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The Louvre. The Met. The Museum of Modern Art. Musee d’Orsay. Centre Pompidou. Uffizi Gallery. The National Gallery of Art. The Prado Museum.
I admit. I’ve been very fortunate and have been able to visit some of the most famous and well-renowned art museums in the world.
And, I’m sure they are all amazing.
But, honestly, art museums kind of bore me.
And overwhelm me.
I never seem to know which hallway or random corner I have already walked through; and sometimes the maze-like layout makes me just want to give up and go grab a snack at the café.
Not to mention getting herded like cows with thousands of other tourists hoping to see a glimpse of the Mona Lisa is a completely dreadful experience to me…that I’ve now done twice!
Whenever I visit an art museum, I spend roughly half my time people-watching. Watching and eavesdropping as people stand in front of a piece of art and analyze it. Cocking my head and trying to see what they are seeing. And reading every piece of information on the walls (which tends to be minimal) to try to better understand what the artist really meant by the piece (as opposed to what the tourist-turned-art-critics think.)
However, there have been a few that I didn’t bore me…dare I say, that I actually enjoyed.
5 Art Museums That Didn't Bore Me...That I Actually Enjoyed
The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres, Spain (and Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida)
What’s not to love about a pink, castle-shaped building with golden eggs on top of it?
I’m a pretty straight laced gal - basic as my teens would call me. And, surrealism art isn’t always my thing.
But, the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres piqued my curiosities more than probably any other art museum I’ve ever visited. I was a college student when I visited (it was part of our art history class during my Spain study abroad program). And, I just remember being mesmerized as I walked from piece to piece wondering what in the world was going through Dali’s head as he created each one.
Many years later, while living in Florida, I found out that the Salvador Dali Museum is a thing in St. Petersburg. I decided to take my family - not really sure how my tweens would react to such “strange” art. Much to my surprise, they were not bored by it…and even enjoyed it (even if they really didn’t understand much of the deeper meanings of the works…which, let’s be honest, many of us don’t understand the deeper meanings of the works, but we can still appreciate them!)
Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid Spain
Other than an amazing Humanities class senior year of high school with Mr. Fletcher - one of the greats - I never really thought much about studying classic art. I mean, it was cool to learn about in that class; but it wasn’t something I ever thought I’d really enjoy studying.
And then, I did study abroad in Spain during college, and one of our classes was Art History - taught once a week in the Prado Museum. There’s something about studying art in an internationally acclaimed art museum that just makes it more interesting.
When I make it back to Madrid (Spain is near the top of my very long list of places to go/ take my children to visit), I look forward to revisiting my time in the Prado and seeing if I enjoy the art or just the nostalgia of my college study abroad days!
The Guggenheim Museum in New York City
I have a slight obsession with buildings (which will become clear as you read more of my stories). So, to be honest, I can’t really say I remember what art I enjoyed in this museum; but I very clearly remember enjoying it!
What I do remember is the flow of the museum, winding down through the floors, made it a very enjoyable experience. I never felt like I was trapped in the herd, looking at one famous painting while staring at the backs of people’s heads and into their phones as they “experienced” art from videoing instead of looking with their own eyes.
(PICTURE OF THE MUSEUM)
Centro Pompidou in Paris, France
My husband and I went to this museum (the kids stayed behind, sick in the hotel room) during our recent trip to France for one reason, and only one reason…the building.
My husband is a structural engineer. And, he was in that same amazing Humanities class senior year of high school, where we studied this museum.
And so, we bought tickets to the museum to mostly explore the building (which is really cool on the outside, but really just any other museum gallery on the inside). I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the top floor has the absolute best views of Paris (better than the Eiffel Tower in my opinion!)
The art was…entertaining.
One piece was three large panels - that were white. Nothing else. Just white.
We stared at it for a few minutes and made up our own interpretations of what the artist (???) was thinking when they made (???) this art piece. (Now, I don’t mean to sound like a judgy tourist-turned-art-critic, but it was literally three white panels, so calling it art seems like a bit of a stretch to me!)
If you, unlike me, love art museums, by all means do you and visit every one of the famous (and not so famous) art museums that you possibly can.
If you, like me, find art museums to be a bit on the meh side, these are five I suggest checking out.
What if you can’t get to these experiences?
You don’t have to travel the world to see art (and a lot of times, I personally love the local art better anyways!)
Here are my top suggestions for experiencing art when you can’t travel to these places:
Visit local artists’ galleries - this I LOVE to do. The galleries are usually small and intimate (no mazes to get lost in here!) And, oftentimes, the artist is present so you can actually ask questions and have a conversation about the piece (you still may find yourself becoming a tourist-turned-art critic!) And big bonus, by visiting small, local galleries, you’ll likely find a style of art that you do like. Maybe it’s nature related or abstract or sculpture. But, whatever type it is, once you know what you like, you can better pick big art museums to experience when you travel.
Explore the big, famous art museums online. Many museums have excellent websites with galleries of much of the art present and also learning materials. This is a great way to “experience” a museum without the overwhelm when you can’t travel to it in person.
Research museums in your local area. Pick one area of the museum that you’d like to see and go explore that part of the museum. Don’t worry about wasting money because you don’t see the whole thing. I promise, if you go and focus on the part you will enjoy, you will actually feel like you got your money’s worth much more than if you try to see the whole thing and don’t enjoy the experience as a whole.
Explore street art. You can do this just by walking around - there are murals (not the graffiti ones - but some would argue that is its own art genre) and most towns have art sculptures scattered throughout town. I love wandering around and coming upon random art in various towns and cities. Another option is to take an outdoor art walking tour. I'll admit - this is one thing I haven't done yet that is high on my list of experiences to do. I haven't been able to find time in any of our trips to work this in, but these tours are popping up all over the world and so its a great way to explore art without the museum. (And, if you do a tour that you love, drop me a note and tell me all about it!)
