🎨🏛️ NGV: Melbourne’s Unmissable Art Feast 🖼️🌆

“Skip NGV, miss Melbourne’s soul” might be a stretch, but trust me—this is Australia’s art heart! ❤️🔥 W hether you’re a Rembrandt fan or a selfie-stick pro, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is a must-do. 🏛️ Two Sites, One Passion: Federation Square Branch 🏙️: Aussie art downstairs (small but mighty!). Southbank Main Campus 🌉: Global masterpieces in a futuristic glass-and-granite fortress! 🚪💧 That iconic “thumb sculpture” 👆 and the “Australian Birds” digital lawn art 🦜? Pure Instagram bait! 📜 Art Army: Founded in 1861, NGV is Australia’s oldest gallery! 👵🎨 With 70,000 works (Picasso, Monet, Asian antiquities, Indigenous art…), it’s a $2B treasure trove! 💎💰 🕰️ Hours: 10 AM-5 PM (late Fri nights!). FREE entry 💸—no reservations, no stress! 🚶 My Visit: Skipped the Egyptian relics (temp exhibit, $$$) and headed straight to Level 2 🚀: 17th-20th Century Europe 🎨: Baroque paintings, gilded altars, stained glass—religious AF but jaw-dropping! 😇 Modern Art 🖌️: Picasso’s Weeping Woman 😢, Monet’s Étretat 🌊, and Wheatfield—crowds = worth it! 👨🎨 Asia Wing 🌏: Ming vases, Song Dynasty eagles 🦅, and a Jin Dynasty Guanyin 🙏—priceless Chinese treasures 😭. 🍽️ Hangry?: NGV’s cafes = art breaks with a view! ☕🥪 💡 Pro Tip: Need a day? Bring snacks! 🍱 This place is a maze of masterpieces—easy to lose track of time (and friends!). 👯♂️ #NGV #MelbourneArt #FreeMuseums #CulturalGold #TravelAus