IF YOU'RE in the Comunidad Valenciana any time between now and the early hours of March 20, you may notice an awful lot of noise and colour on the streets. It's the season for the region's biggest festival,...
Spain loves its museums – here's why, and how much
06/05/2021
ALTHOUGH physical museum visits have been down by over 70% in the past year due to the pandemic – largely because they were mostly shut anyway – Spaniards and Spanish residents were not willing to go without their regular dose of culture: Almost two-thirds, or 63%, 'visited' an art gallery, temporary exhibition or established museum online during that time.
This is well above the international average, which is 40%, albeit the typical profile of a museum visitor in person or via a virtual tour is similar worldwide: More likely to be women, and typically aged over 55.
The age group may well vary from country to country and be influenced by a whole range of factors, though: Many European cities offer free or reduced-price entry to students or the under-26s, to pensioners, to the unemployed, or on certain days of the week; also, those who take their holidays as 'circuit tours' of a country or part of a country will almost certainly visit at least one museum along the set route, and it would stand to reason that this type of holiday would be more popular with residents in warmer countries, who do not need to spend their annual break seeking out sunshine, or who already have second homes in hot-weather hotspots.
Had it not been for the pandemic, the east of Spain might have seen an upsurge in young adults heading for museums: Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences was offering free passes throughout 2020 for anyone born in the Millennium year.
But what influences museum visits overall, and which are the most popular types?
The holiday activity site Musement surveyed a stratified sample of 2,600 people around the world to sound them out.
Preferred museum types, and what's important to visitors
Some might have thought 'weird' museums would be among the most popular – like the reptile museum in São Paulo, the phallus museum in Reykjavík, or, at the more 'normal' end of the 'weird' scale, Madame Tussaud's in London or its Madrid counterpart, the Waxworks Museum, or Museo de la Cera.
But it turns out our tastes are somewhat more conventional: Spanish respondents were, in 80% of cases, most likely to head to an art gallery; 44% would go for an archaeological museum, and 32% to a history museum.
Similar proportions were seen in other countries worldwide.
Along with the usual exhibits, or the permanent collections at the museum of choice, three other factors determined whether a Spaniard would make a beeline for a given establishment: Temporary exhibitions attracted 65%, given that these often feature internationally-renowned artists or sculptors, periods in history or other themes, and only offer a slim window to be able to catch them before they move on; availability of audio-guides, or guided tours, particularly in different languages where they are on visits in other countries, were important for a third of the Spaniards interviewed, and 'special events' would draw in 31%.
French, Dutch and British visitors were largely influenced by long opening hours, giving them flexibility and choice as to when to visit, whilst US nationals said free on-site or nearby parking was crucial.
Who to visit with, and type of trip
As for the company, only 17% of Spaniards who responded to the survey said they tended to go to museums alone – 38% went with their partners, 29% with other family members, 12% with friends, and only 2% with an organised tour group.
Despite the apparent popularity of organised trips – almost everywhere in the world, ubiquitous groups led by guides are heard in numerous languages – it seems that on home territory, Spaniards are less likely to take advantage of these; 52% prefer to buy their ticket and tour museums at their own pace, although 32% said an audio-guide was a bonus, or even essential.
A total of 13% opt for standard, group guided tours, compared with only 3% who would book a private tour.
Private tours tend to appeal more to Italians and Portuguese – 10% and 11% respectively – whilst the Brazilians and Dutch, 75% and 70% respectively, prefer visiting museums under their own steam.
You never stop learning, on holiday or at home
When on holiday, in Spain or abroad, Spaniards tend to visit a high number of museums – 61% said they went to an average of three or more.
Even when not on holiday, a significant minority are museum regulars: 31% said they go to more than five a year, or a minimum of one every two months, in their home town or fairly close by.
And it's often about being keen to learn, to increase one's knowledge of an artist or artistic movement, a period in history, an aspect of science or the planet, or the world of entertainment: Of those questioned, six in 10 Spaniards said they visited museums 'to educate themselves'.
When finding out about museums to visit and deciding which to go to, nearly two-thirds, or 63%, said tour guides or guidebooks were their source of information, whilst 31% said tourist information offices, and 27% said recommendations by friends or family.
Covid safety factors in museums
With museums having gradually reopened over 2020, before shutting down again and now being about to return to almost-normality, safety from Covid contagion has become a major factor for the general public and one of the main priorities for visitors – these museum-goers also have different, objective opinions on what they believe are the most effective measures in preventing the spread of the virus.
Set time slots, to avoid crowds, are crucial for 63% of museum visitors, irrespective of nationality; compulsory mask-wearing, for 56%, and thorough ventilation of indoor venues, for 28%.
For Spaniards, the use of masks is considered a higher priority than set time slots, but otherwise, they mostly followed the international opinion pattern on which measures they considered fundamental.
Less important for museum-goers from Spain were taking visitors' temperatures at the entrance, given that a person may be infected but asymptomatic and not have a fever – only 6% thought it was vital to do so.
And social-distancing markers, with lines laid out two metres apart to encourage people to maintain a gap between each other, were only important for 13%, since many others considered these were only helpful if the public sticks to them and that in any case, most people are conscious enough about keeping a couple of metres from strangers and will work this out for themselves.
Finding museums in Spain
Almost every provincial capital city in Spain has at least one high-profile museum, art gallery or both, or museum-like monument or establishment – a palace, a castle, a themed area, or a cathedral, which are often more like art galleries than purely religious buildings as they are usually adorned with high-quality, specially-commissioned paintings and sculptures; the late Mediaeval and long Renaissance period saw churches, courts and palaces spending a fortune on élite art as propaganda and a status symbol, proof of their wealth and power.
Those not linked to art or history, but hugely popular and world-acclaimed anyway, include, for example, Valencia's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias ('City of Arts and Sciences', or CAC) – a futuristic complex designed by Santiago Calatrava which has often been favourably compared with Sydney Opera House (and, in fact, includes an opera house of its own, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía), where you can wander through the Umbracle, or semi-covered botanical gardens, watch as many back-to-back half-hour high-definition documentaries as you please at the Hemisfèric, with subjects ranging from ocean depths to volcanoes to space, each one costing around €6 a head or even less, pop into the Prince Felipe Science Museum, which regularly holds fascinating temporary exhibitions – the official Harry Potter Exhibition being one of these, in summer 2019, only its second visit to Spain on its decade-long journey around the world - or use up the best part of a day admiring species from all the world's major seas at the Oceanogràfic, Europe's largest aquarium and one where the creatures live in humanely- and carefully-created environments that exactly reflect their natural habitats so they would not realise they were in a Valencia theme park; indeed, the Oceanogràfic is the region's main marine veterinary care centre, and turtles trapped in fishing nets are sent there for care and treatment before being released back into the wild.
Right in your village, too
Often, though, you don't have to travel to a major city to find a museum. Practically every town, however small, has a Casa de Cultura, or community centre, where regular exhibitions of local and national artists take place – if you belong to an art club, your tutor, or even you or your classmates might be next – and almost every town and village has its own local history and archaeology museum.
These can frequently be a fascinating source of information about how people lived in your town decades, centuries or millennia ago, as artefacts from the prehistoric Iberian era, the Romans, the Mediaeval Islamic settlers, and other civilisations are normally displayed in these when they are found in local digs – including totally accidental excavation sites, where a standard, routine exploration is carried out as a precaution on pieces of land before building roads and roundabouts and end up revealing hitherto unsuspected city walls or Arab villages.
Local history museums in coastal towns can be particularly intriguing. It is well-documented that the western Mediterranean and its convergence with the Atlantic are a hotbed of Roman artefacts – to such a degree that finding 'yet another' 2,000-year-old amphora or ceramic wine bottle on the sea floor hardly even makes the local news.
So, if you're a scuba-diving fan and you stumble across a piece of Roman pottery, you can expect your nearest museum to be keen to study and display it, but it probably won't make you famous.
Living in a place where this type of amazing finding is not just 'normal', but actually 'old hat', is a huge privilege for anyone with at least a passing interest in history.
Other local museum-type places might include prehistoric caves with ancient cave art – paintings and engravings – dating back tens or hundreds of thousands of years; windmills or water mills; or centres dedicated to artefacts, tools, pictures, testimonials and other valuable pieces that speak of traditional industries such as farming and craftwork, wickerwork, weaving, lacemaking, food production (we highly recommend the various chocolate museums around Spain, the most famous of which is probably the Valor museum in Villajoyosa, Alicante province), and other old-time customs which may have been standard fare for centuries, but were probably still being carried out within your lifetime and where local residents can give you a first-hand account.
After all, if six in 10 of us go to museums to educate ourselves, learning may as well be fun, local and relevant enough that you can identify with it.
Related Topics
ALTHOUGH physical museum visits have been down by over 70% in the past year due to the pandemic – largely because they were mostly shut anyway – Spaniards and Spanish residents were not willing to go without their regular dose of culture: Almost two-thirds, or 63%, 'visited' an art gallery, temporary exhibition or established museum online during that time.
This is well above the international average, which is 40%, albeit the typical profile of a museum visitor in person or via a virtual tour is similar worldwide: More likely to be women, and typically aged over 55.
The age group may well vary from country to country and be influenced by a whole range of factors, though: Many European cities offer free or reduced-price entry to students or the under-26s, to pensioners, to the unemployed, or on certain days of the week; also, those who take their holidays as 'circuit tours' of a country or part of a country will almost certainly visit at least one museum along the set route, and it would stand to reason that this type of holiday would be more popular with residents in warmer countries, who do not need to spend their annual break seeking out sunshine, or who already have second homes in hot-weather hotspots.
Had it not been for the pandemic, the east of Spain might have seen an upsurge in young adults heading for museums: Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences was offering free passes throughout 2020 for anyone born in the Millennium year.
But what influences museum visits overall, and which are the most popular types?
The holiday activity site Musement surveyed a stratified sample of 2,600 people around the world to sound them out.
Preferred museum types, and what's important to visitors
Some might have thought 'weird' museums would be among the most popular – like the reptile museum in São Paulo, the phallus museum in Reykjavík, or, at the more 'normal' end of the 'weird' scale, Madame Tussaud's in London or its Madrid counterpart, the Waxworks Museum, or Museo de la Cera.
But it turns out our tastes are somewhat more conventional: Spanish respondents were, in 80% of cases, most likely to head to an art gallery; 44% would go for an archaeological museum, and 32% to a history museum.
Similar proportions were seen in other countries worldwide.
Along with the usual exhibits, or the permanent collections at the museum of choice, three other factors determined whether a Spaniard would make a beeline for a given establishment: Temporary exhibitions attracted 65%, given that these often feature internationally-renowned artists or sculptors, periods in history or other themes, and only offer a slim window to be able to catch them before they move on; availability of audio-guides, or guided tours, particularly in different languages where they are on visits in other countries, were important for a third of the Spaniards interviewed, and 'special events' would draw in 31%.
French, Dutch and British visitors were largely influenced by long opening hours, giving them flexibility and choice as to when to visit, whilst US nationals said free on-site or nearby parking was crucial.
Who to visit with, and type of trip
As for the company, only 17% of Spaniards who responded to the survey said they tended to go to museums alone – 38% went with their partners, 29% with other family members, 12% with friends, and only 2% with an organised tour group.
Despite the apparent popularity of organised trips – almost everywhere in the world, ubiquitous groups led by guides are heard in numerous languages – it seems that on home territory, Spaniards are less likely to take advantage of these; 52% prefer to buy their ticket and tour museums at their own pace, although 32% said an audio-guide was a bonus, or even essential.
A total of 13% opt for standard, group guided tours, compared with only 3% who would book a private tour.
Private tours tend to appeal more to Italians and Portuguese – 10% and 11% respectively – whilst the Brazilians and Dutch, 75% and 70% respectively, prefer visiting museums under their own steam.
You never stop learning, on holiday or at home
When on holiday, in Spain or abroad, Spaniards tend to visit a high number of museums – 61% said they went to an average of three or more.
Even when not on holiday, a significant minority are museum regulars: 31% said they go to more than five a year, or a minimum of one every two months, in their home town or fairly close by.
And it's often about being keen to learn, to increase one's knowledge of an artist or artistic movement, a period in history, an aspect of science or the planet, or the world of entertainment: Of those questioned, six in 10 Spaniards said they visited museums 'to educate themselves'.
When finding out about museums to visit and deciding which to go to, nearly two-thirds, or 63%, said tour guides or guidebooks were their source of information, whilst 31% said tourist information offices, and 27% said recommendations by friends or family.
Covid safety factors in museums
With museums having gradually reopened over 2020, before shutting down again and now being about to return to almost-normality, safety from Covid contagion has become a major factor for the general public and one of the main priorities for visitors – these museum-goers also have different, objective opinions on what they believe are the most effective measures in preventing the spread of the virus.
Set time slots, to avoid crowds, are crucial for 63% of museum visitors, irrespective of nationality; compulsory mask-wearing, for 56%, and thorough ventilation of indoor venues, for 28%.
For Spaniards, the use of masks is considered a higher priority than set time slots, but otherwise, they mostly followed the international opinion pattern on which measures they considered fundamental.
Less important for museum-goers from Spain were taking visitors' temperatures at the entrance, given that a person may be infected but asymptomatic and not have a fever – only 6% thought it was vital to do so.
And social-distancing markers, with lines laid out two metres apart to encourage people to maintain a gap between each other, were only important for 13%, since many others considered these were only helpful if the public sticks to them and that in any case, most people are conscious enough about keeping a couple of metres from strangers and will work this out for themselves.
Finding museums in Spain
Almost every provincial capital city in Spain has at least one high-profile museum, art gallery or both, or museum-like monument or establishment – a palace, a castle, a themed area, or a cathedral, which are often more like art galleries than purely religious buildings as they are usually adorned with high-quality, specially-commissioned paintings and sculptures; the late Mediaeval and long Renaissance period saw churches, courts and palaces spending a fortune on élite art as propaganda and a status symbol, proof of their wealth and power.
Those not linked to art or history, but hugely popular and world-acclaimed anyway, include, for example, Valencia's Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias ('City of Arts and Sciences', or CAC) – a futuristic complex designed by Santiago Calatrava which has often been favourably compared with Sydney Opera House (and, in fact, includes an opera house of its own, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía), where you can wander through the Umbracle, or semi-covered botanical gardens, watch as many back-to-back half-hour high-definition documentaries as you please at the Hemisfèric, with subjects ranging from ocean depths to volcanoes to space, each one costing around €6 a head or even less, pop into the Prince Felipe Science Museum, which regularly holds fascinating temporary exhibitions – the official Harry Potter Exhibition being one of these, in summer 2019, only its second visit to Spain on its decade-long journey around the world - or use up the best part of a day admiring species from all the world's major seas at the Oceanogràfic, Europe's largest aquarium and one where the creatures live in humanely- and carefully-created environments that exactly reflect their natural habitats so they would not realise they were in a Valencia theme park; indeed, the Oceanogràfic is the region's main marine veterinary care centre, and turtles trapped in fishing nets are sent there for care and treatment before being released back into the wild.
Right in your village, too
Often, though, you don't have to travel to a major city to find a museum. Practically every town, however small, has a Casa de Cultura, or community centre, where regular exhibitions of local and national artists take place – if you belong to an art club, your tutor, or even you or your classmates might be next – and almost every town and village has its own local history and archaeology museum.
These can frequently be a fascinating source of information about how people lived in your town decades, centuries or millennia ago, as artefacts from the prehistoric Iberian era, the Romans, the Mediaeval Islamic settlers, and other civilisations are normally displayed in these when they are found in local digs – including totally accidental excavation sites, where a standard, routine exploration is carried out as a precaution on pieces of land before building roads and roundabouts and end up revealing hitherto unsuspected city walls or Arab villages.
Local history museums in coastal towns can be particularly intriguing. It is well-documented that the western Mediterranean and its convergence with the Atlantic are a hotbed of Roman artefacts – to such a degree that finding 'yet another' 2,000-year-old amphora or ceramic wine bottle on the sea floor hardly even makes the local news.
So, if you're a scuba-diving fan and you stumble across a piece of Roman pottery, you can expect your nearest museum to be keen to study and display it, but it probably won't make you famous.
Living in a place where this type of amazing finding is not just 'normal', but actually 'old hat', is a huge privilege for anyone with at least a passing interest in history.
Other local museum-type places might include prehistoric caves with ancient cave art – paintings and engravings – dating back tens or hundreds of thousands of years; windmills or water mills; or centres dedicated to artefacts, tools, pictures, testimonials and other valuable pieces that speak of traditional industries such as farming and craftwork, wickerwork, weaving, lacemaking, food production (we highly recommend the various chocolate museums around Spain, the most famous of which is probably the Valor museum in Villajoyosa, Alicante province), and other old-time customs which may have been standard fare for centuries, but were probably still being carried out within your lifetime and where local residents can give you a first-hand account.
After all, if six in 10 of us go to museums to educate ourselves, learning may as well be fun, local and relevant enough that you can identify with it.
Related Topics
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