Top Museums to Visit on a Cruise
Best Museums in London, Paris, New York, and More
If you’re looking to learn about new cultures and unique histories while travelling, but you don’t really have days and weeks to fully immerse yourself in local life, then you really should consider checking out a museum or two during your cruise. We know, we know… It doesn’t sound quite as relaxing as spending a day lounging around in the sun on one of the best cruise line private islands, for example. But, a museum visit can really be a rewarding way to spend a few hours while exploring a city and, if you take advantage of some of the best cruise deals out there right now, you can actually quite easily visit some of the world’s best museums during a cruise holiday – and, you’ll still have plenty of time to sunbathe, too!
From the spectacular Louvre Museum in Paris, home to the enigmatic Mona Lisa, to the impressive Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, where you’ll find some of the most iconic artefacts from ancient Egypt, museums around the world offer visitors an interesting insight into the arts, lifestyle, and heritage of other cultures through carefully curated collections and exciting exhibitions designed to inspire.
However, as you might expect, there are quite a few museums out there in the world – and, there’s an equally impressive number of cruise itineraries to check out when planning your next getaway. So, if you’re looking into all the top historical destinations to see during a cruise and you want to pepper a few museum visits into your plans, we have our own carefully curated collection of the top museums to visit on a cruise for you to feast your eyes on.
Keep reading for more information on some of the best museums in the world, the cruise ports you can sail to in order to visit them, and which cruise lines are worth keeping an eye out for when picking your next cruise holiday package.
Contents:
- Vatican Museums, Rome
- Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- Musée Louvre, Paris
- Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Natural History Museum, London
Vatican Museums, Rome
We know the saying ‘all roads lead to Rome’ isn’t entirely accurate anymore, but this sensational city is just one of the many exciting destinations you can sail to on a European cruise; that means there’s plenty of opportunities out there for you to visit the incredible Vatican Museums during a cruise getaway! Accessible via the port Civitavecchia, which is just outside Rome proper and Vatican City therein, these museums are home to some of the most exquisite art this continent has to offer. Couple this with the incredible architecture on display and there really are plenty of reasons why you should grab some Vatican Museum tickets while visiting the Vatican on a cruise to Rome.
Showcasing some of the world’s most famous Roman sculptures alongside an impressive collection of the Catholic Church’s Renaissance and High Renaissance art, the Vatican Museums also give you the chance to see the awe-inspiring interior of the Sistine Chapel. Here, you can find both The Last Judgement and The Creation of Adam, cornerstone High Renaissance works from Michelangelo and among the most famous religious paintings in history.
From left to right: Laocoön and His Sons, The Creation of Adam, Fire in the Borgo
Elsewhere in the Vatican Museums, you can see Laocoön and His Sons (a Roman sculpture excavated in 1506 depicting Agesander, Athendorus, and Polydorus), Raphael’s The School of Athens (a fresco from 1511 depicting important Ancient Greeks like Pythagorus, Plato, and Socrates), and Caravaggio’s The Entombment of Christ (an altarpiece created between 1603 and 1604). If you’re looking for an insight into the monumental cultural shift of the 15th and 16th centuries alongside a selection of the most impressive marble statues in the world, this is the museum for you.
And, when in Rome – as the saying goes – you can also visit iconic landmarks like The Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Baths of Caracalla. Or, of course, visit a few more museums; Rome is home to the wonderful Galleria Borghese, the Capitole Museum, and the Centrale Montermartini. The Italian capital is truly a fantastic place to visit, for history and art lovers alike, and rightfully one of the top must-see European cruise destinations out there.
Cruise lines that sail to or from Rome via Civitavecchia include:
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Netherlands’ national museum dedicated to the Dutch arts and history, Rijksmuseum is another truly fantastic European museum you can visit during a cruise – be that an all-inclusive cruise, a Short Break, or even a Cruise and Stay holiday. Displaying upwards of 8,000 items from a collection of one million objects of art and history, with some dating back to the 13th century, this museum is home to some of the most famous artworks from painters during the Dutch Golden Age – including Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen.
In particular, you’ll find Rembrandt’s impressive The Night Watch (a 1642 painting depicting a company led by Captain Frans Bannick Cocq) and Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem (a painting from 1630 depicting a crestfallen Prophet Jeremiah) here alongside Frans Hals’ Portrait of a Young Couple (a depiction of Russian envoy Isaac Massa and his bridge in 1622) and Vermeer’s The Milkmaid (a surprisingly enigmatic painting of a domestic kitchen maid completed in 1658). Rather uniquely, you’ll also find items like the captured royal crest of HMS Royal Charles here – offering further insight into the Netherlands’ position on the global stage throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.
From left to right: The Syndics of the Draper's Guild, Model of William Rex (with royal crest of HMS Royal Charles), The Night Watch
Alongside a trip to the Rijksmuseum, during a cruise to Amsterdam, you should also visit the incredible Van Gogh Museum, which is only a stone’s throw away. Home to some equally impressive artworks from the Post-Impressionist painter – including The Potato Eaters (1885), Sunflowers (1889), and one of his final paintings Wheatfield with Crows (1890). And, if you’re looking for an insight into Dutch modern art, you’ll also be a short walk away from the wonderful Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam – all found in the city centre, about an hour’s walk from the cruise terminal.
If you’re looking for even more reasons to visit the Dutch capital, Amsterdam is home to Anne Frank House (a biographical museum dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist), the impressive Royal Palace Amsterdam, and the Basilica of Saint Nicholas. There's plenty of culture to soak up among the canals here.
Cruise lines that sail to or from Amsterdam include:
Musée Louvre, Paris
Of course, we couldn’t write a list of the world’s best museums to visit on a cruise without mentioning the Musée Louvre in Paris – which is both the world's largest museum and one of the most-visited museums in the world right now, and for good reason!
Home to some of the most important canonical works of Western art in the world, including rather-famously Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, you’ll find everything from Renaissance paintings and inspiring Islamic art to ancient Egyptian artefacts and Objets d’art in the Louvre gallery and exhibition halls. It displays roughly 35,000 works of art across eight departments, meaning there really is something for everyone to enjoy here. And, with Paris one of the most accessible destinations in Europe, you’ll have no trouble enjoying everything this museum and the city around it have to offer.
If you like your ancient history, you can find The Winged Victory of Samothrace (a masterpiece of Hellenistic art sculpted from Parian marble around 200 BC) alongside the equally impressive Venus de Milo (a marble statue depicting the Greek Goddess Aphrodite) in the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman department. Or, you can go back even further with the Department of Egyptian Antiquities to see the Great Sphinx of Tanis (which is believed to be over 4,500 years old) and Akhenaten and Nefertiti (a small painted statuette dating back to roughly 1350 BC).
From left to right: Liberty Leading the People, Venus de Milo, Great Sphinx of Tanis
In addition to the aforementioned Mona Lisa, the Louvre is home to Jacques-Louis David’s The Coronation of Napoleon (an impressive 660 square-feet painting completed in 1807), Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People (a Romantic era painting commemorating the July Revolution of 1830), and Johannes Vermeer’s The Astronomer (a 1668 painting believed to depict Dutch microbiologist Antoine van Leeunwenhoek) – just a small selection of iconic paintings from the impressive collection owned by the museum.
While you’re in Paris, which is a couple of hours away from the Le Havre cruise port, you’ll also have the chance to visit modern art gallery The Centre Pompidou and the French art-focused Musée d’Orsay. Of course, there’s also iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe to see while you’re in the French capital, too. Paris is a big city, though, and it’s quite far from the cruise port; so, planning is important. Don’t worry if you suffer from bouts of travel anxiety, though, you’re never too far away from a Paris Metro station and the chance to travel back to your cruise ship in the city centre.
Cruise lines that sail to or from Paris via Le Havre include:
Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, Cairo
The largest museum in Africa and home to many of the world’s most important ancient Egyptian artefacts, the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo is a must-visit museum for anyone on an African cruise or an itinerary including this incredible destination. Among the ancient antiquities on display here, you’ll find iconic objects of ancient Egyptian opulence like the Throne of Tutankhamun, the Gold Mask of Tutankhamun, and the mummy mask of Psusennes I.
However, that’s far from everything this museum has to offer its visitors. You’ll also find that this institution is home to the colossal statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye (which is the largest known dyad every carved, standing 7 metres tall), the Statue of Hatshepsut (who was the royal wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and one of the greatest female pharaohs in her own right), and the surviving pyramidion from the pyramid of Amenemhat III in Dashur. You may also be surprised to learn that this is actually the only place in the world you can see real mummified pharaohs. You will find some mummified ancient Egyptians elsewhere, but the royals remain in Cairo. If that isn't a reason to check out cruises to Egypt, we don't know what is.
From left to right: Statue of Senusret I, Colossal Statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye, Statue of Goddess Sekhmet
And, while you’re in Cairo visiting this museum, you can also visit the Giza Plateau and see some of the world’s most iconic historical sites first-hand. On the outskirts of the city, you’ll find the three Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx among several other ruins making up the ancient Giza Necropolis. There’s also a handful of restaurants looking out at these impressive structures, making it a fantastic place for a bite to eat!
One thing that’s worth keeping in mind, though, is that Cairo is primarily accessible by cruise via Alexandria port; located on Egypt’s north coast, this is around two and a half hours away from the city itself. So, while you shouldn’t have any trouble organising travel if you don’t want to take advantage of an excursion organised by your cruise line, it’s still worth making sure you plan ahead. With so many ancient artefacts on display, it’s all too easy to lose more than a few hours in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities alone – let alone everything else this city has to offer.
Cruise lines that sail to or from Cairo via Alexandria include:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Described as an encyclopaedic art museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is the largest art museum in the Americas and home to an impressive collection of over two million works; and those works on display are curated by 17 different departments!
Despite being founded in 1870, which is almost a century later than other famous museums like the Musée Louvre and Rijksmuseum, you’ll find the historical works and artefacts in ‘The Met’ range from ancient Egypt and 1st century Rome all the way through to the Byzantine era and into the 17th, 18th, and 19th century. When people say it’s an encyclopedic look at the history of human culture, they mean it.
For example, in this impressive collection, you’ll find the Sphinx of Hatshepsut (a depiction of one of history’s greatest female pharaohs that’s at least three and a half thousand years old), Johannes Vermeer’s Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (a 1662 painting showing the Dutch artist’s impressive expertise with subtle lightning and reflections), and a rather honest self portrait of the esteemed Rembrandt. Completed in 1660, this Rembrandt self portrait gives us an interesting insight into one of the lowest points of the painter’s life.
You’ll also find one iteration of the ever-iconic Washington Crossing the Delaware in the Metropolitan Museum of Art – which is not the most historically accurate painting, but an important commemoration of a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War in December 1776. But, while the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a great place to visit on cruises to New York, it’s far from the only museum worth spending some time in when it comes to this incredible city.
From left to right: Statue of Roman Goddess Diana, George IV (when Prince of Wales), Ugolino and His Sons,
Aside from checking out iconic modern landmarks like the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty once you’ve visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, you should certainly consider checking out the Museum of Modern Art during your visit; this museum follows the evolution of modern art with an equal focus on the works of iconic artists like Picasso and Pollock alongside female artists and contemporary artists of colour. There’s also the American Museum of Natural History, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The Jewish Museum – all museums where it’s all-too-easy to lose hours of an afternoon in. It might be a zenith of modern American culture, but New York City is also a hotspot for history and home to some wonderfully curated collections.
Cruises that sail to or from New York City include:
Natural History Museum, London
Just one of three impressive London museums along Exhibition Road in South Kensington, London (the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum), the incredible Natural History Museum is a fantastic place to visit if you’re interested in any aspect of the world’s natural history – from dinosaur fossils to moon rocks and more. And, of course, if you’re on any one of the exciting cruises from London Tilbury – of which there are a lot, from transatlantic cruises to mini cruises and more. Simply put, it's one of the best museums in Britain and one of the most unique museums to visit in London; you won't find any Renaissance portraits here!
The collections in this museum, which also acts as an aid to numerous educational and research projects, chart the history of humankind and the evolution of life on Earth thousands of years beforehand. To make this museum easier to explore, all the fossils, artefacts, and unique exhibition displays are divided among four galleries inside the Natural History Museum – each one focuses on a different aspect of the planet’s natural history.
In the Red Zone, you’ll be able to explore the changing history of earth itself and come face to face with dinosaur skeletons, volcanic rocks, and statues creatively charting human evolution over the last several-thousand years. If you like your fossils, then the Green Zone should be your next port of call; this gallery focuses on the evolution of life on the planet – from bugs to birds and beyond.
The Natural History Museum’s Blue Zone takes this one step further and focuses on the diversity of life on the planet both past and present. So, if you’ve ever wondered how big a blue whale really is, you’ll get a pretty good grasp of that here. The Orange Zone, the final of the four main galleries in the museum, focuses much more on the active use of science – and you’ll find a quiet place to sit down and reflect here, too.
From left to right: Blue Whale skeleton, Mastadon skeleton, animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex
If you’re in London looking for a different kind of museum, though, you’ll be pleased to know that the city has quite a few worth exploring. The British museum, for example, is also dedicated to human history, but from a cultural point of view; here, you’ll find statues and artworks thousands of years old from around the world. You can also explore human history from a purely artistic point of view in The National Gallery, home to over 2,000 paintings from as early as the 13th century, or explore Britain’s impressive naval history in the National Maritime Museum – which is just a short trip on the London Underground away.
Cruise lines that sail to or from London via Tilbury include:
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However, if you're still on the fence and you want to learn a little more about the cruise industry and cruising in general, you can find out more from this selection of blog posts from Iglu Cruise.