Best destinations for art lovers beyond the usual museum capitals

Paris has the Louvre. Madrid has the Prado. New York has enough galleries to fill several holidays. They are wonderful places to be if you like art, but they have also made the art trip rather easy to picture: book a museum ticket, follow the map, stand in front of the famous painting and join the crowd moving towards the next room.

Elsewhere, art can require a little more looking.

In Mexico City, murals are part of the city’s visual vocabulary. Diego Rivera’s enormous works are the obvious starting point, but the tradition of putting art in public spaces has carried on through generations of artists. Walls, old buildings and cultural centres become canvases, while galleries and artist-run spaces have spread through neighbourhoods such as Roma and San Miguel Chapultepec. The city’s older architecture adds another layer, with Aztec, colonial and modern Mexico often occupying the same few blocks.

Marrakech is a different kind of art destination. The souks of the medina can initially feel like a blur of colour, metal, leather and textiles, but spend time looking at the objects and the techniques become clearer. Zellige, the intricate geometric tilework found across Moroccan architecture, is made from individually cut pieces of glazed tile. Woodworkers, metalworkers, leather artisans and carpet makers continue to work in the city, often in small workshops tucked behind the commercial bustle.

In Jaipur, the distance between art and craft is similarly difficult to draw. Miniature paintings, jewellery, blue pottery and textiles have deep roots in Rajasthan, while nearby Sanganer remains associated with hand block printing. Wooden blocks are carved, dipped into dye and pressed onto cloth by hand, one impression after another. The finished textile may end up in a shop far away from Jaipur, but its making is still tied to a particular place and a particular rhythm of work.

Kyoto offers another way into the subject. Its temples and gardens draw millions of visitors, yet the city’s artistic heritage also survives in things people use. Ceramics, lacquerware, silk weaving, calligraphy and woodwork are supported by generations of specialised knowledge. Nishijin, the historic textile district, is particularly associated with elaborate silk weaving. In the city’s pottery districts, workshops continue to produce objects that are meant to be handled, used and eventually worn with age.

For George Town, the artwork may be sitting on a wall you pass on the way to lunch. The Malaysian city’s historic centre is filled with Chinese shophouses, temples, colonial buildings and narrow streets, and its contemporary murals have become part of that landscape. Some were commissioned, others grew out of the city’s street-art movement. The work by Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, in particular, became closely associated with George Town after his interactive murals began appearing around the heritage district.

Banksy’s work has made street art an international treasure hunt of its own. The anonymous British artist has left pieces in cities including Bristol, London, Bethlehem and Paris, with works appearing on walls, bridges and the sides of buildings rather than inside galleries. Their locations can become almost as important as the images themselves. A wall that might otherwise go unnoticed can suddenly draw visitors from across the world, cameras pointed at a piece that may have appeared overnight and may not survive for long. Bristol, where Banksy grew up, is particularly associated with his early work and remains a destination for visitors interested in tracing the city’s street-art history.

Oaxaca makes a particularly good destination for anyone interested in the people behind an object. The city has galleries and contemporary art spaces, but some of its strongest artistic traditions continue in villages outside the centre. San Bartolo Coyotepec is known for its distinctive black pottery. Teotitlán del Valle has a long weaving tradition. San Martín Tilcajete is associated with brightly painted wooden alebrijes. These are working communities where craft is still tied to families, livelihoods and local knowledge.

In Tbilisi, the setting changes again. The Georgian capital has an eccentric architectural mix of old wooden balconies, ornate nineteenth-century buildings, Soviet structures and newer interventions. Contemporary galleries and independent art spaces have appeared alongside them. The city’s former industrial buildings have also become useful spaces for artists and cultural organisations, giving the scene a slightly improvised quality that suits Tbilisi.

Lagos is worth visiting for anyone interested in contemporary African art, particularly because its creative world stretches well beyond conventional galleries. Studios, independent spaces, photography, fashion, music and design all overlap here. Art X Lagos has helped bring artists from across Africa and the diaspora into the city, while local galleries and artist communities continue to build their own networks.

These places also change the way an art traveller spends a day. Instead of moving from one famous collection to another, there may be a workshop to find, a neighbourhood to walk through, a market where a particular technique is still practised or a wall that will look different the next time you pass it.

The art is still there. It just does not always come with a ticket counter.

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