Photo courtesy of de Young Museum

Wondering what to pack for your travels this summer?

Don’t sweat it — you’ll never be able to compete with the wonderful garments (some gorgeous, some outlandish) now on display at museums around the world, anyway.

A rash of single-designer shows are being staged, offering enticing exhibits on everyone from fierce originals (St. Laurent, McQueen) to avant garde visionaries (Gaultier, Yamamoto) to consummate traditionalists (Balenciaga, Gres). So, go look, and then look some more — but don’t touch.

Balenciaga and Spain, de Young Museum, San Francisco. Through July 4.

From the black lace of a mantilla to the red of a matador’s cape, this imaginative exhibit examines how Spanish culture and history influenced the sumptuous gowns of Cristobal Balenciaga. Besides religion and bullfighting, the show also looks at Spanish dance, art, court life and peasantry.

Yohji Yamamoto, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Through July 10

Incorporating the Japanese designer’s deconstructed creations into site specific installations throughout the museum, this exhibit is as resolutely architectural, as modest and arrogant — to use Yamamoto’s phrase — as the work itself. In a nod to the premium that the designer placed on fabric, mannequins are placed so that museumgoers can walk around and between them, to get up close to the Kyoto textiles.

Saint Laurent rive gauche, Fondation Pierre Berge-Yves Saint Laurent, Paris. Through July 17.

Displayed in a recreation of YSL’s first Paris boutique, the 70 ensembles presented here come from the designer’s pret a porter label, which he created in 1966, five years after founding his haute couture house. The line sportily borrowed from menswear, freeing up women’s clothes in a way that hadn’t been done much before.

Madame Gres: Couture at Work, Musee Bourdelle, Paris. Through July 24.

The first retrospective in Paris for the designer known for her sculptural approach to fashion, the show offers 80 gowns on loan from the Galliera Museum and private collectors. In her best work, Madame Gres, born Germaine Krebs, brought simplicity to new heights with her elegant, draped gowns in muted shades of ivory or gray.

photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC. Through Aug. 7.

Although the Alexander McQueen label supplied the gown for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the house built its reputation on edgier, statement designs invoking political and historical themes. The exhibition highlights six McQueen collections; accessories by the late British designer’s partners, including milliner Philip Treacy and jewelry designer Shaun Leane; and extensive video. A highlight is the famous hologram of model Kate Moss from a 2006 runway show.

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal. Through Oct. 2.

The lengthy title of this career retrospective seems apt, given the frenetic quality of this French designer’s work. The show is organized under tantalizing categories, such as The Boudoir, Punk Cancan and Urban Jungle, and offers up a trove of video, as well as fashion and art photography by the likes of Andy Warhol, Richard Avedon, Cindy Sherman and Herb Ritts.

Here’s a round up of some of our favorite seasonal spots for shopping, skating and enjoying a festive hot drink to warm the soul — and the feet. Plus: one American surprise for those who have been extra good.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Winter Wonders Nov. 26, 2010 – Jan. 2, 2011

Launched just six years ago, Brussels’ Winter Wonders has evolved into one of Europe’s most elaborate holiday festivals. The scene includes a market with 240 stalls, fairgrounds with a giant Ferris wheel, carousel and other rides; separate skating rinks for adults and bigger kids, and for toddlers; and of course a towering Christmas tree on the city’s light-festooned Grand-Place.

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Tivoli Gardens Nov. 15 – Dec. 29 2010

Imagine tens of thousands of lightbulbs lit up everywhere in Tivoli Gardens, as the heady aromas of ‘glogg’ and traditional Danish ‘æbleskiver’ (‘dumplings’ served with sugar and jam) engulf you. Add all manner of handicraft gift items, an elf and fairies exhibition, mechanical puppets, and loads of children running around begging to try the rides. It all makes for the best example of the Danish art of ‘hygge,’  or coziness’.

courtesy of Visit Denmark

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square Nov. 27, 2010 – Jan. 2, 2010

Prague’s Wenceslas Square naturally is one of the star attractions for the city’s annual Christmas markets, which also include installations a short stroll away at Old Town Square, Havelske Trziste, and Manesti Republiky. Featured are Bohemian crystal, wooden toys and other locally crafted items; sausages, corn on the cob and other Czech food favorites, local beers, mulled wine and other hot beverages. There’s also an area in Old Town Square with a petting zoo with sheep, goats and a llama, as well as a special tree brought in from the Krkonose mountains in the northern part of the country.

STRASBOURG, FRANCE Christkindelsmarik Nov. 29 – Dec. 24, 2010

First held more than 400 years ago, this market is the oldest such Christmas event in France and one of the biggest in the country. The area around the cathedral is center stage for the Christkindelsmarik, but also not to be missed is the charming La Petite France neighborhood, with its timbered buildings that seem so appropriate to the season. A skating rink, performances of carols and the requisite giant tree on Place Kleber complete the scene.

TRIER, GERMANY Hauptmarkt Nov. 22 – Dec. 22, 2010

The medieval cathedral forms the backdrop for this market in Germany’s oldest city, which is best known for its Roman-era Porta Nigra gate. Nearly 100 wooden huts tricked out for the season offer all manner of treats, including mulled wine, hot pretzels, and mini pancakes, along with knitted items, special soaps and other locally produced goods. Meanwhile, brass bands provide just the right seasonal soundtrack. 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA Schönbrunn Palace Nov 20 – Dec. 26, 2010

Celebrate a la the Habsburgs, sort of, as this Baroque palace falls under the spell of Christmas. Shining in the glow of spotlights, this romantic treasure provides a magnificent setting for a special Advent village. Some 60 exhibitors sell Austrian artifacts —crystal, anyone? — in a seasonal atmosphere redolent of gingerbread and sugarplums, not to mention plenty of gluwein. Less commercial that the market outside of City Hall, this is truly a royal treat.

NEW YORK CITY, U.S. Bryant Park Nov. 5, 2010 – Jan. 2, 2011

Bring your own skates, and glide your way across the free public rink that is the centerpiece of Bryant Park’s winter season. Celsius: A Canadian Lounge offers rink-side views along with lunch, dinner and drinks on an outdoor terrace complete with heat lamps. And, of course, more than 100 boutique set-ups ply their wares, proffering everything from hand-knit ski caps to hand-dipped chocolates.

The recent opening of a casino at the old behemoth Bethlehem (PA) Steel mill —- part of a promised, much larger entertainment complex —- is bringing new life to what was once an urban centerpiece. Indeed, many mills, warehouses, and breweries once formed not only the “there” of the cities in which they were based, they were often the very “why” behind many of those cities. Today, they are a draw for architecture buffs, photography hounds, and history and art lovers. Here’s a look at some of the most successful conversions:

Mill City Museum, Minneapolis Set within picturesque ruins — the remains of a fire a few decades back — this fascinating museum details the history of the once-thriving flour mil industry, powered by the mighty Mississippi and an economic boon for the turn-of-the-century city. The Washburn A Mill, now home to the museum, was the largest and most technologically advanced in the world: at its peak, it produced enough flour to make 12 million loaves of bread a day. The exhibit’s heart is a ride in a huge grain elevator that stops at each floor to reveal a segment —from the clang of an assembly line to the ka-ching of the back office — of the business through a masterful combination of video, audio, and set pieces. Information: www.millcitymuseum.org

photos by JoAnn Greco

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin As the revered brand observes its 250th anniversary, this complex celebrates all things black and tan via a feast for the senses that appeals to even the most disinterested of beer quaffers. From an incredible display of the brew’s essential ingredients — heaping piles of barley, thundering falls of water — to an exahustive look at marketing and advertising through the years, the museum takes visitors on a journey higher and higher. Finally, you reach the top where a complimentary cold one (or two) and a magnificent view of the city awaits. Information: www.guinness-storehouse.com

MassMoCA, North Adams This sprawling, red brick complex— two dozen buildings on 13 acres — has served as a printed textile plant as well as an electronic parts factory. Now in its tenth year, MassMoCA acts as a gateway to the numerous arts attractions of the Berkshires and has rejuvenated the town of North Adams, MA, which fell upon hard times after industry left the region. Starting with an installation of upside down trees (ya have to be there . . .), Tree Logic, and moving into the football field-sized main gallery, visitors are treated to site specific pieces by masters of the genre like Sol LeWitt. Information: www.massmoca.org

Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh Before MassMoCA, there was this: a two-building Stearns and Foster factory, repurposed into a stunning little museum with a permanent collection of installations by landscape designer Winifred Lutz, lighting master James Turrell, and polka-dot maven Yayoi Kusama. Information: www.mattress.org

photo courtesy of Margaret Mitchell House

Key West has Hemingway’s home and Amsterdam has Anne Frank’s attic. Visitors to Atlanta get a literary and cinematic twofer, though: the Margaret Mitchell House and the adjacent “Gone With the Wind” movie museum, both recently renovated and re-opened to the public this summer.

“Gone With the Wind,” the epic 1936 novel — and American movie classic that celebrates its 70th anniversary this year — is still very much a part of Mitchell’s hometown, some 40-plus translations after its original publication. That’s at least partly due to the fact that when Mitchell crafted her Pulitzer Prize winner, her biggest concern was getting the details right. She wasn’t about to cut any corners for the sake of a good story. After all, her father was the founder of Atlanta’s historical society.

The Mitchell House, actually a small Peachtree Street apartment (in an 1899 Tudor-style rowhome) that she affectionately called ‘the dump at tight squeeze,” is full of family photos, mementoes and 1920′s furnishings. Mitchell wrote the novel while on leave from her job at the Atlanta Journal, recovering from a broken ankle. Today, like grandmothers scanning family albums, guides tell tales about the family clan, including Mitchell’s second husband, John Marsh (who supposedly served as inspiration for milquetoasty Ashley Wilkes) and her cousin Melanie, a Catholic nun. Legend has it that Sister Melanie gave Mitchell her blessing to name a character after her, so long as the character was ‘a nice person and morally upright.”

Next door, the “Gone with the Wind” Museum will always have Tara — or at least its front door. Also here: props from the mansion, like the port-stained portrait of Scarlett that hung in Rhett’s bedroom. Visitors can also re-enact scenes from the film using the actual script.

To get in the GWTW spirit, consider staying at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, half a mile away on Peachtree in the midtown arts and culture district. On the National Register of Historic places, the hotel hosted the “Gone with the Wind” premier party in 1939. Erected in 1911 as a Southern interpretation of a Parisian hotel, today it’s an all-suite option, with a rooftop pool that offers the best views of the city.

While you’re being swept up in old-fashioned Hollywood glamour, pop into the Fox Theater across the street. Originally built as a Shriner’s Auditorium in 1929, the Fox later became a movie palace. (Another, the Loews, where GWTW received its premiere, has since been demolished.) All of the original Arabian-style décor favored by the Shriners has been meticulously restored and the theater is an eye-popper. Take in some live theater (in early Sept., Jerry Springer arrives in “Chicago”); and watch as  the azure ceiling turns to a twinkling night sky.

But sometimes, ordinary exhibits just won’t shake those rainy-day blues. Time to check out one of those other museums, the eccentric ones that exist on the fringes of many cities. For an intimate look at some of the more bizarre aspects of human nature:

Museum of Sex, New York City. Erotica museums have been popular in Europe since the late sixties. This country got its first, on Fifth Avenue, in 2002. The Museum of Sex claims an educational mission and displays are presented with plenty of academic research. Indeed, you can find out anything you ever wanted to know, in explicit detail, about subcultures from homosexuality to sadomasochism and prostitution. On display now: “Sex Lives of Robots” and “Action: Sex and the Moving Image.” Information: www.museumofsex.com

International Spy Museum, Washington, DC. Opened in 2002, the Spy Museum explores the history of espionage since World War II. If you really want to “come in from the cold,” take the two-hour interactive Spy City Tour of downtown DC, exploring two dozen sites of espionage triumphs and disasters from the last 65 years of U.S. history. Information: www.spymuseum.org

photo courtesy of Arlington County, VA

Drug Enforcement Agency Museum, Arlington, VA. At about the same time, another museum opened across the Potomac River, shedding light on a different aspect of American history: substance abuse. The DEA Museum offers a surprisingly entertaining if cautionary look at recreational drugs, from the quaint Victorian packaging of “cocaine toothache drops” to an exuberant display of bongs, pipes of and vials from the seventies and eighties. Information: www.deamuseum.org

Mutter Museum of Medical Oddities, Philadelphia. This one has been around for a century and a half but not many know about it outside city limits. Founded in the mid-1800s when surgeons could collect body parts like trophies then put them on public display—the more famous the patient, the bigger the draw—it’s a trove of ghoulishness. Among the 20,000 objects displayed in this regal gallery of the Philadelphia College of Physicians is a tumor removed from Grover Cleveland’s jaw when he was president, brains of murderers and epileptics, a giant colon and a plaster cast of conjoined twins. Information: www.collphyphil.org/mutter.asp

National Museum of Dentistry, Baltimore. Similar in theme but created in 1996 for a modern audience, this museum features George Washington’s (not so) wooden dentures, Queen Victoria’s gilded mother-of-pearl personal dental instruments, and a jukebox shaped like a giant gaping mouth that plays dental product commercials from television’s early days. Information: www.dentalmuseum.org