Unusual museums worth a visit

Beneath The Last Tuesday Society’s cocktail bar and literary salon lies Viktor Wynd’s collection of curiosities, fine art and natural history: a fascinating, bizarre and often grotesque assortment of objects that evoke the pre-enlightenment origins of museums. Butterflies, two-headed kittens and lambs, taxidermy, tribal art and occultist pieces are all on display, and much more besides.

The Museum of Performing Arts opened in Stockholm’s oldest industrial building in 2017, following the merger of the Music Museum, the Theatre Museum and the Puppet Museum. Learn more about the history and future of the performing arts, have a look at several of its huge collections of objects and try the interactive activities.

In the 1970s Barış Manço emerged as one of the pioneers of Anatolian Rock, a confluence of traditional Turkish folk and arabesque with the era’s western rock influence. One of Turkey’s most beloved musicians, Manço’s former home is now a museum where everything from his Steinway piano to his iconic stage costumes are on display.

The first airfield was built in Malta at the start of the 20th century and was used by both the British Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm. Since then, several airfields have been built in Malta, including this civil airfield at Ta’ Qali. This is also where the Aviation Museum is located, close to the former airfield, using several of the airfield’s hangars. There are several airplanes, and parts of aircraft on display, a remarkable collection for aviation enthusiasts. This is one of those specialist museums that is always a pleasure to visit. Highly recommended.

The stunning Train World opened in 2015 in a historic 19th-century station in the Brussels suburb of Schaerbeek. Designed by comic book artist François Schuiten, it is more a theatrical experience than a museum, with menacing locomotives displayed in eerie, dark sheds. Adults enjoy the nostalgic exhibits, while kids can climb on board a steam train, peer inside a luxury sleeping car and take over the controls of a Eurostar train.

Made up of 20 galleries, each with their own individual story, the general theme of EPIC covers the historical context behind migration and leads up to the diaspora today. Full of slick immersive technologydriven displays, this has quickly become one of Dublin’s leading attractions.

Kids have a blast exploring vintage trains and buses in this museum that has taken over a defunct subway station. The specimens on site span from the late 1800s to the 1960s. Kids allowed behind the wheel! Entrance is a little tricky: look for a fake subway entrance just off Boerum Place.