6 Museums to get locked in overnight

Mike Peake spends a night at the museum, Ben Stiller-style, as the exhibits come to life

PALEONTOLOGY HALL

OSLO, NORWAY
Housed inside the city’s Natural History Museum, this is the only spot in Norway to see dinosaur bones. In the movie Night At The Museum, the re-animated T. rex skeleton wanted to play fetch, so we think that taking a squeaky rubber ball may be a smart idea.
WWW.NHM.UIO.NO

FLY TO OSLO (TORP AND RYGGE) FROM 35 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING EINDHOVEN AND MILAN (BERGAMO).

LOUVRE

PARIS, FRANCE
Take a nocturnal jaunt through this Parisian institution and, as well as unravelling the Da Vinci code in one night, you could ask Mona Lisa what, exactly, is vexing her. It’s when she replies: “Nowt, pet,” in a Newcastle accent that you’ll be most surprised. Be careful not to offend when you greet Venus de Milo. We suggest a nod.
WWW.LOUVRE.FR

FLY TO PARIS (BEAUVAIS) FROM 22 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING GLASGOW (PRESTWICK).

DDR MUSEUM

BERLIN, GERMANY
Berlin’s most interactive museum is dedicated to showing visitors what life behind the Iron Curtain was really like. Head for the alarmingly authentic, socialist-era apartment, turn on the TV and keep the noise down lest the secret police show up.
WWW.DDR-MUSEUM.DE

FLY TO BERLIN (SCHONEFELD) FROM NINE DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING DUBLIN AND EDINBURGH.

BRITISH MUSEUM

LONDON, UK
There are said to be four million exhibits on display at this majestic museum in London’s West End, which was the largest building site in Europe during the mid-19th century. Go to the Egyptian antiquities room – one of the largest collections in the world – and have a chat with Ramesses II.
WWW.BRITISHMUSEUM.ORG

FLY TO LONDON (GATWICK, LUTON AND STANSTED) FROM OVER 100 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING GRAN CANARIA, NIMES AND PALERMO.

MARITIME MUSEUM

BARCELONA, SPAIN
Looking like the vaults of a vast, ancient cathedral, the interior of this place is not only the best spot in town to find yourself in the event of a flood, but as spooky a place to spend the night as we can imagine. Head for the 19th-century figurehead collection and prepare to weep with fear.
WWW.MMB.CAT

FLY TO BARCELONA (GIRONA AND REUS) FROM 66 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING PORTO.

AQUARIA WATER MUSEUM

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
One for the kids by day, but by night this place and its Amazon rainforest exhibition take on a very different vibe. You don’t need to wait for anything to “wake up” either, as everything here is already alive. But still, be careful on that bridge – piranha!
WWW.AQUARIA.SE

FLY TO STOCKHOLM (SKAVSTA AND VASTERAS) FROM 38 DESTINATIONS, INCLUDING PRAGUE.