2025 is going to be another year of fantastic exhibitions in European museums. From Amsterdam to Paris, they span from historical ones to retrospectives dedicated to great artists. To help you decide which ones to visit, here is the Culture Tourist selection of the best exhibitions in European museums in 2025.
Best Exhibitions in European Museums in 2025
When I started researching the best exhibitions in European museums in 2025, I realised it would be hard to select only a few. There are just so many great exhibitions planned this year! It looks like 2025 is going to be a real art treat. Although there are many more, here are some of the best exhibitions in European museums to visit in 2025.
⤷ Read more: 7 Top Art Museums in Europe
1 – Notre Dame de Paris, A Laboratory for Restoring Cathedrals
Orsay Museum, Paris (France) | 6 November 2024 – 2 March 2025
One of the most famous Gothic cathedrals, Notre Dame in Paris, undertook an extensive restoration in the 1840s. The exhibition at the Orsay Museum raises questions about the 19th-century restorations, the way they looked at the importance of the cathedrals, their role in history and the symbolism of the nation.
⤷ Read more: The Best Museums in Paris
2 – Grand Dessert: The History of the Dessert
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague (The Netherlands) | 23 November 2024 – 6 April 2025
Kunstmuseum Den Haag has a reputation for organising some of the best temporary exhibitions in the Netherlands. The show you shouldn’t miss at the beginning of 2025 is dedicated to desserts! From their history, variety of sweets around the world, and origins of some ingredients, the exhibition is a must-visit for anyone with a sweet tooth. It’s beautifully designed, so expect a feast for all of your senses.
⤷ Read more: Best Museums to Visit in The Hague
3 – Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome
National Gallery, London (UK) | 5 December 2024 – 9 March 2025
One of the best exhibitions in European museums in 2025 explores the work of one of the most famous Renaissance painters, Parmigianino’s The Vision of Saint Jerome. After the ten-year-long conservation, the masterpiece is back on public view. Parmigianino made this painting as an altarpiece when he was employed by the Pope in Rome to work for him. At the exhibition, you’ll get a chance to explore it in detail and learn more about it.
⤷ Read more: The Best Museums in London
4 – The World of Tim Burton
Design Museum, London (UK) | 25 October 2024 – 21 April 2025
After travelling around the world and being on display in Japan, Brazil, Germany and the Czech Republic, The World of Tim Burton makes its last stop in London where you can see it until 21 April 2025. It presents the curious world of a famous director and his unique aesthetics, focusing on his unique creations and collaborations with various designers.
5 – Evil Flowers
Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection, Berlin (Germany) | 12 December 2024 – 4 May 2025
Inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) published in 1857, this exhibition explores how its ideas emerged in the world of visual arts. Represented by the artworks created from the early Modernist to the contemporary art, it explores topics such as depression, comfort of eroticism or intoxication, aestheticization of disease and decay.
⤷ Read more: Exploring Museum Island in Berlin
6 – Kandinsky’s Universe: Geometric Abstraction in the 20th Century
Museum Barberini, Potsdam (Germany) | 15 February – 18 May 2025
This major exhibition explores the six decades of Geometric Abstraction and its forms and examples in Europe and the USA. It’s centred around the work of one of its most famous members, Wassily Kandinsky, who gave it a theoretical foundation. You’ll get a chance to see around 125 artworks by various artists at this, already one of the best European exhibitions in 2025.
7 – Northern Lights
Fondation Beyeler, Basel (Switzerland) | 26 January – 25 May 2025
The Northern Lights exhibition organised in Fondation Beyeler is among the most interesting art shows in 2025. It explores the unique Nordic form of Modern landscape painting through the work of selected artwork produced between 1888 and 1937. They include the work of artists from Scandinavia and Canada, including Edvard Munch and Hilma af Klint.
⤷ Read more: Best Museums to Visit in Basel
8 – The World in Colours, Slovenian Painting 1848 – 1918
Belvedere Museum, Vienna (Austria) | 30 January – 25 May 2025
Prepared in a collaboration between the National Gallery of Slovenia in Ljubljana and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, The World in Colours is one of the art exhibitions in 2025 that shouldn’t be missed. Through the artwork of Slovenian artists who were active between 1848 and 1918, the exhibition explores the historical ties between Austria and Slovenia, and the time of the ‘national emancipation in Slovenia’ as the Belvedere Museum describes it.
⤷ Read more: The Best Museums in Ljubljana
9 – American Photography
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) | 7 February – 9 June 2025
With more than 200 artworks on display, American Photography is the largest-ever exhibition dedicated to that theme in the Netherlands. The exhibition presents the USA through the eyes of American photographers. The work of well-known photographers like Sally Mann, Lisette Model, Nan Goldin, Andy Warhol and Diane Arbus are displayed at the exhibition.
⤷ Read more: Rijksmuseum Highlights: What to see at the Rijksmuseum
10 – Anselm Kiefer
Van Gogh Museum & Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (The Netherlands) | 7 March – 9 June 2025
This year, for the first time, the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum are joining forces to organise one of the best exhibitions in European museums in 2025, Anselm Kiefer. The two museums will display the artwork from their own collections together with the artwork the famous artist created specifically for this exhibition.
⤷ Read more: The Best Museums in Amsterdam
11 – Siena, The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350
The National Gallery, London (UK) | 8 March – 22 June 2025
The National Gallery in London is organising an exhibition about the painting in one of the art centres of the 14th century, Siena. With their innovative painting, artists like Duccio, Simone Martini, Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti sparked a Golden Age in art in that Italian town. More than one hundred artwork on display, make this exhibition a true art treat.
12 – Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road
The British Museum, London (UK) | 1 May – 7 September 2025
For the first time in its history, The British Museum will hold an exhibition dedicated to the work of one of the most famous 19th-century Japanese artists, Hiroshige. While capturing the natural and urban landscape of his country, he created a wonderful ode to life in Edo Japan. With his prints, drawings and paintings displayed, this is one of the best exhibitions in European museums in 2025 you shouldn’t miss.
13 – Near Eastern Antiquities in Dialogue. The MET at the Louvre.
The Louvre, Paris (France) | 29 February 2024 – 28 September 2025
With one of the best museums in New York City, MET’s Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art, closed for renovation, they sent ten of their artworks to be displayed among the Louvre Museum highlights in Paris. The pieces are displayed in the Louvre permanent galleries, creating a special dialogue with the artworks from their collection.
⤷ Read more: Impressionists in Paris
14 – Radical! Women Artists and Modernism, 1910 – 1950
Belvedere Museum, Vienna (Austria) | 18 June – 12 October 2025
Through the work of more than sixty artists from more than twenty countries, this exhibition at the Belvedere Museum centres around the diversity and different perspectives of Modernism. Instead of looking for the similar, the focus here is on individuality and artwork ranging from figurative to abstract. Sonia Delaunay, Hannah Höch, Käthe Kollwitz, and Tamara de Lempicka are just some of the artists whose work will be on view at this exhibition.
15 – Cartier
V&A, London (UK) | 12 April – 16 November 2025
London’s V&A will host one of the best exhibitions in European museums in 2025, making it a perfect stop if you’re planning to visit the capital of England in summer. With more than 350 objects, the exhibition will showcase the best of Cartier’s designs since the beginning of the 20th century. Expect to see some iconic art pieces and lots of fantastic jewellery at this unique show.
16 – Turner and Constable
Tate Britain, London (UK) | 27 November 2025 – 12 April 2026
J. M. W. Turner and John Constable were two of the most important painters in Great Britain’s early 19th-century art. Both of them mastered landscape painting, making them big rivals during their lives. With this exhibition, Tate Britain is marking the 250th anniversary since the famous artists were born.
⤷ Read more: Tate Modern Museum in London: Tips for Visiting & Highlights
With so many interesting exhibitions, 2025 will be a treat for museum lovers. Consider visiting some of these fantastic art shows when planning your trips this year. This selection of 16 best exhibitions in European museums in 2025 should make your choice easier.
Are you planning to visit any of these exhibitions? Let me know in the comments!
Cover photo by Liam McGarry on Unsplash
