Things to Do in Kelowna & Okanagan Valley

This quirky museum zeros in on heartbreak and failed relationships, both romantic and platonic. Relics of relationships past, from photographs to unusual mementos such as an ax, are displayed alongside explanations of their significance, sending visitors on an emotional roller coaster—at times comical and at other points heartrending. 

Visitors who want to avoid wasting any time waiting in the ticket line can prebook an admission ticket to the Museum of Broken Relationships and turn up at a time of their choosing. It’s also possible to combine a guided walking tour of Zagreb with admission to the museum. With explanatory text accompanying each object on display, the museum is designed to be explored independently.

The Museum of Broken Relationships is situated in Zagreb’s Upper Town (Gornji Grad). To get here, ride the funicular from the Lower Town (Donji Grad) or the tram (lines 1, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 17 by day and 31, 32, or 34 by night) to Ban Jelačić Square. The museum is just a short stroll from there. 

The museum is very popular—so popular it has since spawned a sister outpost in Los Angeles—and can get busy. To avoid the crowds, try visiting in early morning or in the evening. The museum is busiest on weekends, between 12pm and 3pm.

The Museum of Broken Relationships enjoys a prime setting in Zagreb’s Upper Town, just steps from some of the city’s top attractions. If you have some time to kill before or after your visit, do some people-watching on Ban Jelačić Square. The near-constant arrival and departure of trams means there is a never-ending flow of people to observe. You can also browse the fruit-and-vegetable-loaded stalls of Dolac Market, ride the short-but-steep funicular that connects the Upper and Lower towns, and view the 13th-century Lotrščak Tower, where a cannon is fired at 12pm every day. 

The Museum of Modern Art (MUMOK) is one of the largest museums of modern and post-modern art in Central Europe. Founded in 1962, the museum features 10,000 pieces by 1,600 different artists, including some of the biggest names in 20th- and 21st-century art, like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Gergard Richter and Yoko Ono. Classical modernism, nouveau realism, Vienna Actionism, photorealism and pop art are all represented. 

The museum’s Wednesday evening film program screens thematic film series and films related to the works of art on display. Visitors inspired by the art on display have the chance to participate in hands-on workshops to experiment with various artistic techniques. Once per month, Art on Thursdays invites guests to enjoy a glass of sparkling wine before taking a gallery tour.

Give yourself at least an hour to see everything in the museum, as there is also a short informational video to watch before you explore. Additionally, you’ll see impressive grave tombs, with other mummies found atop Peru's volcanoes and burial artifacts. 

A poignant nod to Chile’s dark past, Santiago’s Museum of Memory and Human Rights serves both as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during General Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship and a moving memorial to the many that lost their lives. 

Inaugurated in 2010, the museum details the harrowing truths behind Pinochet's coup and subsequent rule from 1973 to 1990, and the no-holds-barred accounts of events offers an important insight for those looking to learn more. Chilling stories of human rights abuses, a display of torture devices and video footage of political rallies, speeches and protests, are followed by a candlelight memorial and hundreds of photographs of the victims or ‘disappeared’.

Located in the middle of the Arsenal and designed by Ludwig Foerster and Theophil Hansen in the 1850s, the Museum of Military History (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum) is the oldest museum in Vienna and one of the most important military history museums in the world. The museum’s five sections take visitors through the history of the Habsburg empire and Austria, beginning in the late 16th century and continuing through the dissolution of the Austrian monarchy in 1945.

Much of the gallery space features pre-Turkish conquest weaponry, but various medals, military uniforms, flags and artwork depicting battles are also on display. A “tank garden” behind the museum exhibits several armored battle vehicles from Austria and around the world. Rotating special exhibitions focus on more recent international conflicts.

Created by the Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and opened in 2012, Istanbul’s Museum of Innocence is the world’s first museum to be based on a novel. Centered around Pamuk’s 2008 book of the same name, this is the tale of upper-class Istanbulite Kamal who falls in love with his distant, poorer cousin Füsun in the 1970s. Though they make love he can’t be with her, and, growing increasingly infatuated, over a period of eight years Kamal collects a museum’s worth of objects dedicated to Füsun and his love for her.

Set in a 19th-century house in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, the museum has over 1,000 artifacts collected by Pamuk over a period of more than a decade. As you walk in, you’ll see a huge glass case containing 4,213 cigarette butts, each said to have been smoked by love interest Füsun. Everything from the collection of salt shakers to the old lamps evokes a past era, and over the museum's four floors you’ll see what bourgeois Istanbul society "used, wore, heard, saw, collected and dreamed of, all meticulously arranged in boxes and display cabinets." 83 display cabinets, to be exact, each one corresponding to the novel’s 83 chapters. According to reviews, and Pamuk, just as you don’t need to visit the museum to enjoy the novel, you don’t need to have read the novel to check out the museum.

Budapest’s Museum of Applied Arts, which features the country’s unique handicrafts and industrial design, is the third oldest of its kind in the world. Founded by the Hungarian Parliament in the 19th century, it has since collected both historic and contemporary applied art from around the globe. There’s also an extensive collection of works specifically from Hungarian artists.

Pieces on display have been acquired at World’s Fairs and by dealers, as well as accepted as gifts of the state. Of particular note is the museum’s Collections and Treasures permanent exhibit and the Esterházy Treasury: the gold, silverware, costumes, jewelry and weaponry collected by one of Hungary’s most wealthy aristocratic families.

The museum’s ceramic facade is impressive in itself, with its bright green roof and Art Nouveau architectural design. Its interior blends Islamic, Hindu, and Mogul designs and includes a stately library that’s also worth seeing.

Recognized as the first museum in Taipei, the Museum of Contemporary Art is housed in the former City Hall and displays work from local and international artists. No permanent exhibitions exist in this Mecca for modern art (which, ironically, is stationed in an outdated building), so travelers’ experience hinges on collections displayed at any given time. MOCA, as it’s referred to by locals, offers free Wi-Fi, so visitors can use phones for free guided audio tours. A popular café connected to the museum is a perfect spot for grabbing an afternoon snack before heading back out on the town. 

Get an overview or go in depth into Hungary’s military operation and history, from traditional uniforms to key battles and important historic figures. The Museum of Military History is located in the city’s original army barracks, which date back to the 1830s. Exhibits trace back time to the Middle Ages, through revolutions and major world wars, to the present day. There’s an impressive display of flags, coins, armor, and weaponry that collectively show how they have each evolved over the ages.

Most of its artifacts are from the period following the 1848 War of Independence, offering a fascinating look at both Hungary’s own history and role in World War I and II. Cannonballs are still visible in the museum’s walls from the fighting that took place during the revolution. 

Much of the museum is interactive and hands-on, making for an informative and immersive visit. There’s also a chance to learn about the separation of Hungary from Austria, as well as a collection of battle themed art.

Following World War II, Czechoslovakia fell under Soviet rule between 1948 and 1989; during this time the Communist authorities arrested more than 205,486 Czech nationals and executed 248 after show trials, with 4,500 prisoners dying in jail. Around 170,940 people were driven into exile, with many more killed trying to flee the country. These dark days behind the Iron Curtain are explored at the Museum of Communism -ironically housed alongside a casino on the first floor of the Baroque 18th‐century Savarin Palace. Using photos, political posters, medals, a jumble of busts of Lenin and Marx, Soviet uniforms and movie reels, the displays deal with the perils of living under state‐sponsored terrorism, showcasing anti‐capitalist propaganda; the constant threat of Cold War warfare; work conditions in a Soviet factory and Russian teaching in schools. Highlights include the mock‐up of a stark interrogation room and rare film footage of the 1962 destruction of the massive, granite Stalin Monument in Letná Park. Happily, the exhibition ends on a positive note, with a video showing events that led to the (largely) peaceful Velvet Revolution and the re‐

establishment of Czech democracy under the leadership of Václav Havel.

Anyone wanting to learn more about Prague’s 20th‐century history can visit the Nuclear Bunker Exhibition near Olšanské Náměstí. The Memorial to the Victims of Communism, whose disintegrating bronze figures were created in 2002 by Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek, stands on a stone stairway at Petřín Hill on the west bank of the River Vltava.

The Museum of Cycladic Art houses a collection of works that belongs to Nicholas and Aikaterini Goulandris. Made up of two side-by-side buildings, the sites are connected by a glass-roofed hallway. The main building holds the museum's permanent collection, while the other building is mostly temporary exhibits. The museum gets its name from the Cycladic civilization which developed mostly in the Cycladic islands between 3200-2100 B.C. The collection contains artifacts from three different time periods of the Cycladic civilization. 

There is also a collection titled Ancient Greek Art that has art and other artifacts from 2000 B.C. through 395 A.D. Another collection displays Cyprian art from prehistoric times to the Roman Empire. The exhibit on the everyday life of ancient Greeks uses photos, diagrams, and videos to explain the items on display. The videos include topics such as wedding and funeral rituals, entertainment, school, going off to battle, athletics, and much more.

Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma, or MACRO) holds one of Italy’s most important collections of works by contemporary artists in two dramatic industrial spaces. A particular delight for 21st-century art and architecture lovers, the sibling museum venues are sure to impress even the most skeptical art critics.

There are two MACRO spaces: the larger on Via Nizza is a former Peroni brewery surrounded by elegant 19th-century apartment buildings that was restored by French architect Odile Decq. The permanent collection here concentrates on modern art including sculpture, photography, and installations from 1960 to today. The art museum’s underground parking lot holds remains of an ancient Roman house discovered during renovation of the brewery. The second location, MACRO Testaccio—aka Il Mattatoio—is located in a retrofitted slaughterhouse and is an exhibition hall that opens only for temporary events. This space is a fascinating stop on any walking tour of the Testaccio neighborhood, once a working-class district and now one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Rome. MACRO’s artworks and both buildings are highlights of Rome’s contemporary art and architecture tours.

The main MACRO venue is located on Via Nizza in Rome’s Salario-Nomentano neighborhood. Buses 38, 80,60, 62, 82, 89, and 90 all stop in the vicinity. The MACRO Testaccio exhibition hall is located on Piazza Orazio Giustiniani in the Testaccio neighborhood. Tram 3 and buses 719, 170, and 781 stop nearby.

Both MACRO locations are open year-round but closed on Mondays. They often host temporary events and exhibitions, so it’s a good idea to check the upcoming program to see what is scheduled.

Rome’s other contemporary and avant-garde art museum is MAXXI, in the residential Flaminio neighborhood near Ponte Milvio and Villa Borghese. The building, designed in 2010 by Zaha Hadid, is considered a masterpiece of contemporary architecture, and houses a permanent collection of art and photography as well as prestigious temporary exhibitions.

Visitors to the Museum of Archaeology and History Francisco Fonck, or the Fonck Museum for short, are greeted by two original moai from Easter Island. The museum was founded in 1937 and named after German physician and archeologist Dr. Francisco Fonck Foveaux, who was based in Chile.

The archaeological collections displayed on the first floor of the museum cover everything from Rapa Nui cultural relics from Easter Island to archaeological items from the cultures of the Peruvian Andes. Natural history takes center stage on the second floor, including an arthropod collection, entomology area and several exhibits on the ecosystem of Easter Island and the Valparaiso coast.

The collection within the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha spans three continents and more than 1,400 years, making it the largest collection of Islamic art on the planet. Built on reclaimed land just of Doha’s Corniche, the structure was designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect I.M. Pei, who took inspiration from ancient Islamic architecture in crafting this postmodern masterpiece.

The collection—ceramics, metalwork, textiles, glass and manuscripts, among others—are spread across three floors; the ground floor houses a museum shop and a cafe with a stellar view of Doha Bay, where visitors can take a break over some French Arabic cuisine.

The neighboring MIA Park is free and open 24 hours a day.

Situated in Vilnius’s former Gestapo and KGB headquarters, the memorial to the thousands imprisoned and murdered under Soviet occupation after WWII is vital to understanding the psyche of Lithuania. 

Following the demise of Germany, the Agreement of Yalta of 1945 was put in place between the triumvirate of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt, which saw Europe carved up and half of Germany and all lands to the east, including Poland and the Baltic States, handed over to Russia. A guerrilla war ensued against Soviet occupation and in the years until the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953, rebels were consistently murdered or deported to Siberia, although the shackles of Communism were not fully shaken off until Lithuanian independence in 1990. 

As well as detailing the gradual suppression of the Lithuanian people under Stalin, exhibitions include KGB torture cells and execution chambers, which hold personal belongings rescued from mass graves found in countryside outside Vilnius. Considering that this building also housed the Gestapo HQ, an appropriate recent addition to the museum is the display about the Jewish ghettos and the Holocaust in Lithuania, including artifacts from the execution site at Paneriai.

Housed in two light-filled, concrete-and-glass galleries in Podgórze, an up-and-coming district south of the Old Town, Krakow’s first dedicated modern-art gallery opened in spring 2011. Designed by Italian architect Claudio Nardi, the Museum of Contemporary Art (Muzeum Sztuki Współczesnej w Krakowie) stands on land formerly occupied by Oskar Schindler’s enamel factory, which was immortalized in Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler’s List.

MOCAK’s permanent collection holds contemporary sculpture, installations, photographs and paintings from the cream of Polish and European artists including Kristof Kinter, Tymek Borowski, Krzysztof Wodiczko and Robert Kusmirowski, all exhibited in minimalist white space. The collection is still growing, with the new interactive installation Live Factory 2, based on Andy Warhol’s studio-cum-factory in New York. A constantly changing repertoire of temporary exhibitions concentrates on conceptual art from across the world and for contemporary-art devotees, MOCAK has a good selection of books in its store and a well-stocked research library.

Located on the southern edge of the Jewish ghetto constructed in the 1940s, a visit to MOCAK can be combined with a side trip to the Oskar Schindler Factory next door, now a museum dedicated to the horrors of World War II.

Budapest's Museum of Fine Arts was founded in 1896 when the collections of several institutions were combined to be housed under one roof, namely the roof of the 1906 neo-classical building hosting the museum today.

On the ground floor, visitors will find exhibitions of classical antiquities and of 19th-century paintings and sculptures. The classical antiquities exhibition spans five halls and consists of more than 5,000 items. The collection of paintings includes works from German, Austrian, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian and British masters. On the second floor, the sculpture exhibition consists of more than 100 European sculptures from the German late-Gothic, Italian Renaissance and Austrian Baroque periods, among others. 

Located in the buzzing district of Zuid south of Antwerp city center, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp opened in 1987, leading the rejuvenation of the once dilapidated district. Its gleaming white home is a former grain silo and warehouse, transformed by architect Michel Grandsard into a funky gallery in which some extremely avant‐garde artwork is displayed. The permanent collections encompass installations, videos and photographs plus paintings from some of Flanders’ foremost contemporary artists and the museum holds all manner of innovative temporary exhibitions showcasing the very best of international artists. It is also home to the art house Cinema Zuid, where classic and international movies are shown, and the top‐floor restaurant has wonderful views over the River Scheldt, plus a vibrant mural by US graffiti artist Keith Haring.