The visual arts open a window to a culture and place. Travel + Leisure’s writers and editors scour the world for the most striking visual arts experiences across all media, from museums to marketplaces, galleries to workshops, archaeological sites to religious spaces, artist homes or art classes — even Instagrams and tattoos. T+L has news, guides, interviews, tips, and inspiration fodder for your next trip in search of stunning visual artworks.
Travelers seeking an art-based adventure can plan a trip to see Monet’s famous Water Lilies in Paris, or the iconic, outraised hands of Adam and his creator on the Sistine Chapel ceilingin Rome.
Even older are the subtle gradations of Katsushika Kousai’s Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji woodprints in Tokyo, the monumental but serene statues of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and the harmonious horizontal lines of Hatshepsut’s Temple in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings.
Visual arts go beyond pictures and sculptures, too. Travelers can admire the bold geometric designs of Kente cloth in southern Ghana, and the intricate goldwork of the lucky Incan artifacts that survived Spanish rule.
At T+L, we don’t just pay attention to historic works and ancient creations. We’ll teach travelers how to snag a selfie next to the latest Kara Walker exhibit in New York City, or see James Turrell’s work-in-progress, Roden Crater, in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Art is a reason to travel, to encounter works small or large but in some way deeply important, moving, and unforgettable.
In 1918, the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote was confronted with a fragment of an ancient marble statue, the Belevedere Torso, in Rome (currently in the Vatican Museums).
“You must change your life,” Rilke said. Art so often does this.
With the latest news on museums, galleries, exhibitions, and experiences across the world, T+L can help you explore all the riches that the visual arts offer travelers.
