The European Travel Companion to Vermeer

In Europe, all twenty-two Vermeer paintings are generally accessible to the public except for the Queen's The Music Lesson which is visible only during the summer months or special exhibitions. The remaining works are housed in public or private art collections normally open five days a week throughout the year except for holidays. It should be kept in mind that Vermeer paintings can be on special exhibitions far from their permanent collections or in restoration. Temporary exhibitions, however, are usually announced months in advance so it is imperative to begin planning in time to avoid pointless travel.

Traveling Philosophy. There as many ways to travel as there are individuals and their financial possibilities. The present travel guide is formulated around a limited budget in order to afford the maximum number of people the occasion to realistically calculate costs. Obviously, in order to arrive at the European starting point each traveler must make his own travel arrangements from his home wherever that might be.

Plan 1. Seeing al 22 Vermeers in Europe. If one wishes to attempt the rather ambitious plan of seeing all 22 Vermeer paintings in Europe, ten intercity trips will be necessary. One may then plan as many days for exploring the city's Vermeer museum and city sites as one finds suitable. The map above proposes a possible travel route.

Plan 2. The second plan involves seeing 14 Vermeers distributed in four cities (Amsterdam, The Hague, Paris and London) all within very close vicinity.

Plan 3. The third plans offers the possibility to keep traveling time at a bare minimum while allowing one to seeing 11, or perhaps 12 paintings.

Intercity Transportation. One of the best ways to assure a more gratifying trip and economize at the same time is to utilize Europe's excellent railway system. The chief railway stations are located in the heart of European cities and hence, often near the major art collections and a wide choice travel accommodations. Moreover, rail travel is generally more congenial to socializing with each country's inhabitants and moreover, has the indubitable advantage of allowing one the opportunity to comfortably view scenery.

InterRail Global Passes http://www.interrail.net/english/index.php
For European residents. The total duration of the ten-city travel and stay would be trip would last 21 days. This number which would keep us in the limits of a 22-day InterRail Global Pass which cost Euro 479.00 and Euro [4239,00 439,00] for senior citizens (over 60s).

Eurail Global Pass http://www.eurail.com/eurail-passes/eurail-global-pass
For non-European residents. There is a large variety of different of passes regarding specific areas in Europe to choose or the number of traveling days within a month etc. For example: a pass with the validity of 15 traveling days within 2 months costs $739.00 (2nd class) while a stay of 21 days costs $ 619,00 (2nd class). A Benelux (i.e. Belgium/Netherlands and Luxembourg)-Germany Pass costs $395.00 with 10 traveling days within 2 months. Attention: A Eurail Pass has to be ordered 6 months before the issuing date.

accommodations. In keeping with the limited budget proposed by this guide, affordable hotels and bed & breakfasts ($150 or less) are preferred. accommodations located near the museum, rather than the railway station, have been preferred so that one can easily return from the museum to the hotel during the day to rest up.

All the Vermeers in Europe, City by City. Due to the wealth of information, this project displays each city on a separate webpage which can be accessed from the menu located to the upper right of this page.

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The Vermeers in Europe at a Glance

CITY	PAINTING	TITLE	MUSEUM	EMAIL
Amsterdam		The Milkmaid	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
		The Little Street	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
		The Love Letter	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
		Woman in Blue Reading a Letter	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
Berlin		The Glass of Wine	Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie	gg@smb.spk-berlin.de
		Woman with a Pearl Necklace	Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie	gg@smb.spk-berlin.de
Brunswick		The Girl with a Wine Glass	Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum	info@museum-braunschweig.de
Dresden		The Procuress	Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery)	info@skd.smwk.sachsen.de
		Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window	Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery)	info@skd.smwk.sachsen.de
Dublin		Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid	National Gallery of Ireland	info@ngi.ie
Edinburgh		Christ in the House of Martha and Mary	National Gallery of Scotland	enquiries@nationalgalleries.org
Frankfurt		The Geographer	Städelsches Kunstinstitut	info@staedelmuseum.de
The Hague		Diana and her Companions	Mauritshuis	communicatie@mauritshuis.nl
		View of Delft	Mauritshuis	communicatie@mauritshuis.nl
		Girl with a Pearl Earring	Mauritshuis	communicatie@mauritshuis.nl
London		A Lady Standing at a Virginal	National Gallery	information@ng-london.org.uk
		A Lady Seated at a Virginal	National Gallery	information@ng-london.org.uk
		The Guitar Player	The Kenwood House	customers@english-heritage.org.uk
		The Music Lesson	The Royal Collection, The Windsor Castle	information@ng-london.org.uk
Paris		The Astronomer	Musée du Louvre	info@louvre.fr
		The Lacemaker	Musée du Louvre	info@louvre.fr
Vienna		The Art of Painting	Kunsthistorisches Museum	info@khm.at