REALLY COOL ART TRIPS TO TAKE RIGHT NOW

We’ve curated some exhilarating art-based vacations for you to take now that go way beyond typical museums and galleries. Check them out below.

MUSA UNDERWATER SCULPTURE PARK -- CANCÚN, MEXICO

If diving vacations are your nirvana and art floats your boat, check out the multi-level beauty of MUSA (Museo Subacuático de Arte), an underwater sculpture park, created by artist Jason deCaires Taylor, off the coast of Cancún, Mexico.

This monumental museum holds a collection of over 500 sculptures, designed to help regrow damaged coral reefs.

Taylor’s first underwater sculpture park, installed off the west coast of Grenada, was instrumental in the creation of a National Marine Protected Area. It’s listed as one of the Top 25 Wonders of the World by National Geographic.  

LAS POZAS -- XILITLA, MEXICO

Las Pozas, near Xilitla, Mexico, is a vacation destination that is a Garden of Eden of art.

Originally a coffee plantation, more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level, in a subtropical rainforest, Las Pozas was created in 1947 by Edward James, an eccentric English poet, artist, and patron of the Surrealist movement.

Check out more than 80 acres (32 ha), with its magnificent natural waterfalls and pools interspersed with towering four stories tall James’ Surrealist concrete sculptures.

OUTER BANKS -- NORTH CAROLINA

For historical dramatic arts, set amidst rustic beaches, check out The Lost Colony, the second longest running outdoor drama in the United States, commemorating the original colonists who settled here. Its theater acts as a cultural focal point for much of the Outer Banks.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum gives you a glimpse of numerous shipwrecks that sank off of this magnificent, yet treacherous coast. The collection of spectacular lighthouses are sure to inspire lots of postcard-worthy photos.

Climb Kill Devil Hills, outside the town of Kitty Hawk, to see where the Wright brothers launched the first airplane flight.

THE BLUE CITY, CHEFCHAOUEN -- MOROCCO

For a beautiful blue period vacation, head to “Blue City,” Chefchaouen, perched high in the Rif Mountains of Morocco.

Founded in 1471, by Moulay Ali ben Rachid, a Moroccan prince, as a base to ward off Christian Portuguese attacks, Chefchaouen became home to exiled Jews, expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. 

The Jews fancied the color blue, and painted the façades of their houses accordingly, while expelled Muslims prefered green and mauve.

Rifi Berbers, dressed in wool djellabas (long, hooded robes), still live here, much as they did centuries ago. The city was closed off to Westerners until 1920, when Spanish troops were finally able to infiltrate.

MARKTHAL -- ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

Holland’s largest work of art graces the ceiling of the MVRDV-designed Markthal, sprawling market and apartment complex in Rotterdam. It looks like a giant hallucinogenic version of Da Vinci’s Sistine Chapel masterpiece, painted on 4,500 aluminum panels.

While you are vacationing here, check out star architect Rem Koolhaas’s new hotel on the south bank of the Maas River, the nearby Netherlands Photo Museum and the  bright red New Luxor Theater.

Read more about Beautiful Vacations, as it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including Your Vacations are Beautiful Now! Part 1, 10 Beautiful Vacation Spots Where Nature Shines Best, and BN Fave Foodie Vacation: Beautiful Dining On the Wild Road Now.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Jason deCaires Taylor. Viccisitudes.
2. Image: by Jason deCaires Taylor. The Silent Evolution.
3. Image: by Jason deCaires Taylor. The Listener.
4. Image: Courtesy of Angel Azul.  Underwater Sculpture by Jason deCaires Taylor.
5. Image: by Paula Soler-Moya. Las Pozas. Xilitla, Mexico.
6. Image: by Rod Waddington. Las Pozas. Xilitla, Mexico.
7. Image: by Bernardo Bolaños. Sir Edward James' surrealist garden, Las Pozas. Xilitla, Mexico.
8. Image: Courtesy of The Lost Colony. The Lost Colony.
9. Image: by Tony Beverley. Bodie Island LightHouse.
10. Image: by Alistair Nicol. Splendor.
11. Image: by Tommy Pixel. Blue Chefchaouen.
12. Image: by Catchpenny. Chefchaouen.
13. Image: by Mark Fischer. Chefchaouen Street.
14. Image: by Franx'. Chefchaouen.
15. Image; by Tom Roeleveld. Markthal.
16. Image: by Paul Arps. Markthal covered market. Rotterdam, Netherlands.
17. Image: by Frans Schouwenburg. Markthal Rotterdam.
18. Image: by Bobulix. Women of Chefchaouen.
19. Image: by BN App - Download now!
20. Image: by Jason deCaires Taylor. Underwater Sculpture