The Best of 2018: The Most Enjoyable & Enlightening Museums, Exhibitions and Attractions I Experienced

If you're reading this--whether just this particular blog post, my current series of "Best of 2018" posts or my Seth Saith blog with any regularity--I appreciate it.

I like sharing my thoughts, and passions, and certainly hope doing so may enlighten, or merely entertain, somebody else.

Ideally several times over.

But the truth is that I write and maintain Seth Saith in large part for my own benefit.

Therapeutically, certainly, as the enjoyment of writing--and sharing my opinions on many superb performances--with consistency has been rather fulfilling.

But candidly, I also like having an archive of what I've seen, done, thought, etc.

Year-round, but in more capsulized form, via these Best of the Year posts.

This category, with somewhat unwieldy rankings of museums of differing types, sizes, scopes, exhibitions and/or permanent collections, etc., and also "attractions" of myriad forms, very much plays into this.

The lists wind up being rather non-parallel, and undoubtedly weighted to sights seen on vacation. Some of the "once in a lifetime" variety.

I realize the imperfections, and even more than most, the rankings are somewhat immaterial. But it'll be nice to have something to look back upon. And if you enjoy perusing this, that's even better.

(Note that in the museum listings, in some cases I cite particularly great Special Exhibitions, while in others simply a visit to the museum itself (or both). In the specific case of the Art Institute of Chicago, I have visited it for so long and so often--including a few times this year--here I will merely consider special exhibits I saw this year, although the museum as a whole could always rank near the top My Favorite Museums list.)

My Favorite Museum Visits of 2018

1. Museum of Fine Arts - Boston

2. Larco Museum - Lima, Peru

3. Isaballa Stewart Gardner Museum - Boston

4. Old State House - Boston

5. Harvard Art Museums - Boston

6. Ivan Albright and John Singer Sargent exhibitions - Art Institute of Chicago (seen on the same visit)

7. Speak Truth to Power / Kerry Kennedy - Illinois Holocaust

Museum & Education Center - Skokie, IL (my recap)

8. Milwaukee Public Museum

9. Paul Revere House - Boston

10. Japanese Prints - Art Institute of Chicago

11. Lima Art Museum - Lima, Peru
 





Best Non-Museum Attractions Visited in 2018

1. Machu Picchu - Peru 

2. Ollantaytambo Sanctuary - Ollantaytambo, Peru

3. Whale Watching Boston Harbor Cruise - Boston

4. Forced from Home interactive exhibit by Doctors Without Borders - Daley Plaza, Chicago (website)

5. Qorikancha - Cusco, Peru 

6. Convent of San Francisco and Catacombs - Lima, Peru

7. Boston Public Library, Old Building 

8. Huaca Pucllana - Lima, Peru

9. Plaza de Armas, Cusco 

10. Trinity Church - Boston

11. BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir - Bartlett, IL

 
Honorable Mention 

- Convent of Santa Domingo - Lima, Peru
- Plaza de Armas, Lima
- Fenway Park - Boston
- Harvard  University Tour - Cambridge, MA
- State House Tour - Boston
- Art Walk of River North Galleries - Evening Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Convent of Santo Domingo - Lima
- Old North Church - Boston
- Basilica of St. Josephat - Milwaukee