12 History Museums You Should Visit At Least Once

Founded in 2003, the Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the original archaeological Acropolis of Athens site. The new museum was first conceived in 1976, to make way for larger exhibitions and more space for the throngs of visitors that pass through every year. With 14,000 square meters of exhibition space and nearly 4,000 objects from the Greek Bronze Age, the Roman period, and Byzantine Greece, and the glass floor gallery allows visitors to see the continuing excavation of the site.

The Hagia Sophia Museum is one of the world’s most prominent and visited monuments relating to the history of art and architecture. Having been called ‘the eighth wonder of the world’ from as far back as the 6^th century, Hagia Sophia is worth visiting to look at the impressive architecture alone, in particular the central dome. The housed collection tells an interesting story of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, including the diversity of the building’s history as well as the relations between eastern Christianity and Islam, since the museum building was previously used as both a church and a mosque.

The Army Museum in Paris is one of the world’s largest military art and history museums in the world. A comprehensive military museum, it covers much of France’s military history from the 13^th century up to contemporary modern warfare, and features structures such as the central edifice of the Cathedral of St Louis des Invalides, and the domed church which houses Napoleon Bonaparte’s tomb, and many others. As part of the larger Les Invalides complex, the museum offers close access to the Musuem of Military Models, the Contemporary History Museum, and a working retirement home for veterans.

The top museum in Singapore and one of the first museums to provide a broad, yet integrated perspective of pan-Asian cultures and civilizations. The Asian Civilisations Museum’s collections focus mostly on Singapore’s multi-ethnic society, which covers much of the cultural and social history of China, Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia. The museum’s tagline is: ‘where Asian cultures come alive!’. Its collections include a diverse range of items: aristocratic art, South Indian woodwork, Chinese porcelain statues and early Buddhist bronze, shedding new light on civilizations that were previously guarded.

The Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses is home to another contender for eighth wonder of the world and remains one of the most unique finds of the past few centuries. The museum houses excavated terracotta warriors, an informative exhibit on the life of Emperor Qin, and a changing exhibition. The real highlight of this museum, however, is the three open pits complete with terracotta warriors and horses. The scale of the pits is astonishing, as is the detail that went into each of the sculptures. The remarkable preservation and intactness of these relics give us a glimpse into this long buried part of China’s history.

Ancient Egypt continues to be one of history’s most enduringly popular time periods, with millions of tourists heading to The Egyptian Museum every year to look at the world’s most extensive collection of pharaonic antiquities. The museum’s exhibitions are displayed over two floors: the ground floor features a chronological journey through Egypt’s 5000 year history through some 160,000 objects while the upper floor is home to changing exhibitions that are grouped by category, and have previously included Tutankhamun’s tomb, divinity statues, and implements from everyday life.