Located in the hills near Lake Garda, outside Verona, the attraction is situated below the vineyards and not far from the world’s most famous and romantic balcony. It occupies a former nuclear bunker codenamed West Star, hinting at the Soviet Union’s five-pointed red star.

Spanning 13,000 square metres and connected by a kilometre-long network of tunnels, the underground complex was constructed between 1960 and 1966 near the town of Affi, at the height of the Cold War. It served as a key NATO command-and-control centre until 2004, coordinating military operations across southern Europe and hosting exercises.

The bunker was designed to withstand nuclear, chemical and biological attacks, and it has all the facilities needed to survive a nuclear war for a month. Its 100 rooms were designed to accommodate 300 personnel and were equipped with kitchens, water tanks, filtration systems and protected showers, as well as an infirmary.

In addition to the war room and communications centre, the complex featured a gym, a bar and a mechanics’ workshop. The latter contained everything one would expect in such a space, including erotic posters put up by the military staff, which will continue to work their “magic” on visitors as they will be left untouched. 

West Star was decommissioned in 2007 and ownership of the complex was transferred from Italy’s Ministry of Defence to the municipality of Affi in 2018. Plans to transform the site into a museum began to take shape in 2022, when a team of researchers from the University of Florence started to map it.

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The bunker’s history was investigated by researchers, who spoke to former employees who shared their experiences while West Star was still a military facility. They also digitised technical documents about the bunker’s construction.

The Italian parliament has now approved €7 million to transform the site into a museum by 2029, although part of it is expected to open to the public as early as next summer.

Once the work is complete, 70 to 80 per cent of the site will be accessible to visitors, including the original war room, infirmary, canteen and kitchen.

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Michelangelo Pivetta, the University of Florence architecture professor who led the research project, told the The Art Newspaper (TAN), the museum would offer “an opportunity to start speaking again about the Cold War – which is not spoken about enough today – in a historical sense.”

Beyond the military history, the museum will showcase some ingenious Cold War technology, including huge electricity generators and evaporation towers that collected humidity and recycled it into water. It will also display some of the most advanced computers of the ’60s and ’70s, such as Europe’s earliest ARPANET system, the pioneering computer network that preceded the modern internet, according to Pivetta.

Original maps will also be on display. “They are special because they don’t make them like that anymore. They tell the story of a world that no longer exists”, Pivetta added. 

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The site is expected to eventually attract 100,000 visitors a year. Marco Sega, the mayor of Affi, called the approval of the funding a historic moment for the community.  

“We now have a great responsibility: to make the best use of these resources and reopen the NATO base as soon as possible,” he said.

Besides West Star, Italy has a number of smaller Cold War museums. The Bunker Museum in Dobbiaco, in the far north of the country, is one of them. Opened in 2023, it was part of a network of bunkers that operated between 1951 and 1993 to counter a potential Soviet invasion.

Once open, West Star will add a very different attraction to a region better known for Lake Garda, Valpolicella wines and Verona’s Romeo and Juliet.

L’article Verona’s hidden Cold War bunker to become new tourist attraction est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun and Yosuke Hayano, the design draws on the classical Chinese allusion Shui Luo Shi Chu, meaning roughly “the water recedes and the rocks emerge”. Work began in 2018, and eight years later, the 188,000-square-metre complex is complete and open to the public.

Occupying a roughly 51,000-square-metre waterfront site in Houhai, in Shenzhen’s Nanshan District, it houses the Creative Design Pavilion and Shenzhen Science and Technology Life Hall, alongside galleries, educational spaces, a design library and a multifunctional theatre.

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The structures, which locals have nicknamed “AirPods”, for their resemblance to Apple’s earbuds, offer a clear visual dissonance with the forest of skyscrapers behind them, precisely the point as the world’s seventh most populous city strives to stand out from other “super cities”.

“Much of my work is guided by a simple question: can public space be more open and equal?” Ma Yansong told Dezeen. “[…] This site was entirely reclaimed from the sea. How can our design turn ancient nature into people’s imagination of the future, and make a large cultural building feel intimate, in service of human experience?”

Ma Yansong says he wanted to create a “surreal atmosphere” in which visitors could enter into dialogue with ancient times and the future, adding: “Architecture should be integrated into nature and become a landscape that can be experienced.”

The result allows city dwellers to escape the hustle and bustle of urban life without actually leaving it, offering them a place to rest, think, and reconnect with nature. Shenzhen Bay Culture Square sits between Houhai and the waterfront landscape of Talent Park, its planted roofs extending the park across the museum itself.

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Joggers, children, birdwatchers and photographers are revelling in the space, conceived by MAD to allow visitors to “step outside everyday perception into a larger imagination of nature and time”.

The complex comprises two clusters of halls, north and south. Above them, an undulating green roof rises and falls like a natural valley, with paths winding between lawns, trees and planted slopes towards viewpoints over Shenzhen Bay. The pavilions progressively decrease in height from city to shore, partly to avoid blocking the migratory birds that travel the East Asian-Australasian Flyway each year.

Much of the complex is tucked beneath this topography, freeing the surface for pedestrians, with a road along the eastern edge sunk underground and a footbridge connecting the roof park to the surrounding city.

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“By placing the building volumes beneath the landscape, the project leaves the ground to nature, creating an open waterfront park where people can freely walk, explore, and linger,” said MAD.

Below this pastoral roofscape, the galleries are spare and almost cavernous, with ribbed concrete exposed overhead and lighting and services absorbed into the ceiling. A ring-shaped atrium connects the underground galleries and draws daylight in.

At the water’s edge, the line between architecture and nature deliberately blurs. Planted exclusively with native species, the landscape gradually descends towards the adjacent wetland without a hard boundary. A shallow pool doubles as an open-air theatre, with nearby platforms hosting markets, exhibitions, festivals and concerts.

Shenzhen recently welcomed another new museum tracing 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history, while MAD’s other recent projects include a bulbous science museum in Haikou and a curving headquarters in Shenzhen.

L’article Shenzhen opens major new design museum and coastal public park est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Located in Shenzhen’s Pingshan District, the museum covers 105,300 square metres and has been designed as more than a visitor attraction. Alongside its permanent exhibitions, the facility includes science education centres, research spaces and landscaped parkland, reflecting Shenzhen’s ambition to strengthen its cultural and scientific infrastructure while complementing its reputation as one of China’s leading centres for technology and innovation.

The museum’s eight permanent exhibition halls guide visitors through 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history. Dedicated to the Universe, Earth, Evolution, Dinosaurs, Humans, Biology, Ecology and Homeland, the galleries follow a chronological journey from the birth of the cosmos and the formation of the planet through the evolution of life, the age of dinosaurs and the emergence of humans.

The experience concludes closer to home, highlighting Shenzhen’s own subtropical ecosystems and the biodiversity of the Greater Bay Area. Exhibits explore the city’s mangrove forests, wetlands, mountains, rivers and coastline, illustrating how local landscapes fit into the broader story of life on Earth.

Alongside fossil collections and scientific displays, the museum combines traditional exhibitions with immersive environments, digital projections and interactive installations designed to make natural history accessible to visitors of all ages.

Among its highlights are more than 200 rare wildlife specimens donated by the late American philanthropist Kenneth E. Behring. The collection, which includes African elephants, polar bears and other rare species, has been familiar to many Shenzhen residents since it was first donated to the city in 2009 and displayed at the Shenzhen Museum in Futian District. It has now found a new permanent home in the Natural History Museum.

Architecture inspired by nature

Designed by 3XN, B+H and Zhubo Design, the museum has been conceived as an extension of its natural surroundings. Its exterior draws inspiration from the nearby Pingshan River, with flowing forms that evoke a rocky cliff emerging from the water’s edge.

The building is composed of eight interconnected cone-shaped volumes, each housing one of the exhibition halls. At its centre, a naturally lit atrium welcomes visitors with a gently spiralling accessible ramp leading to the galleries, while an outdoor plaza connects the museum to the surrounding parkland, Yanzi Hill and the Pingshan River.

The façade is clad in locally sourced clay inspired by traditional Chinese terracotta tiles dating back to the Zhou Dynasty, creating a contemporary interpretation of historic building techniques.

“With its connection to the existing natural reserves, the Natural History Museum will not just become a destination in its own right but will be part of a much larger and more powerful cultural nucleus that draws together the city, community and nature,” said Kim Herforth Nielsen, founder and creative director of 3XN.

Built with sustainability in mind

Environmental sustainability has been integrated throughout the project. The museum incorporates locally sourced and upcycled materials, landscaped flood-prevention zones, a rainwater harvesting system and a botanical rooftop park designed to support biodiversity while blending the building into the surrounding landscape.

Its lakeside setting also enables an integrated water management system that captures, stores and reuses rainwater for cooling, irrigation and other operational needs.

The Shenzhen Natural History Museum is one of 10 major cultural institutions currently under development across the city, alongside projects including the Shenzhen Opera House and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum. Together, they reflect Shenzhen’s transformation from a city known primarily for technology and manufacturing into an increasingly important destination for architecture, culture and science.

Admission to the museum will be free of charge. Visitors can reach the site via Metro Line 16 to Shaba Station or the Shenzhen SkyShuttle to Natural History Museum West Station.

L’article New Shenzhen museum traces 4.6 billion years of Earth’s history  est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Every year since 1977, the European Museum of the Year Awards (EMYA), a competition organised by the European Museum Forum (EMF), select one museum within the continent that showcases excellence and innovation in its field. In 2025, the prize went to the Manchester Museum, and now a new winner has been chosen.

2026’s European Museum of the Year Award went to Den Gamle By, the Danish National Open-Air Museum of Urban History and Culture located in the city of Aarhus. At the museum, visitors get a taste of 400 years of history through interactive and immersive exhibitions Den Gamle By tends to focus on the lives of ordinary people, while educating visitors on a variety of topics including sustainability, equality, and empowerment.

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During the ceremony, the museum was praised for it ability to transform the open-air museum genre into a vibrant and influential platform for dialogue, reflection, and action.

“The museum positions itself as a dynamic agent of social change rather than merely a site of nostalgia. Through a variety of hands-on interactions, joyful reenactments, and community-driven storytelling, 400 years of the city’s history are brought into dialogue with the present, where important contemporary societal questions take centre stage,” the European Museum Forum said in a statement.

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According to the organisation, the museum excels through its carefully researched narratives. By addressing themes such as migration, identity, and social justice, authenticity is assured and simplified or romanticised representations of the past are challenged. Outreach initiatives, including collaborative urban gardening and biodiversity projects, create a dialogue with the community while educating people on pressing subject such as sustainability.

“It is a huge recognition to receive from the rest of Europe. The award is a tribute to over 100 years of development through a very special spirit in Den Gamle By with a team of dedicated employees who live and breathe every day to give guests the best possible experience,” Dean Gamle By director Julie Rokkjær Birch said about the award.

Other awarded museums

The European Museum of the Year Award is not the only prize to be awarded by the European Museum Forum. In 2026, five other institutions were given an award for their outstanding efforts within the museum industry.

– Young V&A (United Kingdom): Council of Europe Museum Prize

– Museum of Madness (Slovenia): Kenneth Hudson Award for Institutional Courage and Professional Integrity

– AlpenStadtMuseum in Sonthofen (Germany): Silletto Prize for Community Participation and Engagement

– Museum of the Rural Civilisation of Mendrisiotto (Switzerland): Portimão Museum Prize for Welcoming, Inclusion and Belonging

– Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva (Finland): Museum Prize for Environmental Sustainability

In 2027, the European Museum of the Year Awards will celebrate their 50^th edition during an award ceremony in Bern, Switzerland.

L’article Den Gamle By in Denmark becomes European Museum of the Year 2026 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

BRUSK, in the heart of the UNESCO city, is designed by Robbrecht en Daem architecten, the firm that previously designed the iconic Concert Hall. With strong eco-credentials, the new museum boasts “monumental exhibition spaces” that will “host Musea Brugge’s exhibitions of ancient, modern, and contemporary art, always in dialogue with current themes,” a press release reveals. The in-house collection and the Bruges context will usually serve as the starting point, the museum states, while masterpieces and loans from renowned institutions and museums around the world will complement the offer.

Starting on 8 May, the art gallery opens with a digital art experience titled Latent City, by Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol, as well as a “cultural-historical exhibition” named Bigger Picture. Connected worlds of Bruges 900-1550. Introducing the two shows, the museum notes that Latent City will be “Refik Anadol’s first solo exhibition in Belgium, an international pioneer in AI-powered art. At the same time, Bigger Picture will shed new light on Bruges as a medieval metropolis.”

Running from 8 May to 8 November 2026, Refik Anadol Studio brings the fruits of its bespoke trained AI models: transforming the idea of the metropolis with over five million images of global cities and unique algorithms.

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Bigger Picture meanwhile engages museum goers with the notion of the metropolis in the Middle Ages, looking at Bruges as a “world city, a hub in global networks of trade, culture and politics.” The exhibition materials draw attention to the way “Bruges seemed to be the epicentre of the world. But the city was never isolated. Bruges was constantly in contact with other regions and cultures through trade, travel, faith and ideas. And it was precisely these connections that gave it an important role in world history.” Visitors will experience “five chapters full of unique, historical objects and stories from different ages and continents” that “highlight the interactions between medieval Bruges and the rest of the world.”

BRUSK’s opening weekend (8-10 May 2026) is being branded as an “unmissable city festival” called “BRUSK FEST” that will “unfold in and around the art gallery over the course of 3 days.” The programme includes free performances, workshops, theatre, live performances, and music for all ages. One ticket allows guests to discover all the current exhibitions in BRUSK in one day, for a standard price of €20.

L’article Bruges inaugurates BRUSK art hall with major exhibitions and festival weekend est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The UK’s national museums and galleries, including world-class cultural institutions such as the British Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Tate Modern, and V&A, started offering free access to all under the Tony Blair Labour government in 2001. Special installations and exhibitions remain payable, while permanent collections are usually free to view under the scheme which saw institutions that had previously charged for admission drop the fees in in return for extra government funding. Visitors are often invited to make a donation on entry but are not obliged to do so, making the museums’ cultural artefacts available to everyone regardless of household budgets.

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Visitor numbers at the free national museums all rose substantially, averaging a 70% increase in the year after the policy was introduced. Visitors at the V&A rose by 111 percent from 1.1 million to 2.3 million. But critics say the profile of people visiting the museums has not changed and that cultural, class, and education barriers remain despite the efforts at democratisation.

Amid tight finances, today’s Labour government is reviewing the free entry policy, saying it will explore options with the museum sector, including a look at how a change in the funding model could benefit the arts.

The idea has not been well received in all quarters. The British Museum has come in for particular criticism in recent years for its collection that some say is made up of artefacts unlawfully taken during the colonial era from nations and peoples around the world. The Parthenon (or Elgin) Marbles are an infamous subject of contention, with Greece advocating for their return.

I’m puzzled that UK nationals are now charged a premium for visiting attractions such as the Louvre but we still give non-UK nationals free access to London museums. This is how UK negotiates with the EU – we’ll pay for you to get it free!

— Steve Crawshaw (@crawshaw_steve) April 9, 2026

Reuters reports that the vice-chair of the Caribbean Community’s reparations commission, Eric Phillips, has slammed the proposal as “unethical,” asking: “Why should we have to pay to see our heritage?”

In addition, Open Restitution Africa (ORA) said Africans and others must already currently travel and gain visas to come to the UK and see their own cultural artefacts and that “Introducing entry fees further compounds these inequalities.”

Some have called for a pricing strategy that would include reductions for such international visitors, while others question how paid entry could be implemented at all without causing controversy and queues, if every visitor needed to undergo an identity check. The government has not yet commented on the issues raised. A decision is expected by the end of 2026.

L’article International visitors could soon be charged for entry to free UK museums est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The museum has acquired a reconstructed version of the early YouTube watch page, allowing visitors to see the platform as it appeared online in its infancy. Corinna Gardner, Senior Curator of Design and Digital at the V&A, highlighted the importance of the acquisition: “This snapshot of YouTube in its early days marks an important moment in internet and digital design history. It gives us new ways to explore how online platforms have shaped culture and creativity.” 

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan welcomed the acquisition, highlighting the video’s cultural significance. “It’s wonderful to see ‘Me at the Zoo’ join the Victoria & Albert Museum’s collection. What started as a simple 19-second moment of self-expression became a new way for people to share their stories with the world,” he said. 

Though brief, the clip is historically significant. In it, Karim stands in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo and comments on their long trunks. Filmed with a low-resolution camera, the video helped launch a platform where anyone could create and share content, paving the way for millions of influencers, content creators, and YouTubers who now reach global audiences and shape culture. Since its upload on 23 April 2005, it has been watched hundreds of millions of times. 

The V&A spent roughly 18 months reconstructing the original page, working with YouTube’s UX team and the London-based interaction design studio oio.studio. They relied on website code preserved by the Internet Archive to replicate the interface as it appeared on 8 December 2006, the oldest documented snapshot available. Visitors can now see not just the video, but the entire experience of early YouTube, including interface layout and even banner ads from that period. 

The acquisition also reflects a broader shift in how museums are collecting culture in the digital age. Traditionally, institutions like the V&A focused on paintings, sculptures, historic objects, and decorative arts, but digital platforms, websites, and internet culture are increasingly being preserved. Examples include the famous Dancing Baby viral clip from 1996, and Nyan Cat, a pixelated animation that even became an NFT. Similarly, early computing technology is now displayed in museums like the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. 

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“Me at the Zoo” highlights YouTube’s impact on modern media. Founded in 2005, the platform allowed anyone to upload videos, transforming how people create, share, and consume content. This short clip marked the start of the creator economy, paving the way for millions of content makers, from educational creators to travel vloggers, who now reach global audiences and influence culture worldwide. 

For travellers visiting London, the V&A is a must-see destination. Located in the cultural district of South Kensington, it is one of the world’s largest museums of art, design, and decorative arts. The display of “Me at the Zoo” is housed in the Design 1900–Now gallery at the South Kensington site, which explores how design, technology, and everyday objects shape modern life. Visitors can explore millions of objects spanning more than 5,000 years of history, including fashion, furniture, photography, ceramics, sculpture, and digital design. 

Additional material on the reconstruction of the early YouTube page is on show at the V&A East Storehouse in Stratford, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how digital culture is preserved for future generations. With this exhibition, the museum highlights how the digital world, once considered fleeting, has become an important part of cultural history, bridging traditional collections with the online experiences that continue to shape modern life. 

L’article First-ever YouTube video finds home at London’s V&A Museum est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

While Alberto Giacometti was born in Switzerland in 1901, as of 1922, the artist spent most of his life in Paris. Many of his sculptures, drawings, and other pieces of art were made out of a tiny 23 square meter rental studio in the Montparnasse neighbourhood until his death in 1966. Afterwards, his wife Annette spent the rest of her life until 1993 carefully cataloguing all his works, which led to an impressive collection containing over 10,000 pieces. Once Annette passed away, the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti took over the collection.

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“[That includes] thousands of drawings, over 400 sculptures, 100 paintings, a whole collection of decorative objets d’art, prints, everything that was in the studio, all the archives. People don’t know we have masterpieces from the earliest period, when Giacometti was very young, masterpieces from the Surrealist period, masterpieces from wartime, masterpieces from after the war, masterpieces from the late period”, Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti director Catherine Grenier told The Art Newspaper.

Over the past few years, the foundation has been based in a 350-square-meter location known as the Institut Giacometti in Paris’s 14^th arrondissement, yet ever since the inauguration of that space in 2018, the goal has been to find a bigger space, which could welcome the public and house dedicated exhibitions.

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Big project, big space

Thanks to Paris’ urban renewal project called Réinventer Paris, that space will soon become a reality. The former Gare des Invalides train station in the French capital’s 7^th arrondissement is currently being transformed by property developers Emerige Group and Nexity.

Once completed, the building situated on the Seine riverfront next to the Pont Alexandre III will house the new 6,000 square meter headquarters of the foundation. The space will be divided into an exhibition space on the one hand, featuring hundreds of works that have never been shown to the public before. On the other hand, a cafe, a restaurant, a bookshop, and an educational space will complete the offer.

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The fancy location of the museum – right in the heart of Paris – and its size have already sparked some criticism. In November 2025, in an article for Swiss Info, Paris-based Swiss journalist Mathieu van Berchem wondered whether it might be “a bit over the top,” and French-Swiss architect and sculptor Serge Lemeslif, underlined Giacometti’s simplicity, something he doesn’t see reflected in the new museum. However, both curator Peter Selz and director Catherine Grenier don’t agree with such reasoning, saying the size of the collection and the educational vocation of the project justify its scale.

While initially scheduled to open in 2026, at the time of writing, the museum is now planning on opening its doors in the second half of 2028.

L’article Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti gets world’s first museum in Paris est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

The revamped Paisley Museum has emerged from a £68.7 million (approximately €79 million) renovations led by Renfrewshire Council with a striking new look. The project was held back by a dearth of materials linked to the global pandemic, as well as rising construction costs and inflation.

A striking, dramatic red glass façade now greets visitors on the High Street, encouraging them to “naturally drift in”. The light-filled extensions bridge the gap between the historic complex and contemporary architecture, while the bold red frontage is intended to evoke the town’s radical spirit and capacity for reinvention.

Two buildings have also been extensively renovated: the main, A-listed building and the Coats Observatory, which is recognised as Scotland’s oldest public observatory. Both structures have been restored while preserving their historic character. 

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Inside, the museum now offers double the exhibition space across every floor in state-of-the-art galleries. An outdoor garden and new public spaces have been landscaped, and a café and museum shop have been added. The museum will also boast a dedicated learning space, an archive centre, a weaving studio and digital interactive experiences throughout its exhibitions.

A new wing is also planned to connect the Coats Observatory to the main building. This will include a telescope, giving visitors the opportunity to stargaze.

OneRen, a Renfrewshire cultural charity, will operate the museum and hopes to welcome 125,000 visitors a year.

While acknowledging the considerable challenges faced during the refurbishment, Renfrewshire Council’s spokesperson, Lisa-Marie Hughes, shows unfailing optimism:

“As with many projects involving historic buildings and with this being the first major refurbishment in its 150-year history, there have been challenges”, she said. “But I’m excited for us to now look forward to the fit-out process as we create the environment that will allow us to tell the stories of Paisley’s history and its people.”

The museum’s website describes the building as the product of a “bold and radical community” that defied social division and came together around a shared interest in the natural world, science, art, and history.

Inaugurated in 1871, the museum was built by and for the people of Paisley, driven by what it calls the “curious spirit” of the community. The region was booming in the early nineteenth century thanks to its weaving industry, which brought prosperity and, with it, a growing appetite for education. The museum’s precursor, the Paisley Philosophical Institution, which was founded in 1808, promoted education for all through public lectures, and it also began collecting artefacts, scientific apparatus, objects, and books. In 1867, Sir Peter Coats agreed to finance a dedicated building to house the new museum.

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Hughes framed the project as both cultural and economic investment, adding: “We will have a visitor attraction that local people and communities will be proud of and one that will attract thousands of visitors to the town each year, who will boost the local economy”.

Designed by the international architecture firm AL_A and constructed by HUB Build, the project was made possible through a partnership between Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish Government and major heritage funders, including the National Lottery.

OneRen’s project director, Kirsty Devine, aims to establish the museum as one of Europe’s leading cultural destinations. This may well happen, as the museum has already won a major international award: the AR Future Project Award. It beat the Prado Museum in Madrid to win the award.

L’article Landmark Scottish museum set to reopen in 2026 after major renovations est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

For museum enthusiasts, Brussels is a perfect destination year-round. The Belgian capital offers a wide variety of museums in a wide variety of themes, ranging from classical art all the way to beer and everything in between. Yet once a year, the city becomes even more interesting museum-wise thanks to the now well-established Nocturnes, an event which has been going for over 30 years.

During the Nocturnes, a selection of Brussels’ museums remains open later than usual on Thursdays, allowing everyone to spend a night at the museum after hours. It is the perfect way to end a day of sight-seeing in the city, to calm down after a day at the office, or to start a night out in a different way than usual. 

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In 2026, the Nocturnes take place on Thursday evenings between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm from 12 March until 23 April and more than 40 museums participate in this year’s edition. The list of participants includes a range of newcomers and museums that haven’t taken part in the Nocturnes for some time, such as the Espace Vanderborght, the ULB Museum of Zoology and Anthropology, A Foundation, the Museum of Evere (Food and Mill), Clockarium, Belgian Chocolate Village, and Brussels City Hall. 

Spread over seven consecutive Thursdays, all of the participating museums will open their doors to the public at least one evening during the Nocturnes. In order to celebrate the occasion, many will be organising special events and behind-the-scenes tours for visitors, allowing them to get to know a different museum or offering an excuse to revisit old favourites. For example, the Erasmus House in Anderlecht will be organising a beer tasting featuring herbs from the garden, while the KBR will organise an introduction to medieval dance.

For the 2026 season of the Nocturnes, three types of tickets will be available: standard tickets, tickets with reservation, and special event entrances. Some passes, such as the MuseumPassMusées and the Art Nouveau Pass, may offer free entrance to a selection of venues, and some museums are free for everyone. Details about pricing and reservations can be found through the Nocturnes website. 

L’article Brussels Nocturnes returns with 40 museums open on Thursday nights est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.