Hollywood loves museums, and you should too. Museums have long been backdrops for the most iconic scenes in many blockbusters. Here are five world-famous museums you should visit — both for the quality of their exhibitions, and to relive moments from your favorite flicks.
1. Le Louvre – Paris
The musée du Louvre houses some of the greatest art masterpieces in the world, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. That should be reason enough to visit.
But a movie buff would visit le Louvre to follow in the footsteps of Robert Landgon and Sophie Neveu to try to crack the Da Vinci Code. If you dare, you could also try to unmask the famous Belphegor, the phantom of le Louvre.
2. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – New York City
What is it that makes the Guggenheim so attractive? Is it its concentric innovative architecture? Is it the large selection of paintings and sculptures?
Still, for Hollywood, this museum has been a preferred set for alien chases and gunfights. In 1997, you might have seen MIB’s Agent J chase down an alien in the Guggenheim. 12 years later, the International staged a thrilling gunfight in the museum. But don’t worry: no artwork was harmed in the making of these films.
3. The Russian State Hermitage Museum – St Petersburg
The Hermitage Museum one of the largest and the oldest in the world, and is home to the world’s largest collection of paintings. For that alone, it’s definitely worth a visit. The appeal of this museum is also historical — the building itself dates back to 1764 and houses famous Russian imperial residences such as the Winter Palace.
In fact, the Winter Palace was the set of the Russian Ark (2002). This cinematographic masterpiece is the first-ever movie filmed in a single 90-minute Steadicam shot.
4. Art Institute of Chicago – Chicago
Leisure rules — and skipping school to wander downtown Chicago was every teen’s dream in 1986. Ferry’s Bueller’s Day Off was one of those rare teen comedies both critics and audiences loved, and that ended up being a huge success.
During his day-off, the hero visited the famous Art Institute of Chicago with his friends. If you have the chance to visit yourself, don’t miss seeing paintings by Monet, van Gogh, and other masters.
5. American Museum of Natural History – New York City
It would be wrong to make a list of museums in movies and leave out the American Museum of Natural History and “Night at the Museum”. This 2006 adventure-comedy starred big names such as Ben Stiller, and Robin Williams.
This movie attracted large crowds not only to movie theaters, but also to the featured museum. It turns out the American Museum of Natural History saw a boost in attendance following the release of this movie. No doubt officials would be more than happy to know that the third sequel is on its way.
The Thomas Crown Affair and the MET as well as Hitch and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum deserved a place in the list, but we wouldn’t want to make a list all about NYC, do we? Here is your chance to add to the list: what is your favorite museum or movie featuring a museum? To see more awesome museums and exhibitions around the world, visit our friends at 100museums.com.