We’ve all that experience when taking a city break – so much to see and so little time. There’s an amazing museum or art gallery on your agenda but somehow you’ve only got an hour to see it – how to handle it. Writing city guides as I do, I’ve found myself in this situation regularly. I once did Stockholm’s royal palace in about 35 minutes – I’m ashamed to say!
Today’s Times newspaper has advice on what to see in a rapid rush around a number of British museums. Neil MacGregor, the excellent director of the British Museum, for instance, recommends starting in room 2 where you can find the oldest man-made objects in the collection, chopping tools from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, in Room 2, some of the first things that humans ever consciously made. He then recommends you head for Oceania and the Wellcome Trust Gallery (Room 24). After that it’s over to Asia and the stunning figure of the Buddhist goddess Tara from 8th-century Sri Lanka. Tara represents the spirit of generous compassion, and the sculpture is an amazing example of figural bronze casting that takes us into a world where faith and bodily beauty merge.
After the mummy galleries, MacGregor suggests you finish in Europe with a stroll through the Greek and Roman galleries, pausing to take in the Roman silver Warren Cup from the 1st century and the famous Portland Vase.
My only suggestion would be to check out the covered courtyard which is quite a spectacular piece of architecture.
At the Tate Modern which we cover in our tour of the ancient City of London, The Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral tour, The Times recommends you do Matisse’s L’Escargot, the surrealist collection the installation by Joseph Beuys before heading upstairs to the café for a cup of tea and view of St Paul’s. I’d add to that, if you have time, spending a few moments looking at the new installation in the vast turbine hall.
At Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery actress Alison Steadman recommends When Did you Last See your Father, perhaps the gallery’s most famous work and a vast canvass called Samson.
With smaller museums which still have great collections such as The National Gallery of Scotland which we cover in our Edinburgh audio guide
Generally, my advice would be to pick a couple of rooms – especially ones with works from a particular time of a genre to give your visit some coherence and shape. Sprinting through a museum or art gallery allows you to see that you’ve done it – but focussing is best.