Boston Gardner Museum
One of the most unusual museums in the world is housed in one of the most "un-Bostonian" buildings in Boston. Isabella Stewart Gardner, a 19th- century socialite, had the Venetian palace built in the middle of the staid city known for its simplicity in design and architecture. It was in that home that she opened her museum to the public in 1903. Unlike most museums which feature collections procured by committees and donors, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is home to treasures chosen and paid for by Gardner herself. At her death, her will specifically stipulated that the building was to be left exactly as she had left it. To this day, the paintings, furniture and smallest details are just as she had placed them.

The museum houses such masterpieces as Titian's Rape of Europa, Giorgione's Christ Bearing the Cross, Piero della Francesca's Hercules, and John Singer Sargent's El Jaleol. Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Manet, Degas, Whistler and Sargent are but a few of the names to be found among the 2500 pieces in the museum. The building, with its elaborately decorated rooms - most bought outright from some of the great houses of Europe - is a museum piece in itself. The spectacular courtyard with its exotic vegetation from around the world is unlike anything other museums have to offer.

The museum hosts a series of concerts throughout the year, and contemporary artists often have the honor of displaying their works in temporary exhibits. Far from being stagnant, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is a treasure trove of history and a platform for the creative efforts of today's finest artists.

Official website Boston Gardner Museum