I'm an art nerd and I love museums. You may not but even so, you may occasionally decide to see something extraordinary and this advice might help you. There are so many historic and beautiful things that have been created like those shown here below.
If you want to learn about one or all of these elements or even a famous building like the Opera alla Scalla in Milan or the Louvre in Paris, your best bet is to go online and order the DVD. Learn about it from an expert; when it was created and for what purpose, the symbolism of the elements, who created it, how it was received by the public at that time and all the other details that make something interesting. See it the way it's intended to be seen - up close, quietly and with focus.
Then if you want to travel to see it in person you really do need the Rick Steves guidebook for that location. He tells you which days and times are the busiest or the best to go, which entrance is the least crowded (a real time saver) and which "passes" are a good value. For example, the Roma Pass and Paris Museum Pass are great values becuase they cover the top favorites and you don't have to wait in line at all. Most places have a long line to get in but then there's another line to buy tickets. Some of the passes in London and other cities are not worth the money.
When you get to the museum or site consider getting the audio guide if you are in England or Scotland. The audio guides in general are excellent - really top quality. In France and Italy they are a waste of money to be honest. For example, in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy the audio guide was set up by room, not art object and in a certain order that you had to follow on the map. Since the rooms were not numbered clearly and the floor plan was a bit chaotic, the audio guide rarely lined up with where I was. It went something like this;
Audio guide: "If you are in the correct location you will see the so-and-so painting on your left."
Me: "Well, facing which way? There are over 15 paintings in here."
Audio guide: "Lori, remember that you cannot go backwards on this recording. You can stop/pause and walk around the room looking for the mentioned painting but once you press go I will start where I left off."
Me: "Why can't you people get organized like the National Gallery in London and have a number associated with each item and we just type that number to hear the information."
Audio guide: "But this is how we've always done it. Why would we change it? Why would we make it organized and easy? This is Italy after all. So, are you at the painting by so-and-so?."
Me: "I'm done with you audio guide. It's not you. It's me. I just need order and logic in my audio guides. We've had some good times together but I don't think we're a good match. I'm sorry. You will be rented by someone else soon."
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