Forget the Louvre: Put these European museums on your itinerary

A few of my favourite places

This is where TripAdvisor goes wrong. If you google “off the beaten track things to do” in say, Paris, London, or Berlin, the algorithm will spit out the predictable sites, most of which you have probably seen anyway. Because, if you’re my age, it’s

not your first rodeo in the city. The only time I visited the Louvre I found it exhausting because of the crowds, and depressing because of the behaviour of the crowds.

Maybe my googling prompts need to be more precise or maybe Google needs to adjust its settings for boomers: “Off the beaten track sites in Paris?” Google’s answer: Pere Lachaise cemetery (if you’re a Jim Morrison fan, you’ll have been there anyway); St Ouen flea market, (duh), and the Paris Sewer Museum, where I took my son when he was in primary school, thinking it was about SEWING, not SHIT. He loved it.

So I’ve come to your help, though not with Paris necessarily.

Louisiana Museum, Denmark

If you’re travelling through Europe this summer, consider these art museums. They are manageable in size and two of them are surrounded by nature.

• Copenhagen, Denmark, Louisiana Museum, outside of the city and overlooking the Baltic Sea, the Louisiana is set on a glorious patch of land with sculptures scattered across the landscape, the Louisiana is both relaxing and invigorating. If you can’t visit in person, follow their YouTube channel, where they regularly interview artists on their methods, process, and output and highlight the latest exhibitions. No visit is complete without stopping for lunch at the café to let your gaze take in the Alexander Calder in the garden. The gift shop is stocked with an array of Scandinavian design classics from prints, posters, cards, ceramics, toys, glass, textiles and jewellery and sells online too, if you’re looking for design inspiration.

Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

• The Hague, Netherlands, Mauritshuis. Home to Vermeer’s equivalent of the Mona Lisa, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, this small mansion of a museum is an exquisite jewel box of masterpieces. Located in the center of The Hague, you’ll be within walking distance of cafés, shops, and restaurants to quench your post-art thirst. We booked tickets for 10:00 AM when the museum opens. It was still quite quiet then so that when I entered the small gallery - more like a parlour - where The Girl with the Pearl Earring was displayed, I had her to myself for a few minutes.

  

  Fondation Beyerle, Switzerland, over ten years ago on a beautiful spring day.

Basel, Switzerland, Fondation Beyerle. Only a two hour drive south from where we live, I’m ashamed I haven’t been more often to this exquisite haven on the edge of the Black Forest. Nestled in a park, with a modern main building designed by Renzo Piano, the Fondation Beyerle is more of a lifestyle than a museum. Their marketing team does a great job of sharing content and building an online community. Again and because you’re in Switzerland where the service is impeccable, the tables spotless and the food stunning, you won’t want to bypass the restaurant. Currently the menu features a Canadian concoction of pork belly, maple syrup, sweet potato, and cabbage with caraway. They call it “Burnt Ends.” We want to visit again soon for another maple leaf specialty, the photos of Jeff Wall. Listen to his lecture explaining the impetus behind the exhibition here.

Mauritshuis, The Hague

I have one more - the Museum Berggruen in Berlin, currently closed for renovations. The back story of Heinz Berggruen, who donated his collection of Picassos and Klees to the city of Berlin in an act of “reconciliation” after living in exile most of his life, is fascinating. I’ll tell you more when the museum re-opens, hopefully in 2025.

Anyone planning a trip to Europe this summer? What’s on your itinerary? I’d love to hear from you.

xxAngela