Pera Museum, Istanbul

A century ago, three of Istanbul's grand hotels were catering to passengers arriving on the Orient Express: the Pera Palace, the Grand Hotel de Londres and the Bristol. While the first two still survive as hotels, the latter has been privately acquired and reborn in 2005 as Pera Museum with a compelling mix of culturally significant Turkish works, contemporary international exhibitions, and ancient weights and measures.

The museum covers five floors, two of which host outstanding permanent displays of antiquities, Anatolian and Oriental art. The second floor has a small, but impressive collection of paintings, including the iconic $3.5 million "Tortoise Trainer" by Osman Hamdi Bey, who has five other pieces on display here. The top three floors are given over to temporary shows, having previously featured work from Joan Miró and Andy Warhol; to find out what you can see right now, be sure to check the website.

On the whole, the floor plan is quite neat, with a clean and understandable layout; the staff is friendly and doesn't hover about while you are viewing. There is a good coffee shop on the ground floor, in addition to a gift shop full of costly but stylish souvenirs. Among other things, the museum arranges educational events aimed at making children aware of art and encouraging creative expression, while Pera Film appropriately features experimental cinema, animation, documentaries, etc.