of Van Speijk. The permanent exhibition of the museum displays a part of his right arm. It has been preserved in alcohol. It is a relic which is to be appreciated by one and all.

The viewpoint over the busy harbor from the Aberdeen Maritime Museum is a breathtaking one and the fascinating story about the citys long association with the city is a mind opener. The museum also offers special school visits regarding the topics such as Victorians at sea, oil, transport, fishing and the story of the city of Aberdeen. The young visitors can enlighten their mind by answering a range of quiz sheets and participating in small games and activities. Wide variety of events and workshops regarding maritime sciences are also conducted by Aberdeen Maritime Museum throughout the year.

The museum shop is also a busy and popular place in the complex due to its wide range of souvenirs and gifts for all ages. The collection of books and videos are another important asset for the more knowledge thirsty travelers. Leading Light Caf which is named after a nearby navigational tower, caters mouth watering delicacies, snacks, home baked goods and meals for its customers.

Aberdeen Maritime Museum also provides its venue for the pre booked events and state of the art multi media equipment and modern architectural space is an added advantage for the organizers. The Museum is opened in week days except for Mondays and admission is totally free.

If you are planning to visit these spectacular attractions, stay at an Aberdeen Hotel of Millenium UK, the supreme hospitality service providers in Aberdeen and feel the modern comforts and heavenly luxuries.