The 19 most important museums you should visit in the USA

There are more than 35,000 museums in the United States - an impressive number, even if you take into account the enormous size of the country. It will always be denied to a single person, but to visit them all they can choose the most interesting ones based on their interests.

And then there are a number of museums of such outstanding importance that you should definitely prioritize and visit them as an art lover on a trip to the USA. If you have the opportunity, it is also worth visiting this memorable art halls.

Some, like the MoMA, are world famous, while others are rather insider tips for art laypers. In any case, you will receive extensive collections of art treasures and exhibits from all over the world as well as carefully compiled knowledge on different topics such as space, the old

Egypt, dinosaurs, the art of the Renaissance, the Second World War and beyond.

So let's go on a short virtual journey to the most important museums in the United States.

The most important museums in the United States - a list

1. Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), New York City

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is the largest art museum in the United States, which has one of the most important historical art collections in the world. The scope of collection comprises more than three million works.

The MET is an icon of culture and the largest museum in the United States. It is impossible to see everything in this huge museum during a visit. With more than 2 million pieces in its collection, this museum should be on every list of art and history.

The museum is divided into three locations. The main building is located at Central Park, The Cloisters presents medieval and church art and Met Breuer shows contemporary art.

The Met also curates special exhibitions, brings masterpieces from all over the world to New York City and organizes a wonderful series of lectures.

Directly to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

2nd Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City

The Museum of Modern Art in New York, called MoMA, is in possession of the most important and most influential collections of modern and contemporary art.

These include works of architecture and design, drawings, paintings and sculptures, photographs, prints and illustrations, films, electronic media and in addition a library with three hundred thousand volumes to the museum.

With works such as Van Gogh's "Sternennacht", Dalis "Persistence of Memory" and Frida Kahlos "Self -portrait with cut off hair", the MOMA has one of the best collections of modern art ever.

This memorable institute is located directly in the center of Manhattan and is a must for every New York visitor. Many visitors often make several visits to see even part of the 200,000 pieces on display.

The collection offers everything from impressionism to cubism to abstract geometry and cross -border contemporary works.

Thanks to a recently completed renovation and expansion worth $ 450 million, which included a new room for live and experimental programming, a visit to these venerable halls is now even more attractive and varied.

Directly to the Museum of Modern Art

3. Getty Center, Los Angeles

One of the best art museums on the west coast is a piece of modern art in itself. The wavy and circular structure, which was designed by the legendary architect Richard Meier, is perfectly supplemented by 86 hectares of well -tended gardens, in which visitors can cunt the galleries after exploring the galleries and let the view over West La wander.

Interesting exhibitions with modern masterpieces are presented inside the art museum.

The collection focuses on European art from Renaissance to modernity, but also includes photography, decorative art and much more.

Oh, and admission is free.

4. Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is a historic building in the neoclassical style, in which numerous paintings by van Gogh and Monet, Toulouse Lautrec, Rubens, Rembrandt and modern American art can be admired.

With around 300,000 exhibits, the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the largest art museums in the world and promotes an enviable location in the Millennium Park of the city.

The museum's collection covers the period of mankind with art, from old curiosities to contemporary oeuvre.

It says something about the range that the museum houses both Grant Wood's "American Gothic" and Mary Cassats "The Child's Bath". A real crowd puller is George Seurat's painting "A Sunday afternoon on the island of La Grande Jatte". Perhaps the best -known work of pointillism shows a wonderful day in Paris along the shore of the Seine.

5. Detroit Institute of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts combines all cultures and their art through works by great masters.

The slide was listed as a National Historic Place and one of the most visited art museums in the world and reminds that Detroit was once an important, flourishing American city.

As with other major institutes of this kind, the museum includes thousands of years of art history, from ancient Egyptian finds to contemporary art. Of course, you can also expect works from the great masters of western art, including popular names such as Degas and Van Gogh.

A must-see are the Detroit River Murals by Diego Rivera. This series of murals commissioned in the 1930s, which represent the work of the Ford Motor Company and the history of industrialization of Detroit, is the artist's personal favorite work.

6. Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix

The musical instrument museum in Phoenix is ​​a museum of superlatives that shows a total of fifteen thousand exhibits from over two hundred countries.

So it is the largest museum of this kind worldwide. It is possible to hear, touch and try out musical instruments from different cultures.

7. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland is an audio-visual presentation from the forerunners of rock and roll to current tendencies.

In the displayed showcases, there are performance costumes, instruments and originals of songs, while monitors present time documents, film recordings and sound recordings.

It is even possible to make music there in a certain area.

8. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC

The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC is an aircraft museum that is in the immediate vicinity of the White House and is the world's largest of its kind.

The exhibition includes three complexes that the military aviation and space travel and space travel. This includes, for example, the flight machine of the Brüder-Wright, Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" and space exhibitions with several artifacts from the legendary Apollo missions- including the Apollo Elf's lunar ferries.

Although other museums also have moonstreams, they can actually touch them in Smithsonian. It is the next best opportunity to come into contact with the moon.

This Smithsonian Museum is so exciting that it is even loved by humans who generally find museums rather boring and drogs - including restless youth and impatient children.

9. National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC

The National Museum of Natural History, which opened more than a hundred years ago, is also located in Washington DC. In addition to the naturopathy exhibited, more than hundred -time scientists work there.

The now around 500 million exhibits contain plants and animals, fossils and minerals, as well as stones and meteorite parts. The legendary Hope diamond, which has a value of a good 200 million euros, is the most famous exhibit. The eerie story, as he brought in bad luck to his former providers, is also presented.

10. Exploratory, San Francisco

The exploratory in San Francisco conveys the natural sciences through interactivity around human perception and brain functions. It is a museum concept that is unique in the world that makes visitor a research object.

11. American Museum of National History, New York

The American Museum of National History is located in New York Central Park and explains the history of humanity on five floors.

In the walls of this great institution, which is considered one of the best science museums in the world, more than 32 million exhibition copies of American history have been preserved.

As in most other museums, one day is hardly enough to examine the stirring and detailed exhibits from the Stone Age to the space age.

The museum is interactive, with an extremely entertaining space wing including 3-D film screenings.

12. Space Center, Houston

The Space Center in Houston is one of the visiting centers operated by the NASA space authority. There are modules in which the astronauts trained for life in space for the first time and on the other hand, visitors can climb into a space capsule, experience sunset on Mars and touch the planet surface.

There is also the world's largest exhibition of protective suits for space travelers.

13. National World was a museum, New Orleans

The Second World War has shaped the history and culture of this country in many ways, and there is no better place to learn more about it than in this extensive Nola Museum that stimulates.

The National World War Museum in New Orleans shows a chronological exhibition and tells of the landing of the Western Allies in Normandy. There are many original objects there, but also numerous replicas.

Additional topics are, for example, the military tactics of the island jumping in the Pacific War and the atomic bombing on Japan.

The museum was built in a former factory in which D-Day boats were produced. It is a paradise for everyone interested in history.

To arrive at the entrance, you have to get into a train car so that you feel like you are going back in time.

14. Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody

The Buffalo Bill Center of the West is located in Cody and, with its five complexes, is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to the Wild West.

You can see an interactive exhibition about Buffalo Bill's life, in the Plains Indian Museum everything can be considered about the culture and tradition of the American indigenous people and the world's largest collection of American firearms can be found in the Cody Firearm Museum.

15. National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, New York City

Although it was only opened in 2014, according to Tripadvisor, this museum has already received over four million visitors. The main exhibitions deal with the history of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the attack on the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993 and focus on events before the day and the world since September 11th.

The memorial uses touchscreen technology to remember the victims. Artifacts and art can be seen everywhere.

16. National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

The National Gallery is a highlight of every visit to the capital of the United States and shows pretty much everything in European art history: Van Eyck, Dürer, Manet , Monet, Cézanne, Dégas, John Constable, Rembrandt, van Gogh and many more in the neoclassical western building.

The more modern East Building was recently reopened with a large collection of contemporary art.

17. Kennedy Space Center, Titusville (Florida)

If you have ever dreamed of flying into space, or are only curious about how this undertaking is physically possible, visit the Floridian visitor center of NASA.

Here you can learn something about the physics behind the starts, see lunar rock and maybe even meet real astronauts.

Before a visit, be sure to check the Space Center online schedule to determine whether your visit coincides with an actual shuttle start. A spectacular experience that only a few people in the world ever see in the course of their lives.

The museum is interactive, has two IMAX theater and is extremely child-friendly. This makes it an exciting alternative to the Disney adventure park.

18. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

According to The Met, this museum offers the second largest art collection in the USA. A fact that every locals who they meet will like to proudly announce.

Although it mainly focuses on European and American art, it has a lot to offer, such as ancient Egyptian sculptures.

19. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington DC

This museum is the official monument of the nation to commemorate one of the most terrible tragedies in human history. When entering, visitors receive a card with the name and history of a Holocaust victim or survivor to make the almost incomprehensible number of victims less abstract.

Permanent exhibitions with original letters from victims, audio and video recordings of your contemporary witnesses and various recessed artifacts help to tell the story with painful but enormous emotional effect.

Culture trip to the USA - necessary travel planning

Traveling to the USA is an unforgettable experience that wants to be planned well. The travel planning begins some time beforehand by applying to Esta or a visa. Without this step, entry USA is not possible.

Under the following links there is a more detailed insight into the process in order to be able to apply for ESTA or visa for the United States or to submit an ESTA application:

• Entry USA
• Apply for the ESTA or visa for the USA
• Esta application
• USA / United States: Travel and Safety instructions (COVID-19-related travel warning)