Museumland

A modernist view of the Saint-Paul-de-Vence cemetery where, among others, lies Surrealist Marc Chagall.

My recent tour of Cote d'Azur, Barcelona and Paris got me in touch with true gems of the museum world, an experience that further triggered memories from a parallel artistic/historic universe. Away from the Picasso extravaganza, the Moma and the Louvre, here's my top-ten list (in random order) of a tad less visited museums and art spaces that caught my eye during my strolls around Europe and the U.S.. For all of you art lovers and less-obsessively-art-loving-lovers-of-great-buildings-and-off-the-beaten-path-tourist-beauties out there.

Cruising down the Jean Cocteau Museum in Menton, French Riviera.

1) Jean Cocteau Museum, Menton Just a bit older than a year, this museum is a modernist oyster on the golden beach of Menton harboring a unique collection of works by the multifaceted artiste. Only 250 of them see the light, alternately, in the often renewed main collection, leaving also space for contemporary guest artists to display. Untangle the camera stunts that made the Beauty and the Beast as majestic, as well as Cocteau's long-lasting relationship with his muse, actor Jean Marais, his collaboration with prolific peers such as composer Erik Satie, his tragic friendship with literary enfant terrible Raymond Radiguet, his rollercoaster opium addiction - and the beautiful art that came out of them. Poetry, films, design, it's all there, an avant gardist soap with enough beauty and drama to last you for months (laid out in this super-stylish building and the neighbouring historic Bastion). If later you're heading towards Nice, drop by Hotel Welcome in Villefranche-sur-Mer, where the artist often stayed and (tripping in place occasionally) created some of his most notable designs. Some originals still hang on the walls.http://museecocteaumenton.fr/

   2) MEAM - Modern European Art Museum, Barcelona Standing proudly but quietly two steps away from the bustling Picasso Museum in Born, the spectacular 18th century neoclassic Gomis Palace was recently renovated and put to good use, smartly concealing a talented group of contemporary artists. All currently active, devoted practitioners of Figurative Art, painters and sculptors, they celebrate the time-proof ways of the old masters, to which though they've given a refreshing 21st century turn. http://www.meam.es/

3) Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, London A low-ceiling, dim-lit but imaginatively playful corridor leads you through the eras of creative (or rather austere, depending on circumstances) packaging and consumerist marketing: Georgian, Victorian, post-war, you name it. Everyday habits and practices come to life through pictures, painting, posters, post-modernist detergent bottles and extra-camp biscuit boxes. Best lesson of all, the mind-boggling sense of humour with which the British faced the troubles of World War II: a) The owner of a barber shop, right next to a building that got bombed to the ground wrote on a sign, "We got a close shave - come in and take yours!". b) The owner of a half-ruined shop, on the other hand, put out "More open than usual". Beyond inspirational...   http://www.museumofbrands.com/

4) Theatre de la Photographie et de l' Image, Nice Where the "Theatre of the Artistic" once lay, in the heart of Nice, now lies the house of photographic art. Having gracefully put a roof over the contemporary masters, it also lays a tribute to the glory and elegance of the magnetic Belle Epoque. When Paris and London started creating their famous elitist "clubs", mid-nineteenth century, Nice refused to be left behind. It took up a beautiful villa and devoted it to big people, big art, big dreams - and big and glamorous diners, presentations and balls attended by some of the greatest personalities of the French South (and beyond). There's art on the walls, art on the ceilings and a gorgeous 1911 theatre to give you a glimmer of creative wonders past and present. http://www.tpi-nice.org/

5) Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris Studious youth, wise academics and the odd curious passerby (me) come and go by dozens, entering and reentering the laborious belly of this cleverly-planned architectural beast. Surrounded by four buildings shaped as open books (weirdly reminiscent of the trademark Eastern Bloc constructions), a deep... pit cuddles a luscious oasis of long and lean trees that momentarily shoot you out to the Tropics. Not a museum per se, the range of historic-to-avant garde photography that in turns decorate the library's galleries is unbeatable.  http://www.bnf.fr/fr/acc/x.accueil.html

6) Museum of the Czech Cubism at the House of the Black Madonna, Prague The Grand Cafe Orient counts, hands down, among my favourite places in the whole world - at least among those where I can lay my butt, read a book and enjoy a hot chocolate surrounded by the spirit of the greats. On this occasion the book was a Modigliani bio, the chocolate had multiple layers of whipped cream and the spirits (apart from the irresistible Rock-Me-Amedeo) were the groovy Czech Cubists. The building was envisioned by architect Josef Gočár and, apart from the 1st floor cafe which is mostly adorned by replicas, it's full of the original fruits of the remarkably edgy Cubist imagination. http://www.grandcafeorient.cz/

7) Tenement Museum, New York If Grand Cafe Orient counts among my top cafes, this museum easily breaks through my top five in its category. Lying incognito in an unassuming line of tenements along Lower East Side's Orchard Street, this building tells the story of just a handful of the nearly 7000 immigrants that passed through its walls. Recreating their lives in six fully restored apartments, filled with numerous original objects and replicas, adding truly moving voice recordings, pictures and archive material to the lot, this time capsule unfailingly gives you goose-bumps. Even though these objects testify to the immigrants struggle for survival beyond words, the stories of the most enthusiastic of the guides will ultimately animate them. Don't forget to pick up gripping, insightful accounts of life in the slums, like Jacob A. Riis' How The Other Half Lives, from the shop on your way out. http://www.tenement.org/

8) Kafka Museum, Prague The master of 20th century ominous masterpieces such as The Metamorphosis, The Trial and The Castle let his imagination run wild in the atmospheric streets of Prague. But he was also trapped. Trapped in the pedestrian existence of an Insurance Officer, haunted by claims, numbers and reports. As much as this museum will take you down the enigmatic corridors of his rampant imagination, and introduce you to his lovers and his passions, it will will also provide you with an unexpected wake-up call: Creativity is yours for the taking, and working in a shop or a bank is no excuse for procrastination (though getting off at 2 pm, like he did, also helps). Next time you feel that the mundane realities of this world are closing in on your dreams, just think, so did Kafka. That should at least count for something, no?  http://www.kafkamuseum.cz/

9) Musee des Merveilles, Tende In the humble but seriously charming village of Tende, in France's Alpes-Maritimes (a fairly short and scenic train ride from Nice), hides this small but precious in its findings museum. Here you'll learn a bit of (pre)history via a collection of fascinating Stone Age artifacts, petroglyphs and engravings, original and reproduced, exhibited in an equally educational and fun way (in case you dared think it sounds boring). Most astounding of it all, the poetry carved on a rock by a later wandering shepherd in the nearby Vallee des Merveilles, reciting the heart-breaking loneliness that would follow him to the end of his life. Some things seem so far away, and yet they are so close... http://www.museedesmerveilles.com/

10) Grant Museum of Zoology, London If you've never been to New Zealand to see a kiwi, you'll find it here. Dead (it's a bird, by the way). You'll also find an equally thrilling jar of whole preserved moles, a brain collection (yay!), more dissected heads, the very rare skeleton of the South African zebra Quagga, a giant deer (cause nothing here is normal). There's never a boring moment at the Grant Museum, and a very friendly and knowledgeable expert will even approach you to see if you have any questions. Inquisitive minds are celebrated here (so are freaks). Go crazy.   http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/zoology

 Guest spot: Saint-Paul-de-Vence You'll hear raves about this medieval village in every tourist guide, travel website and conversation between locals and tourists alike, within at least a 50-mile radius from Nice or Cannes. One of the oldest medieval towns in the French Riviera, shielding behind its fortified walls some of the most gorgeous and edgy art galleries around is bound to drive the crowds wild. Every corner reveals a new work of art, every step a new frame of mind. It's impressive, no doubt. Just a teeny-weeny too well preserved for my taste. It's quiet (where there are no tourists) and there are no cars; but it's still at times hard to relax, as you rarely feel in sync with such privilege - and by that I don't mean the privilege of the beauty that envelops you, but the money and the flawless order that surrounds it. Too many precious buildings (which by itself could work), too many expensive artworks - not a hair cut loose (if we see the village as an impeccably coiffed mane). Popping in the different galleries, I did admire the wealth of creativity, ideas and movements opening the visitor's horizons wide (against the enclosing fortress). But I felt like I should pose and remain motionless till someone comes buy me. I think my heart lies with more scruffy, heart-warming cuties like the above-mentioned Tende, where you can throw a few bread crumbs without feeling you crashed the region's artistic vision.   http://www.saint-pauldevence.com/art/galeries?page=1

Soundtrack: Chance Meeting by Josef K
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3Ze9FladWI&list=AL94UKMTqg-9AvUHdAU-9F7vTxwHVwsghB

Text and photography (Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the Jean Cocteau Museum facade and portrait, MEAM, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Teatre de la Photographie et de l'Image, Musee des Merveilles) by Danai Molocha. The rest of the pics (Kafka Museum, Grand Cafe Orient, Tenement and Grant Museums, Museum of Brands..) courtesy of the web.