64 Museums.
How many have you visited?

The world's largest museum began as a 12th-century fortress. Its glass pyramid entrance was controversial when it opened in 1989.

Why go: See the Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The 35,000 works span 9,000 years, enough to fill several visits.

The British Museum has 8 million objects, but only about 1% are on display. It opened in 1759 as the world's first national public museum and has been free ever since.

Why go: See the Rosetta Stone, which unlocked Egyptian hieroglyphs, and mummies from ancient Egypt. View the disputed Elgin Marbles and samurai armor, all for free.

The Smithsonian is the world's largest museum complex. Spending one minute on each item in its collection would take over 290 years.

Why go: See the Spirit of St. Louis at Air and Space and the Hope Diamond at Natural History. Touch a moon rock and see Dorothy's ruby slippers, with free admission.

Michelangelo spent four years painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, standing on scaffolding, not lying down as the myth says. The museums hold 20,000 works.

Why go: Walk through 2,000 years of art collected by the Catholic Church, ending at the Sistine Chapel. Look up at Michelangelo's Creation of Adam and visit the Raphael Rooms.

A public road and bike path run through arches under the museum. The Dutch Neo-Renaissance building holds 8,000 objects.

Why go: See Rembrandt's Night Watch and other Dutch Golden Age paintings. Visit the large Delftware collection.

The Met holds 2 million works, including the Temple of Dendur, a gift from Egypt that was rebuilt stone by stone.

Why go: See the Temple of Dendur in its glass-walled hall and Washington Crossing the Delaware. Walk through a Frank Lloyd Wright room and the Egyptian wing's mummies.

Vasari designed the Uffizi in 1560 as offices ("uffizi") for Florence's magistrates. It became an art gallery in 1765, and most of its collection came from the Medici family.

Why go: See Botticelli's Birth of Venus in the city where it was painted. View works by Caravaggio and Raphael from the Medici collection.

The Hermitage holds 3 million items across 400 rooms. About 50 cats live there to keep mice away from the art, a tradition started by Empress Elizabeth.

Why go: Walk through the Winter Palace of the Russian tsars and see works by da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Matisse. Climb the Jordan Staircase and see Scythian gold in the Gold Room.