Have you been knocked out by a new museum or some other stunning tourist attraction? It’s time to put up candidates for this year’s prestigious BGTW Tourism Awards. Liz Gill ( [email protected]) is collating the 2017 nominations. Contact here to ensure a colleague hasn’t already bagged your choice.
And remember – if your nomination makes it to the final shortlist you get a free ticket for the annual dinner at the Savoy in November – where the awards will be presented.
Meanwhile here are some of the new attractions that have opened in recent months – or are on the point of opening.
York: Jorvik Viking Centre has re-opened after a £4 million renovation following flood damage – with an enlarged display and new animatronic characters. They include one based on a woman with arthritis whose skeleton was discovered on the site.
St. Ives: Tate gallery has re-opened after a major upgrade.
Hull: Ferens Art Gallery has re-opens after refurbishment.
London: Garden Museum near Lambeth Palace set to open on May 22 after a £7.5 transformation – complete with Archbishops’ graves unearthed during con version work.
Kensington. London: Design Museum opens in new premises – under the roof of the former Commonwealth Institute.
Nottingham: new National Justice Museum has opened in the historic Shire Hall and County Gaol.
Hammersmith, London: arts and crafts treasure house once owned by printer and historian Emery Walker and barely changed for more than a century now open for limited number guided tours.
Europe
Aarhus, Denmark: a new museum charting the European City of Culture’s history from the Viking age on was set to open as part of open air town museum Den Gamle.
Antwerp: Plantin-Moretus Museum, which contains the world’s oldest printing presses and a collection of ancient books, has re-opened after a major re-vamp.
Essoyes, Champagne Region: Renior’s studio renovated as part of a new visitor centre – scheduled to open on June 3.
Switzerland: a new 1000 mile route with around 200 rapid charging stations for electric vehicles. Scheduled to open this month (April).
Lisbon: new Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology has opened.
Potsdam, Germany: new Museum Barberini art gallery now open on the site of a palace, destroyed by Allied bombs, on the market square. It houses the collection of its funding founder Hasso Plattner and displays works on loan.
Valencia: new Silk Museum has opened. Visitors can watch silk being woven on a restored 18th century loom.
Palma, Mallorca: Gothic cathedral has opened its roof terraces a la Milanese.
Wider World
Philadelphia: the new Museum of the American Revolution has Exhibits including British, French and American arms, art works and diaries and General George Washington’s headquarters tent, which survived the Civil War.
Maryland: the likely birthplace of Harriet Tubman, who organized the ‘Underground Railway’ for escaped slaves, has opened to the public as a State Park and visitor centre.
Minneapolis: Prince home and studio has opened for tours.
San Francisco: Museum of Modern Art has re-opened after a 3 year makeover.
