Discover the most exciting museum and gallery openings across the UK and Europe to plan your holidays around
Culture lovers are poised to be busy in 2023, with a string of museums and galleries reopening after refurbishments, unveiling to the public for the first time or expanding into new destinations. From Edinburgh to Berlin and Istanbul, these are the spaces to look out for this year.
Fotografiska is expanding to Berlin
Where: Berlin, Germany
When: Summertime
This year, Fotografiska will become the largest private museum globally as it opens three new sites worldwide. In Europe, the authority on contemporary visuals will expand into Berlin, where it will continue showcasing emerging and iconic names in photography through temporary exhibitions. Celebrated contemporary artists, including Andy Warhol, Annie Leibovitz and Ellen von Unwerth, are among the 200 artists whose works have lined its walls in Stockholm, New York and Tallinn. Much like these destinations, Fotografiska Berlin will position itself as a destination for world-class photography.
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Scottish National Gallery is unveiling more rooms and new displays
Where: Edinburgh, Scotland
When: Summertime
Edinburgh’s Scottish National Gallery is considered to have one of the best collections of historic artworks in the world. This free gallery is lauded for hanging works from leading figures in artistic movements, including High Renaissance painter Raphael, Scottish Romantic Wilkie, and Post-Impressionists Cézanne and van Gogh. Now, due to the rising number of visitors over the past
decade, Scotland’s national art gallery has undergone construction to match how people want to discover art. As such, guests can expect more light-filled rooms, and new displays of Scottish and international art throughout.
REGAN Vest has been redeveloped into a museum
Where: Northern Jutland, Denmark
When: 13 February
Dubbed one of Denmark’s ‘best-kept secrets’, REGAN Vest is a 59,200sq ft nuclear-proof bunker, purpose-built in the 1960s. Hidden 197ft underground, deep in the Rold Skov forest on the Jutland peninsula, the bunker was designed to protect the government and kingdom from the threats of the Cold War. Those threats never materialised and the bunker has been out of action from 2003. Now, REGAN Vest has been re-developed into a museum, allowing the public to explore its fascinating underground design for the first time, while learning all about its history.
Read more: How to spend a fun family weekend in Prague
Istanbul Museum of Modern Art is opening a new building
Where: Istanbul, Turkey
When: Estimated for September
Four years down the line from an extensive development project on its original site, Istanbul Museum of Modern Art is set to reveal a new five-story building. Since 2004, Turkey’s first privately owned museum has been a dedicated space to contemporary Turkish artists, curating the very best works across sculpture, painting and video. Now, the new, larger space, designed by Renzo Piano, will endeavour to display even more art across both temporary and permanent exhibitions.
Manchester Museum is reopening to the public
Where: Manchester, UK
When: 18 February
Some £15 million and 18 months later, Manchester Museum (one of the largest in the UK and part of The University of Manchester) has now reopened to the public. Alongside the historic collection it’s held since 1890, the museum unveils a series of new galleries. Highlights include the South Asia Gallery, the UK’s first permanent exhibition space dedicated to exploring the South Asian diaspora in partnership with the British Museum, and the Belonging Gallery that considers what belonging means for people around the world. Allow plenty of time as this museum houses an estimated 4.5 million cultural artefacts.
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