Best cities for art lovers to visit (that aren’t on the main tourist route)
This isn’t going to be a list of the typical art cities that you already know – and could name without even looking online. There are many other cities around the world that have equally fantastic art collections and museums that aren’t on the main tourist route.
Siena, Italy
With powerhouse art cities like Rome and Florence within your borders, it’s hard for anywhere else in Italy to get a look in. But the picturesque Tuscan town of Siena has a wealth of artworks in its many beautifully preserved churches. The city was at the forefront of its own art movement in the early Renaissance and works from local Quattrocento artists are the most prolific. Don’t miss the Cathedral, which houses pieces by Donatello, Michelangelo and Bernini.
Bilbao, Spain
Art is intricately tied to this northern Spanish town’s whole economic development plan and the city is practically an open-air museum. There are huge sculptures in parks and squares from artists like Salvador Dali and Jeff Koons, as well as street art displays from local up and coming artists. The city is also home to an outpost of the famed Guggenheim Museum (pictured above), which attracts some of the most sophisticated contemporary art exhibitions in the world, as well as its own fine arts museum with a fine collection of work from Basque artists.
Vienna, Austria
Throughout much of its history Vienna has been the intellectual capital of Europe, rather than the creative one. But that’s all changing. The city has been reborn as a contemporary art capital and is now the place for fresh, innovative, modern visual art. The newly revamped 21er Haus and the Museum of Applied Arts focus on works from living artists from around Europe while the Leopold Museum, the most visited museum in the country, is a treasure trove of modern Austrian art from the likes of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Art doesn’t have to be contained within the four walls of a museum and in Buenos Aires artists use the streets as their canvas. Their work is encouraged by both the residents and local officials, unlike in many cities where street artists are considered vandals and must work under the cover of darkness. Argentina has a long history of street art and, during times of government turmoil, artists were fiercely political. While politics still features, modern murals tend to focus on sports stars, popular culture or fantastical cartoon beings. Organised tours will take you around the best (and often secret) sites for around $20.
Abu Dhabi, UAE
While Dubai revels in its reputation as a materialistic city of malls and flashy hotels, Abu Dhabi is quietly establishing itself as the arts hub of the Middle East. Its very own Guggenheim Museum will be opening in 2017 and at the end of this year the first satellite Louvre Museum will open its doors with more than 300 paintings from the original on display. Expect to see plenty of French art in Abu Dhabi as the emirate has a 30-year collaboration with a number of Paris museums worth more than one billion euro.
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