Museum Kunstpalast

Sitting on the banks of the Rhine River, the Museum Kunstpalast first opened in 1913 but was given a facelift by architect Oswald Matthias Ungers at the backend of the last century and reopened in 2001. Its five permanent collections embrace European sculpture from medieval times, stellar Renaissance and Baroque paintings such as the acclaimedAssumption of the Virgin by Rubens, and contemporary art from Expressionism to modern times. The museum also holds more than 70,000 pieces of graphic art and drawings, including sketches by Raphael and Kirchner.

One of the biggest draws of the Kunstpalast is the exquisite Hentrich Glass Collection, which traces the story of European glassware from the early Roman period right up to hand-blown pieces by the likes of Art Nouveau supremo Emile Gallé and Czech glassblower Stanislav Libenský. It also home to major league temporary exhibitions including Dalí, Warhol and Miró; recent draws have included Jena Tinguely’s madcap installations and Carl Buchheister’s vibrant abstract paintings.