Melbourne's cultural crown may have slipped recently, with the news it didn't rank among the global top 20 cities for art and culture (Sydney in fifth?! We were robbed!), but a recent round-up of the world's most underrated museums has put our beloved hometown right back in the spotlight.
A poll of Time Out editors from across the globe revealed a list of 11 excellent but under-the-radar museums that warrant some well-deserved recognition. Some are small and incredibly niche, others simply sit in the shadow of bigger institutions – and they’re all worth adding to your must-visit list.
There's the CupNoodles Museum in Osaka, which – you guessed it! – is a shrine dedicated entirely to the joys of instant noodles. Also making the cut is the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum in Singapore, which not only boasts ginormous dinosaur skeletons, fossils and the bones of a 10.6-metre-long sperm whale, but also has a cool biophilic cliff-like design as part of it's exterior facade.
And flying the (freak) flag for Melbourne is none other than the Museum of Desire. Located in Collingwood, this relatively newish spot (it opened in December 2024) is a celebration of all things love, pleasure and sex. Open to curious visitors aged 18-plus, it has 25 interactive spaces that have been specifically designed to switch up social norms around desire and sexuality.
We're talking a kissing booth, a ball pit full of boobs and a vast collection of erotic art. If you're feeling particularly frisky, you can finger the ‘orgasm harp’ to a musical climax or check out the ‘Confessions of a Photocopier’ installation for some NSFW office antics.
The Museum of Desire was joined by two other Aussie representatives: the Chau Chak Wing Museum in Sydney, a treasure trove hidden in the grounds of the University of Sydney that houses diverse artefacts from archives of art, historic antiquities and scientific specimens; and MOD in Adelaide, a free, futuristic museum that blends art and science in a super interactive way.
So move over Melbourne Museum and the Immigration Museum (kidding, we love you guys), because there's a sexy new addition to Melbourne's world-class museum line-up. And it's bound to get tongues wagging.
Here are 11 of the world’s most underrated museums, according to Time Out editors:
- Miniature Museum Small Worlds, Tokyo
- Design Museum, London
- City Reliquary, New York City
- Chau Chak Wing Museum, Sydney
- Can Framis Museum, Barcelona
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Singapore
- Bordalo Pinheiro Museum, Lisbon
- CupNoodles Museum, Osaka
- MOD, Adelaide
- Norton Simon Museum, Los Angeles
- Museum of Desire, Melbourne
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