Things to Do in Europe

Housed in a series of 17th-century buildings on Avenue des Gobelins, the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins is a government-run tapestry factory and museum dedicated to showcasing the historic art of tapestry weaving and traditional crafts. 

Named after the Gobelin dynasty, a family of dyers who shot to fame after discovering a much sought-after scarlet dye in the 15th-century, the district became renowned throughout the 17th-century for producing tapestries under royal patronage of Henri IV and later, Louis XIV. It was Colbert, Louis XIV's minister who first formed the Manufacture Royale des Meubles de la Couronne (Royal Cabinet-Makers), bringing together the tapestry, cabinet and goldsmiths workshops in the area that today is home to the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins.

Today the historic district is still a working entity, preserving the art form by producing and restoring tapestries from around the world. Although normally closed to visitors, several weekly guided tours allow visitors the chance to peek inside and watch the craftsmen at work. Visitors can learn about the origins and development of the historic crafts; discover how the dyes were found and produced; understand the years of work that goes into producing a single tapestry; and see the 17th-century weaving techniques still in use today. Displays of intricate hand weaving offer an insight into the painstaking process and there are often hands-on workshops available where visitors can try out their tapestry skills on an ancient loom. Also on site is the Galerie des Gobelins, displaying the royal factory collections and hosting a series of temporary exhibitions of ancient and contemporary art.

More than just an events venue, the Opera Nouvel is an architectural achievement. The original arcades of the original 1756 edifice remain, but it is the soaring vaulted roof, glowing in the Lyon night, that offers your first glimpse into its magnificently modern style.

The Church of the Madonna dell'Orto is a small church in Venice, built in the 14th century by a religious order that no longer exists. Roughly 100 years after it was built, it was taken over by a different congregation. After another 200 years, the church was again taken over by another religious order, and in 1787 the church fell under public administration.

The Madonna dell'Orto church was reopened in 1868 and has undergone several restorations in the 20th century. While the church is officially dedicated to Saint Christopher, it's most commonly known by its nickname, "Madonna dell'Orto" - "Madonna of the Orchard." The name comes from a statue of the Virgin Mary that was commissioned for a different church in the 15th century, rejected by that church, and left in a nearby orchard. The supposedly miraculous statue was brought to the church that would later bear its name, and the statue is still on display in the St. Mauro Chapel.

Artwork inside the Madonna dell'Orto includes work by Tintoretto, Bellini, and Molinari. Tintoretto is also buried in this church, which is in the Cannaregio sestiere.

Vienna was the home of the Liechtenstein Princely Family for generations until the Anschluss (annexing of Austria into Nazi Germany) of 1938 forced them back to their tiny mountain principality between Switzerland and Austria. The family left behind not one but two palaces full of treasures.

After decades of gathering dust, Prince Hans-Adam II's private collection of artwork, showcasing masterpieces from the 16th to the 19th centuries, was transferred back to Vienna and installed into the fabulously ornate Garden Palace.

The Princely Collections make up one of the most valuable and important private art collections on earth. Highlights include the highly elaborate and inlaid 16th-century Badminton Cabinet and a number of Renaissance and Baroque works, including no less than 30 paintings by Flemish artist Pieter Paul Rubens. You'll also find pieces by Franz Hals, Anthony Van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Raphael. An ornate carriage, gilded and adorned with painted side-panels of cherubim painted in the workshops of Boucher, was made by Parisian craftsman Nicholas Pineau in 1738, and is a rare survivor of the French Revolution.