Theme Museums in Taiwan You Can’t See: Unveiling Secrets of Sherlock Holmes and Astronauts

Text by MOOK Scenic Spots Travel Life Network, Chen Guanxin; compiled and reported. Materials provided by Moleskine Editorial Department

 

While museums worldwide launch activities for World Museum Day, delighting exhibition enthusiasts, how many have seen displays of spacecraft cabins, luxury watches, or detective tales? In reality, there are many uniquely themed museums scattered across the globe, featuring not only cars, perfumes, and cheese, but also themes closely tied to daily life. Below, we introduce theme museums you can’t see in Taiwan, and explore the new possibilities museums can offer.

 

Belgium — Fashion Museum

To explore the fashion vibe of Antwerp, this is a must-visit destination. The Fashion Museum is housed in a beautiful late 19th-century building called “ModeNatie.” While the first and second floors host the museum itself, other levels include a restaurant, a fashion specialty bookstore, as well as the Fashion Department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, the Fashion Institute of Flanders (FFI), and a library. Opened in September 2002, the museum frequently updates its exhibitions. With over 25,000 items in its collection, it showcases not only works by contemporary designers but also historical traditional garments, accessories, lace, and more.

 

Germany — BMW Museum

After extensive renovations, this BMW Museum reopened at the end of June 2008. Its spacecraft-like exterior and spiraling interior design make it uniquely eye-catching. The museum displays numerous iconic BMW models. Since BMW was originally an aircraft manufacturer when founded in 1916, the museum also features planes and aviation instruments from that era. Beyond cars and planes, there are also cool, high-displacement heavy motorcycles over 1000CC that catch the eye of enthusiasts.

 

Switzerland — Patek Philippe Watch Museum

The Patek Philippe Watch Museum boasts a four-story exhibition space with thousands of impressive items. The first floor displays many workbenches used for crafting parts and assembling watches. The second floor houses timepieces made since the company’s founding in 1839 by Antoine Patek, up to newly released modern models. The third floor features the owner’s private collection of antique watches, including particularly fascinating pieces like 18th-century mechanical clocks commissioned by Chinese royalty—some shaped like birdcages, others resembling intricately crafted firearms, chiming and chirping on the hour with unique ingenuity. The fourth floor is a well-stocked library, sometimes also used as an exhibition hall for special shows.