The Horniman Museum is a genuine secret gem in south east London. It takes an effort to find but it is SO worth it.
It's a free museum, packed with all kinds of interesting collections: from anthropology to musical history to all kinds of natural treasures.
There's even an aquarium, and a lovely park to have picnics in, weather permitting.
Take a trip to the depths of non-tube-land south east London and discover a fascinating world.

www.horniman.ac.uk
100 London Rd, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3PQ
Open daily 10.30-17.30pm (except 24-26 Dec)
Entrance to the museum & gardens is free, but there is a charge for the aquarium
Getting there: buses 176, 185, 197, 356, P4 stop outside the museum on London Road
Forest Hill London Overground station is a five-minute walk away.
Google map: bit.ly/Z7bh4d

* Lucy is our Been there local for London. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/london-local-lucy-mallows.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/LucyRM.jsp

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This splendid 16th-century building is one of the points on Seville’s UNESCO World Heritage triangle (the other two being the cathedral and the Alcazar) – and the only one with free entry. It was built to house Seville’s main commercial operations during the Golden Age, as more and more merchandise was brought back from the Americas. Since 1785 it has been used to store documents tracing all Spain’s dealings with the New World – some 80 millions of pages of them, on 8km of shelving. While most of the exhibits (maps, posters and documents) are labelled in Spanish, there is a very interesting 15-minute video on show, with English subtitles.

Avenida de la Constitución s/n (no number), 41004 Seville
+34 954 50 05 28
Google map: bit.ly/143kXe2

*Eloise is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her bio here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-eloise-horsfield and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/EloiseHorsfield You can also catch her on Twitter at @EloiseHorsefield

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Just a short train ride from Lisbon’s Cais do Sodre station is Cascais where sun lovers can enjoy the beach but for those seeking something more energetic pick up one of the free bikes for hire at the BiCas scheme located close to the station. You will need to show ID card or passport before heading off on the dedicated 16k cycle path out of town and down the coast. Perhaps purchase a picnic first, store it in the handy bike basket and stop off at Guincho beach, beloved of surfers. On the way back make a short and worthwhile detour to Museum Casa Historias das Paula Rego, Avenida de Republica 300, where entry is free. Here you will dazzled by the largest collection of paintings, drawings and etchings from the vivid imagination of Paula Rego, Portugal’s finest living artist.

www.casadashistoriaspaularego.com/pt/
Avenida da República, 300, 2750-475 Cascais
+351 214 826 970
Google map: bit.ly/ZyF3wY

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

MONA is Australia's largest private art museum and one of the country's most talked-about cultural institutions. It opened in January 2011 and houses the collection of eccentric Tasmanian millionaire David Walsh.
Carved into the sandstone cliffs of a peninsula in north Hobart, the building alone is worth a visit. It won the National Architecture Award in November 2012.
The collection ranges from antiquities (including several Egyptian mummies) to contemporary art, and visitors are encouraged to give their opinion of the artworks through the interactive audio guide 'the O'.
I loved the design of the building and the way in which visitors are encouraged to interact with the art. MONA lives up to the hype and is one of the most unusual and entertaining art galleries I've ever been too.
The best way to get there is by ferry. The trendy, camouflage print MONA ferry leaves from the docks of Hobart's old town. There is a coffee bar on board and if you go out on deck there are amazing views of Mount Wellington and Hobart's beautiful surroundings.
Adult entry to MONA is $20 and the ferry costs another $20 for a return ticket.

www.mona.net.au/
655 Main Rd Rosetta TAS 7011
+61 3 6277 9900
Google map: bit.ly/10Nyl9e

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Wheeler Centre is a cultural institution dedicated to books, writing and ideas. It is the centrepiece of Melbourne’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature and organises events, lectures, readings and debates about literature and a wide range of other issues. All the events I've been to there have been really thought-provoking, and they are a great way to gain insight into both contemporary writing and 21st-century Australia. And one of the best things about The Wheeler Centre is that most of the events are free! Reserving tickets through the website is very simple so if you're visiting Melbourne make sure you check out The Wheeler Centre's programme.

www.wheelercentre.com/
176 Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
+61 3 9094 7800
Google map: bit.ly/Zfu6Ar

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

We’re halfway through our tour of The Little Museum of Dublin and curator Simon O’ Connor stops to acknowledge a vintage Gold Flake advertisement glowing above the fireplace. The outdoor sign takes pride of place on the 1960s wall of nostalgic posters and photographs on display at 15 St Stephen’s Green. Considering Ireland became the first country in the world to introduce an outright smoking ban in workplaces in 2004, today it looks almost brazen, hanging there, indoors and lit up.
But before there is time to be distracted by the rest of the memorabilia on the wall, over on the other side of the room, museum director Trevor White is drawing our attention to a black and white photograph of a rather grand looking house. Seamlessly, he weaves in a story about how the electrician who had shown up to fix the wiring in the cigarette sign had boasted about having something very interesting to offer the museum.
It turns out to be one of the museum’s most remarkable exhibits…
Heads swivel from the Gold Flake sign to Trevor, who begins reciting the letter beside the photograph of the house. It is addressed to one Samuel Beckett. A few oohs and aahs erupt among the group. It turns out the letter had been written as part of a school history project. A teacher had asked her class to find out who used to live in their families’ houses and to write to the former occupants to ask about their memories of the houses. As a young boy, the electrician discovered that none other than Samuel Beckett had once lived in his house and posted off a letter as part of the project. To his delight (and no doubt his teacher’s amazement too), the writer and playwright responded with a lovely letter, even joking at the end about how his ghost would come back to haunt the house one day.
This is just one of many charming back stories behind the pieces that make up the collection at the Little Museum of Dublin.
Every item on display in The Little Museum of Dublin has been donated by a member of the public and in most cases, ordinary Dubliners.
The museum sets out to celebrate 100 years of Dublin history, from 1900 – 2000 and is the perfect place to get a quick overview of Dublin’s social history, especially if you’re short on time. The collection is as eclectic as it gets. You’ll find a lectern from JFK’s visit to Dublin sharing the same space as early newspaper cuttings about a young U2 and a first edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses.
Guided tours take place every hour. The museum opens until 8pm on Thursdays when there is a guided tour by curator Simon O’ Connor at 7pm.

www.littlemuseum.ie
15 St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Co. Dublin, Ireland
+353 1 661 1000
Google map: bit.ly/ZrBdlN

* Fiona is our Been there local for Dublin. You can follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/FionaHilliard and read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/trails/been-there-locals.jsp. She also has her own blog: www.traveledits.com

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Is public napping performance art? It is if you're kooky, androgynous actress Tilda Swinton! She did just that in London's Serpentine Gallery in 1995, in collaboration with the artist Cornelia Parker, and now she's at it again at the MoMA. Swinton will appear unannounced six times in 2013 to publicly sleep in a clear box. But hey, maybe you'll be at the museum at the right time? You may as well check. The Museum of Modern Art is at 11 West 53rd Street between 5th and 6th Avenues.

www.moma.org/
11 W 53rd St, New York, NY, United States
+1 212 708 9400
Google map: bit.ly/17o7Abq

* Amanda is our Been there local for New York. You can check out her page here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/new-york-local-amanda-green.jsp and her own NYC blog here: www.noisiestpassenger.com/. She's also on Twitter: @amandagreen

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Demonstrating butter churning with an abundance of fresh, new, springtime cream, is a man in a tricorn hat. Nestled in the shambles at Bewdley Museum, lies 'The Copper Pot', a replica Georgian shop selling seasonal, historically-researched foods for people to buy. The smell of spices and chocolate gets into your nose as soon as you walk in. With tasters on offer, historic games to try and authentic decoration to feast your eyes on, time literally stops still in here.

www.facebook.com/TheCopperPot
www.thecopperpot.co.uk
Bewdley Shambles, Bewdley Museum, Load Street, Bewdley, DY12 2AE
+44(0)7500 170681

Open April-Oct, Thursday-Sunday from 10am-4pm.
Kidderminster is the nearest train station, but the Severn Valley Railway stops in Bewdley.
Google map: bit.ly/16L7GGT

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

This little known museum has an amazing collection of soviet era helicopters and even some jets. It is run by a private collector who has built up the collection over the past ten years. Rarely seem outside Russia these copters and planes are impressive and interesting and if you have an hour whilst waiting for your flight can be seen for small fee

www.aviamuseum.org/EN/
Ten min walk from the main terminal...ask the helpful staff on the information kiosk inside the building as other staff seem unaware of its existence (as do official tourist info in riga)
full info and list of exhibits here
aviamuseum.org/EN/
Only bettered by the equally unknown air museum at east midlands aiport (ask in aircraft model shop...the only one I have ever found in an airport even though that would seem a great place for one!)

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A quirky little museum that claims to be the only museum in the world devoted to the Sun. I have no reason to doubt this claim and the museum has a section on astronomy (currently only in Latvian except for a short dvd) and a collection of sun related sculptures and painted sun signs from all over the world. As well as being artistic they also reveal a lot about the attitude of humans to the sun, from the all seeing eye sun from Turkey to the animated Indonesian sun devil and traditional Latvian sun charms. You also get the chance to create your own sun sculpture. A quirky little museum created by a private collector

www.saulesmuzejs.lv/index_en.html
Vaļņu street 30, Riga, LV-1050
(+371) 67225587
Google map: bit.ly/16LskJU

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Augustinian Monastery at Brno is where Gregor Mendel worked with peas and bees to unravel the hereditary principles. His painstaking efforts are displayed here and, although he predated Darwin, his work was not recognised until the early 20th century.

www.mendelmuseum.muni.cz/en/
Opatství Staré Brno Řádu sv. Augustina
Mendlovo náměstí 1a, 603 00 Brno
+420 543 424 043
Google map: bit.ly/Vq7gUv

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

If you treat your own shoe collection like a museum, then wait 'til you see how a real museum does it. The "Shoe Obsession" exhibit at The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) showcases more than 150 pairs of haute shoes, from the good to the very good to the "Who'd try to walk in those?" (Answer: Lady Gaga.) The museum free and open every day, except for Mondays and Sundays. It's located at 7th Avenue and 27th Street, a quick walk from Penn Station.

www.fitnyc.edu/
227 W 27th St New York, NY 10001, United States
+1 212 217 7999
Google map: bit.ly/YsIlgk

* Amanda is our Been there local for New York. You can check out her page here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/new-york-local-amanda-green.jsp and her own NYC blog here: www.noisiestpassenger.com/. She's also on Twitter: @amandagreen

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Hungarian artist Victor Vaserely created what we know as Op Art - images that trick the brain and make the eyeballs throb. The Sixties wouldn't have looked the same without him. Situated in a charming square in Obuda (Old Buda), the Vaserely museum has a huge collection of his (also huge) works - as well as suspicious staff who follow you around to check you haven't stolen an eight foot square painting. It also hosts changing exhibitions by contemporary artists and an interactive room for children to explore colour and light. The geometrical images make a refreshing break for eyes saturated with Austro-Hungarian opulence, but it's not a good idea after a few palinkas the night before ...
Entry is cheap and it's easily accessible from the city centre.

www.vasarely.hu
1033 Budapest, Szentlélek tér 6, Hungary
+36 1 388 7551
Google map: bit.ly/V1wgDV

Arpad hid HEV station

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

The Palazzo dei Priori houses not only the Archaeology Museum on the first floor but the Pinacoteca and the Sala de Mappamondo upstairs (the police station is housed in the ground floor).
The Pinacoteca has an impressive display. The minatures telling the life-story of Saint Lucy are exquisite but when we walked into one of the rooms there was one picture that was head and shoulders above the rest, and we thought that before we realised it was a Rubens; but for me the best was yet to come.
When the attendant unlocked the heavy dark doors I was not ready for the assault on my senses - tears pricked my eyes. The scent of aging manuscripts and books filled my nostrils and I looked around a room that was filled from floor to ceiling with books. To one side stood a large globe made in 1713 by the Abbot Amanzio Moroncelli from strips of paper.
I could quite happily have sat in the middle of the small roped area that we were confined to and inhaled the scent of centuries of writing for the remainder of the day.

Piazza Del Popolo, 63023 Fermo Province of Ascoli Piceno, Italy
+39 0734 217140
Google map: bit.ly/XfnG2u
www.fermoturismo.it
Tourist Office: (+39) 0734 228738

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Sibiu is well worth a visit. Admire Transylvanian icons and Romanian Impressionist paintings in the Brukenthal Museum on the Piata Mare. Stroll to the nearby Liars’ Bridge, Romania’s oldest cast-iron bridge, said to collapse if you tell a lie when standing on it (somehow it survived intact when Ceaucescu made a speech from it.) Visit the 14th Century Evangelic church where the son of Vlad the Impaler (inspiration for Dracula) was stabbed. Saunter back to the Piata Mare, with its sherbet-coloured buildings, to people-watch or enjoy an open-air concert. Relax in the elegant Hotel Imparatul Romanilor round the corner – just £45 for a twin room with a fantastic buffet breakfast.

www.imparatulromanilor.ro/
Str.Nicolae Balcescu, Sibiu 550159, Romania
+40 269 216 500
Google map: bit.ly/WwXVaB

www.brukenthalmuseum.ro/index_en.htm
Piața Mare 5, Sibiu 550163, Romania
+40 269 217 991
Google map: bit.ly/XMjSm5

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Lanzarote is one of the canary islands and seems to be less well known here than the others e.g. it has had no readers tips on been there. But it deserves a better recommendation. Thanks to a far sighted policy from planner and local hero Cesar Manrique it has not been spoilt by overdevelopment. Large scale tourist resorts (which are also good in what they do) are confined to the one part of the south east of the Island. The rest is a mix of post volcanic landscape (a weird other worldly feel when you walk in it), relaxing villages and small towns, with interesting history (e.g. check out the museum of piracy in the fort at Tesguise), street markets, good food and great sunsets over clean beaches. For relaxation and winter sun only four hours from UK I would highly recommend it. Also I would recommend the eco resort at Arrieta see other tip

Between Tenerife and Gran Canaria off the coast of Morrocco

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

I went to Krakow with my friend to hear her daughter sing in her Leeds choir in a number of wonderful churches in Krakow. We felt - reluctantly - that we should visit Auschwitz and Birkenau camps while we were there. I'm so glad we went. I came away feeling there isn't anyone on the planet who wouldn't benefit from having a closer look at the stark reality of such an event in living history. Sobering, moving and unforgettable.

en.auschwitz.org.pl/
(+48) 33 844 81 00
Google map: bit.ly/XrIj83

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

These were a series of bunkers, tunnels and banks built in the early 1930s on what was then the German border, to resist a Russian invasion. The tunnels were up to 40 metres deep and wide enough to hold a double-track train line. In the event the Russians invaded so quickly that there was no time to fully man the defences, so they were soon overrun. Much of it was subsequently blown up, but enough remains to see the surface ruins free of charge, or to go on tours (in Polish and German only) with caving guides. The area is also a nature reserve, as the bunkers have attracted Europe’s largest bat colony: over 30,000 bats of 12 species.

miedzyrzecz.polandpoland.com/nazi_ostwall.htm
50km south-west of Gorzów Wielkopolski
Google map: bit.ly/11KJO86

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

Auschwitz - if you happen to be in Poland, this should be on your itinerary. You'll need a whole day and there are excellent tours operating from out of Krakow. My tip: take a tour but get there early before the crowds arrive to allow you some time for private reflection before thousands of tourists descend to pose (while smiling!) in front of the 'Arbeit Macht Frei' sign. The tour will take all day (there are two sites to visit - Auschwitz and Birkenau). To gain some minute impression of the unimaginable hardships endured go at the height of summer or deepest winter. End the day reflecting on the infinite courage humans are capable of (there are examples of this which shine out like beacons among the cruelty and horror) in one of the many excellent local restaurants in the old Jewish quarter in Krakow. You may never enjoy the taste of food, the warmth of an open fire or the feeling of how lucky we are to be alive more than now.

en.auschwitz.org.pl/
(+48) 33 844 81 00
Google map: bit.ly/XrIj83

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends

A 12th century house it has been renovated to showcase the Hispano-Islamic houses of Andalucía and does so very well. The intimate courtyards and rooms exhibit coins, books and a model of the first paper-making machines to arrive in the the West, with a description of how the process worked. Muslim art, decorative tiles and arches combined with the scent of lemons and incense-sticks and soothing Islamic music make this a serene experience. The cellar is not to be missed either. Past the utensils and wooden buckets is a Visigoth mosaic. This is a small but perfectly formed museum and was my personal highlight of my trip to Córdoba.

www.lacasaandalusi.com/
Calle Judios 12, 14004, Cordoba
+34 957 29 06 42

I agreeI disagree

1.  
2. Send to friends