Shore Excursions for Art Lovers

Relaxing and fun, a cruise can also be an exciting exploration of cultures different from yours. Visiting a new place via cruise ship and shore excursion provides an opportunity to learn about local life, cuisine and fine arts.

Many cruise lines, and many destinations, offer shore excursions designed specifically for art lovers. Whether you are a knowledgeable collector or simply "know what you like when you see it,” an art-oriented shore excursion can expand your horizons.

A port call in Barcelona, Spain, is an opportunity to see the work of the modern architect Antoni Gaudi. His buildings, including the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral, are giant works of art. The Yachts of Seabourn offers a World of Gaudi shore excursion that includes visits to the cathedral and the Casa Mila, a fabulous restored mansion. Some ships offer shore excursions to nearby Montjuic, where the Fundacio Joan Miro museum is filled with tapestries, paintings and sculptures by the Catalonian artist.

If you’re sailing to Rarotonga, you can take a shore excursion that will let you meet and talk with local artists, who produce shell carvings, paintings, sculptures, tattoos and textiles. Rarotonga is the most populous of the Cook Islands, and is included on some Australia and New Zealand cruise itineraries. Princess Cruises offers an Ariki Art & Cultural shore excursion, with a local artist serving as the guide as you visit a variety of artists’ homes and studios.

While paintings by the 16th-century Dutch Masters are found in museums around the world, one of the greatest collections is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Oceania Cruises’ Dutch Masters shore excursion includes a guided tour of masterpieces, like Rembrandt’s The Night Watch and Vermeer’s The Milkmaid, from the Golden Age of Dutch painting.

Ask Cruise Holidays about shore excursions that will help you explore local art and artists on your next cruise.