Museums are a must when traveling to other areas of the world. And there’s an art to enjoying a large-scale, world-class museum when you’re on a time budget. Museum FOMO is real. Trying to see it all without good prep can stand in the way of a great afternoon especially when you aren’t sure if or when you’ll make it back to visit.
The good news? Tackling the Louvre, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Rijksmuseum, or even the Grand Egyptian Museum of Cairo can be done without feeling stressed out and mentally depleted by the end of day of soaking in the art and antiquities of the world.
Here are our seven top tips for making the most of your next museum visit.
Seven Tips to Help You Get the Most out of a Museum
#1: How To Prepare For A Major Museum
Before you go, make a plan. Figure out what you want to see the most and chart a route. Most museums have a website designed to help with this very thing.
For example, the Louvre has a specific area of their site devoted to the different public entrances available to visitors. This means you can buy yourself more time in the museum- steering around crowds and getting closer to your “must see” pieces- simply by starting in the right place.
You can also buy your tickets ahead of time online is essential for avoiding tour bus groups- and increasingly required post-covid. Don’t miss out by hoping to “show up” the day of, only to discover tickets are sold out before the museum opens.
Visiting a major museum on a discount day?
While discount or free days are a great way to save travel cash, be prepared for larger crowds overall. For example, all the Smithsonian museums in Washington D.C. are completely free on the weekend. This, of course, makes the weekends the busiest times to visit.
One last thing to keep in mind while on that museum website: how long will it take you to see the biggest attractions? The Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace have security lines that can eat up hours of time during the height of the day.
Many museums have limited their ticketing post-pandemic- which could mean good news if you’re seeing a critical work. A quick google search 3-4 weeks before your arrival will help you prepare for what’s in store.
#2: Do You Need That Photo?
I know you want to snap a picture of Rembrandt’s Night Watch for your Instagram…but there are a few things to consider before busting out your phone.
Does the museum allow photography?
The Mona Lisa, for example, is available for non-flash photography. But in other museums? You’ll find photography strictly off limits. Art and historical documents can be sensitive to light decay. Be respectful of our common history and make sure you look for signs or familiarize yourself with museum protocol before pulling out your phone.
Second- is it worth it to take that photo?
There’s a huge crowd clamoring around Michelangelo’s David. Do you want to push past that huge family from Iowa and shove yourself into the hoard of iphone users trying to get a shot of the famous statue?
It’s time for some hard truth. Unless you’re a professional, your picture isn’t going to turn out that great. You’re just another visitor holding up the line for a quick snap that, honestly, isn’t going to do the work justice. A museum’s most renowned works are going to be available on a postcard or in large print in the giftshop.
Fall in love with something in a side gallery? Feel free to photograph if rules allow.
Keep in mind when traveling to Rome, Cairo, or other cultural hotspots: famous museums are easy money for pickpockets. While you’re standing there, focusing on capturing the lovely image of Nefertiti’s famous bust and flipping through Instagram filters, your phone might be the very distraction that lets your wallet slip away.
Which leads me to…
#3: Uninvite Your Phone- This Is Your Date With The Museum
Would you spend a night with a handsome stranger and a bottle of sangiovese on Montmartre…with your phone in hand? Ouais c’est ça! An elegant woman spends her museum days basking in the light of history’s greatest treasures, not the ultraviolet glow of some Zuckerberg trap.
Treat your museum visit like a date. Put the phone away and allow yourself to be delighted, challenged, and invigorated by the works around you.
Every minute you’re on your phone takes away from the museum experience. While you’d never be caught browsing social media in the Louvre it can be tempting just to look up more on that one so-interesting detail…
All right, so that’s me.
Having a phone at hand is a one-way ticket down the search rabbit hole. But leaving the phone completely behind is a hard sell, especially if you are using it to navigate to and from the museum.
What if you absolutely must know more about the political landscape Picasso lived in when he painted Guernica? What if you’re awestruck with your first encounter with Amrit Sher-Gil and absolutely must know more right away?
All too often I’ve left an exhibit with a series of facts but no sense of experience. All of this heightens museum FOMO and messes up a solid travel itinerary when you circle back to the museum another day of your trip.
My solution? I’ve trained myself to take photos of information cards with notes when necessary- and to keep the phone locked in a zipped pocket of my clutch otherwise.
If you can, keep your phone secured away for the duration of your visit. Instead, engage your senses to strengthen your memory and allow your mind to exercise its curiosity in the present.
#4: What To Pack- And What To Leave Behind
The Rijksmuseum: 323,000 square feet.
The Louvre: 652,300 square feet.
And when the Grand Egyptian Museum is finished in late 2021, it will cover 5,200,000 square feet.
These museums are massive.
Pack lightly. Whatever you take along you’ll have it on you for hours.
Don’t turn your museum trip into an Everest summit. Pack only the essentials- and leave the rest behind. This includes coats and shopping bags (use the coat check), makeup and beauty products (one lipstick- that’s all you need), books and guides.
Again- think “first date” and not “weekend excursion”. A small, minimalist bag will allow for the necessities without weighing down the experience.
What’s in our museum bag? Nothing more than what fits into this Nisolo tote.
- A reusable water bottle (if allowed in the museum)
- Tickets and ID
- A few doses of tylenol or advil
- A matte lipstick or colored chapstick
- That croissant we grabbed from the corner patisserie on the way inside (snacks are good for stamina)
You’ll need to decompress after a museum day. Plan to head back to the hotel for a refresh after so you aren’t pressured to change on the go.
#5: Give Guided Tours A Chance
For most of my life I thought guided tours were lame. Why would you need someone to show you the basics? The essentials are up on the wall- I’d rather spend my time discovering the details on my own.
Then I went on a guided tour of the Peoria Riverfront Museum just because the tour guide looked lonely. And you know what? It was amazing. The guide was both an expert and an enthusiast. The experience was much less “primary” and more like the university professor whose classes you couldn’t get enough of. I loved it!
Since then, I’ve enjoyed several guided tours of museums and churches around the world.
Most major museums have guided tours, including tours tailored to first time visitors or those interested in a specific portion of a museum’s pieces.
Take the Rijkmuseum for example. They have a “best of” style tour that gives visitors the highlights of the museum. Or, they have a tour for people with visual impairments (and those looking for a new way to experience the museum) that focuses on enjoying the exhibits with senses other than sight.
If you’re a veteran of a particular world-class museum, booking a guided tour can be a way to see your favorites through fresh eyes, dive deeper into historical context, and discover pieces you’ve walked past but never “seen”.
#6: Beware of Museum Fatigue
Don’t laugh, it’s a real thing! Benjamin Ives Gilman coined the term back in 1916, in The Scientific Monthly as
“The state of physical or mental fatigue caused by the experience of exhibits in museums and similar cultural institutions.”
Museum fatigue doesn’t just happen with tier-one museums that span acres in their collections. I’ve had to happen with the St. Louis Art Museum, or emotionally-charged museums like the Anne Frank House or The Titanic Museum.
What is museum fatigue? It’s a brain-fog that steals over you after you’ve been at the museum all day. You’re physically tired and your head is too full from processing.
Best tip? Don’t stay at the museum all day. You’re thinking, “We don’t all live next door to the British Museum! This is the only chance I have!”
We feel your pain- but for museums? It’s quality over quantity when it comes to hours spent.
Two quick tips:
#1. Plan An Off-campus Midday Break. Most large museums allow you to leave and reenter on the same ticket. If you can, plan an off-campus lunch and revisit the museum after a lunch and a glass of champagne.
#2. Give Yourself Time To Decompress. For small museums or emotionally heavy historic sites? Don’t plan anything after that requires a quick shift of energy. Instead, take some rest at your hotel, find a park to explore, or walk around a botanical garden.
#7: Exit Through The Gift Shop
Tourist shops are a big pass for us but museum gift shops? Take my money.
This is the place to find photo-perfect prints of your favorite museum pieces. stock up on small gifts for the holidays, and support a museum you love.
Major museums put as much thought into the curation of their merchandise as they do their exhibits- that means you have great access to phenomenal pieces you and your loved ones will treasure like…
A tea towel featuring the Lewis Chessmen from The British Museum.
A small wooden replica of a ship’s mast used to decorate Neruda’s home from Isle Negra.
Creamy, Italian-made stationery embossed with a full color of The Birth of Venus from the Uffizi.
Irish wool socks from visiting The Book of Kells in Trinity College, Dublin.
The more you browse Refined By History– the more you’ll see museum gift shop finds popping up in our own homes!
Another secret?
Take your Christmas shopping list on travel, no matter the time of year, to find perfect pieces to fill those holiday stockings without the last-minute hurry.
It’s a meaningful way to share the experience- sometimes months after your return. Imagine the look on your mom’s face when you give her that hand blown Venetian glass ornament from your tour of Italy last May months later in December. It’s a great way to reignite the memories and show friends and family you think of them year-round.
What’s Your Museum Success Secret?
Have a tip to share? We’d love to hear it- as well as your own museum experience! Connect with us on Instagram here and leave us a comment.
Happy Museum Going,
Jewel Walcott
