Spain has more than 1,500 museums spread throughout the country. The paintings by Velázquez, Goya or Botticelli These are some of the works that can be visited in Spanish art galleries. However, perhaps the one that impresses the most may be one located in Lanzarote. Not as well known as the Prado, the Guggenheim or the Reina Sofíabut with a unique peculiarity in our country and one of the few that can be found in Europe and the rest of the world: and that is that it is an underwater museumand to visit it, it is necessary to dive under the Atlantic Ocean.
This underwater wonder has the same name as the ocean where it is located, and the Atlantic Museum made the possibility of having aquatic art galleries a reality in Spain. It is one of the most impressive and spectacular museums, located in the Bahía de las Coloradas, on Playa Blanca in Lanzarote.
Thus, this exhibition opened in 2017 allows you to discover a world full of stories through about three hundred sculptures and where the inhabitants of the island are honored.
Get to know the Atlantic Museum of Lanzarote, the first underwater museum in Europe and one of the few aquatic museums in the world
Its about first underwater museum ever built in Europe (with permission from Türkiye) and was designed by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor. His sculptures are located a depth of between twelve and fifteen meters and are designed to encourage marine life, as well as create an artificial reef.
One of the best-known works in this museum is the Lampedusa raft, as it alludes to the humanitarian crisis of refugees and recreates the shipwreck of the French frigate Medusa on the coast of Mauritania, with shocking realism. But there are also other works known as Rubicón (an imposing concrete wall), the Hybrid Garden or the Jolateros. Each one of them has a different meaning, but all of them show the story in a different way than the one we know.
The museum is suitable for divers and snorkelers, offering them a unique experience of art and nature underwater. As the museum explains on its website, it is necessary to book a boat dive at one of the diving centers in the area, and although it is not necessary to have a diving certificate, it is necessary to take a prior course and hire an instructor for the dive. experience. The price for the full day is in 149 euros per person.
“The price includes transfer to the hotel, entrance to the Atlantic Museum and diving equipment. You can book the entire excursion online and you only need to make a deposit of 40 euros. You will pay the rest at the diving school,” they explain in the Web page.
Although it retains its status as a pioneer on the continent, today it is not the only one that exists in Europe. On the French Riviera, specifically in the island of Sainte-Marguerite (Cannes) One of the last underwater museums in the world was inaugurated in 2021, with which France would become another of the lucky ones. Also the city of Naples, in Italyfeatures the sunken city of Baia, while The one in Türkiye was inaugurated in 2015 in the town of Sidein the south of the country (Asian part of the Turkish nation, the reason why the Lanzarote museum was the first in Europe).
Meanwhile, throughout the world we can find others like the Moua, in the coastal town of Townsville (Australia), the Ocean Atlas of the Bahamas or the MUSA Underwater Art Museum in Cancún (Mexico).
