Europe's only underwater museum: What to see there, and how to see it
14/10/2022
EVEN people who struggle to stifle a yawn at the mention of the word 'history' shouldn't rule out visiting museums on trips to Spain – unless they also hate chocolate, toys, beer, arts and crafts, space, cars, volcanoes, cheese, wine, and even Harry Potter. For inspiration, take a look at our article here.
And although anyone can pop into a local museum on foot and dry land, it's scuba-divers who get the most privileged view of the Mediterranean – not just by being able to share water-space with its rainbows of fish, corals and plants, but because they are likely to have exclusive access to Roman artefacts nobody else has ever seen before.
In fact, Europe's southern seas are literally littered with such remains, and local museums – of which nearly every town, however small, has one – are full of them. Constant trade, and shipwrecks, between the Empirical city of Rome and the east coast of Spain left multiple traces beneath the waves; to the point where finding 'yet another' amphora, or wine and oil bottle, dating back 2,000 years might only be given a couple of lines and a small picture in the local news, if at all.
But not all museum fare in the sea is transferred ashore, not all of it is old, and not all of it is there purely by accident.
Sinking ships: Divers(e) wrecks to explore
Beach towns along the Mediterranean have been talking for some time about 'deliberately' sinking ships off their shores. Newly designed but in centuries-old styles, using materials that will not pollute the water or harm its flora and fauna, dropped into the depths, serve two crucial purposes: One, as artificial 'coral' reefs. Marine plants grow on them, providing oxygen and shelter for fish. Two, as an extra attraction for divers – either regular, resident scuba-diving fans, or those on holiday, some of whom may even be drawn to the area entirely for its watersport activities.
Yet, so far, Spain only has one 'underwater museum'. Maybe they'll expand and multiply in future years, but at present, the museum beneath the sea off the coast of Lanzarote remains unique in Europe – and guided tours are surprisingly affordable.
Sea museums you don't need diving gear for
Semi-submerged or on-sea museums are less rare in Spain. In Torrevieja (southern Alicante province), numerous unusual sightseeing opportunities include the S61-Delfín in the port, a working Naval submarine until very recently, and the Pascual Flores, a replica of an Atlantic-going pilot boat made using the remains of the original trading ship. Along with the salt sculpture museum, the Habaneras or Cuban sea-shanty festival, the La Mata nature reserve with its bubblegum-coloured lake, these are two of the most popular visitor hotspots.
And whenever the Nao Vitoria puts in an appearance – typically for just three or four days at a time every couple of years – cheap visits to this immaculate copy of the first-ever ship to complete a round-the-world voyage after setting off from southern Spain draw in plenty of crowds.
For sculptures under the sea, though, the Museo Atlántico ('Atlantic Museum') in the Canary Islands is the only place in Spain – and in Europe – where you can wander around hundreds of statues in water at up to 15 metres deep.
In the Caribbean, where it all started
Made from concrete using plastercast techniques, Jason deCaires Taylor's life-sized, lifelike human figures, in numerous guises and positions, eventually become live artificial reefs. The British artist, 48, who lives in Lanzarote, has been creating his underwater sculpture gardens since 2004, and other than the Museo Atlántico, they are all in the Caribbean.
The first, which includes his works The Unstill Life, Grace Reef, The Lost Correspondent and Vicissitudes, was created off Molinère Bay in Grenada, in the Antilles – an area which had been totally destroyed that year by Hurricane Ivan.
When deCaires Taylor sank 485 sculptures off México's east coast – between the Islas Mujeres and the popular holiday city of Cancún – in 2009, he founded what is still the biggest underwater museum on earth.
This, the Museo Subacuático de Arte (literally, 'underwater art museum'), or MUSA, officially opened the following year, includes statues built using plastercasts of real humans – a style known as 'lifecasting' – one of which, Man on Fire, is based upon a local fisherman and includes flame-coloured coral fragments embedded into his head and body.
Another, The Gardener, shows a girl lying on a patio watering 'plants', or small corals, in pots, and The Dream Collector is a man filing messages in bottles.
Now, over 700 sculptures can be found in the MUSA, and eight years ago, another went up in The Bahamas, known as Ocean Atlas.
Rainbow of sea-dwellers among the sculptures
The subaquatic museum off Lanzarote's Playa Blanca beach is the only one in the Atlantic and in Europe, opened in 2016, and has been heavily frequented by a highly-cosmopolitan population.
Of marine creatures, that is. Octopus, barracudas, sardines, the occasional ray-fish, sharks – the type which is harmless to humans, living entirely on small shellfish – and even marine sponges are regularly seen floating around Jason deCaires Taylor's 300 or so statues, offering even greater visual delights as a bonus 'exhibition' for divers.
Made from pH-neutral substances on an uninhabited patch of sand – 2,500 square metres – the museum can be visited via guided tour with an experienced scuba instructor at approximately €50 a head.
Even if you've never 'done' scuba-diving before
Sitting around 12 to 15 metres down, the water is shallow enough that even first-time divers can enjoy it, whether or not they have a PADI scuba-diving qualification.
If you do not, or have never been scuba-diving before, you will need to take a course, but this is not as onerous or as complicated as it sounds. Most coastal holiday destinations in Spain offer classes in all types of watersports and Lanzarote's Las Coloradas bay has several; scuba-diving is a suitable activity for practically any age or fitness level, and the course normally takes just a few days' worth of two- or three-hour sessions. Equipment is loaned, and the full cost in euros – although variable according to location – is typically at the lower end of the hundreds, so in terms of price and time involved, it could be factored into your annual holiday.
The Atlantic Museum's tied diving school, Dive College Lanzarote, offers a one-day diving initiation course, combined with a guided tour and hotel transfer, with a break for lunch in local restaurants, for €144, according to the latest details on its website (Underwatermuseumlanzarote.com).
Even in its mere six years of life, Lanzarote's Atlantic Museum has been visited by hundreds of divers of varying degrees of experience, from expert amateurs or professionals through to those who have only just passed their course, from all over the world.
What lies beneath: An overview of Lanzarote's Museo Atlántico
Jason's artwork represents everyday human and humanitarian life and our species' interaction with nature – along with his fishermen and gardening girls, representations of topical crises and social dramas become a subaquatic 'city' founded for native inhabitants: The diverse collections of underwater wildlife which now floats dreamily in and out of the statues and the neoprene-suited viewers is no accident. Creating an artificial reef means flora and fauna will be drawn to it and thrive there.
The 'Atlantic Museum' features 10 themed areas of around 30 sculptures apiece – one of the most impressive being the Rubicón, a large concrete wall with 35 real-sized concrete humans walking towards it. And all of them have, or have had, a living version of them – they are modelled with the lifecasting technique using actual inhabitants of Lanzarote.
Other islanders with a concrete 'clone' off their shores are seen in Human Tour, or Giro Humano, where 200 or so people-statues march around in a circle, stacked on top of each other.
Hybrid Garden, or Jardín Híbrido, shows a man tending to plants native to the Canary Islands, such as the Drago cactus.
Los Jolateros features a group of children rowing fishing boats typical of those found in Lanzarote.
All very local scenes instantly recognisable to anyone who lives in or has visited the Canaries and, in particular, Lanzarote.
But others are more thought-provoking, depicting recent tragedy – the global refugee crisis is displayed in a close-up that feels chillingly tangible compared with footage on the internet, in the press or on TV screens: Balsa de Lampedusa shows a lifeboat crowded with desperate migrants, and recreates the sinking of the French frigate Medusa off the coast of Mauritania, west Africa.
Not in a visually-disturbing way – no dead or mutilated bodies – but in an empathy-inducing manner, with the numb despair and tiredness of life of a people pushed to the limits of human endurance clearly marked on their faces.
As for how to visit – the only way is through one of the diving centres in the Las Coloradas bay, and this is by far the most rewarding, even if you're a highly-experienced scuba-diver, since you get a full explanation of the different parts of the displays to help you get the best out of your trip.
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EVEN people who struggle to stifle a yawn at the mention of the word 'history' shouldn't rule out visiting museums on trips to Spain – unless they also hate chocolate, toys, beer, arts and crafts, space, cars, volcanoes, cheese, wine, and even Harry Potter. For inspiration, take a look at our article here.
And although anyone can pop into a local museum on foot and dry land, it's scuba-divers who get the most privileged view of the Mediterranean – not just by being able to share water-space with its rainbows of fish, corals and plants, but because they are likely to have exclusive access to Roman artefacts nobody else has ever seen before.
In fact, Europe's southern seas are literally littered with such remains, and local museums – of which nearly every town, however small, has one – are full of them. Constant trade, and shipwrecks, between the Empirical city of Rome and the east coast of Spain left multiple traces beneath the waves; to the point where finding 'yet another' amphora, or wine and oil bottle, dating back 2,000 years might only be given a couple of lines and a small picture in the local news, if at all.
But not all museum fare in the sea is transferred ashore, not all of it is old, and not all of it is there purely by accident.
Sinking ships: Divers(e) wrecks to explore
Beach towns along the Mediterranean have been talking for some time about 'deliberately' sinking ships off their shores. Newly designed but in centuries-old styles, using materials that will not pollute the water or harm its flora and fauna, dropped into the depths, serve two crucial purposes: One, as artificial 'coral' reefs. Marine plants grow on them, providing oxygen and shelter for fish. Two, as an extra attraction for divers – either regular, resident scuba-diving fans, or those on holiday, some of whom may even be drawn to the area entirely for its watersport activities.
Yet, so far, Spain only has one 'underwater museum'. Maybe they'll expand and multiply in future years, but at present, the museum beneath the sea off the coast of Lanzarote remains unique in Europe – and guided tours are surprisingly affordable.
Sea museums you don't need diving gear for
Semi-submerged or on-sea museums are less rare in Spain. In Torrevieja (southern Alicante province), numerous unusual sightseeing opportunities include the S61-Delfín in the port, a working Naval submarine until very recently, and the Pascual Flores, a replica of an Atlantic-going pilot boat made using the remains of the original trading ship. Along with the salt sculpture museum, the Habaneras or Cuban sea-shanty festival, the La Mata nature reserve with its bubblegum-coloured lake, these are two of the most popular visitor hotspots.
And whenever the Nao Vitoria puts in an appearance – typically for just three or four days at a time every couple of years – cheap visits to this immaculate copy of the first-ever ship to complete a round-the-world voyage after setting off from southern Spain draw in plenty of crowds.
For sculptures under the sea, though, the Museo Atlántico ('Atlantic Museum') in the Canary Islands is the only place in Spain – and in Europe – where you can wander around hundreds of statues in water at up to 15 metres deep.
In the Caribbean, where it all started
Made from concrete using plastercast techniques, Jason deCaires Taylor's life-sized, lifelike human figures, in numerous guises and positions, eventually become live artificial reefs. The British artist, 48, who lives in Lanzarote, has been creating his underwater sculpture gardens since 2004, and other than the Museo Atlántico, they are all in the Caribbean.
The first, which includes his works The Unstill Life, Grace Reef, The Lost Correspondent and Vicissitudes, was created off Molinère Bay in Grenada, in the Antilles – an area which had been totally destroyed that year by Hurricane Ivan.
When deCaires Taylor sank 485 sculptures off México's east coast – between the Islas Mujeres and the popular holiday city of Cancún – in 2009, he founded what is still the biggest underwater museum on earth.
This, the Museo Subacuático de Arte (literally, 'underwater art museum'), or MUSA, officially opened the following year, includes statues built using plastercasts of real humans – a style known as 'lifecasting' – one of which, Man on Fire, is based upon a local fisherman and includes flame-coloured coral fragments embedded into his head and body.
Another, The Gardener, shows a girl lying on a patio watering 'plants', or small corals, in pots, and The Dream Collector is a man filing messages in bottles.
Now, over 700 sculptures can be found in the MUSA, and eight years ago, another went up in The Bahamas, known as Ocean Atlas.
Rainbow of sea-dwellers among the sculptures
The subaquatic museum off Lanzarote's Playa Blanca beach is the only one in the Atlantic and in Europe, opened in 2016, and has been heavily frequented by a highly-cosmopolitan population.
Of marine creatures, that is. Octopus, barracudas, sardines, the occasional ray-fish, sharks – the type which is harmless to humans, living entirely on small shellfish – and even marine sponges are regularly seen floating around Jason deCaires Taylor's 300 or so statues, offering even greater visual delights as a bonus 'exhibition' for divers.
Made from pH-neutral substances on an uninhabited patch of sand – 2,500 square metres – the museum can be visited via guided tour with an experienced scuba instructor at approximately €50 a head.
Even if you've never 'done' scuba-diving before
Sitting around 12 to 15 metres down, the water is shallow enough that even first-time divers can enjoy it, whether or not they have a PADI scuba-diving qualification.
If you do not, or have never been scuba-diving before, you will need to take a course, but this is not as onerous or as complicated as it sounds. Most coastal holiday destinations in Spain offer classes in all types of watersports and Lanzarote's Las Coloradas bay has several; scuba-diving is a suitable activity for practically any age or fitness level, and the course normally takes just a few days' worth of two- or three-hour sessions. Equipment is loaned, and the full cost in euros – although variable according to location – is typically at the lower end of the hundreds, so in terms of price and time involved, it could be factored into your annual holiday.
The Atlantic Museum's tied diving school, Dive College Lanzarote, offers a one-day diving initiation course, combined with a guided tour and hotel transfer, with a break for lunch in local restaurants, for €144, according to the latest details on its website (Underwatermuseumlanzarote.com).
Even in its mere six years of life, Lanzarote's Atlantic Museum has been visited by hundreds of divers of varying degrees of experience, from expert amateurs or professionals through to those who have only just passed their course, from all over the world.
What lies beneath: An overview of Lanzarote's Museo Atlántico
Jason's artwork represents everyday human and humanitarian life and our species' interaction with nature – along with his fishermen and gardening girls, representations of topical crises and social dramas become a subaquatic 'city' founded for native inhabitants: The diverse collections of underwater wildlife which now floats dreamily in and out of the statues and the neoprene-suited viewers is no accident. Creating an artificial reef means flora and fauna will be drawn to it and thrive there.
The 'Atlantic Museum' features 10 themed areas of around 30 sculptures apiece – one of the most impressive being the Rubicón, a large concrete wall with 35 real-sized concrete humans walking towards it. And all of them have, or have had, a living version of them – they are modelled with the lifecasting technique using actual inhabitants of Lanzarote.
Other islanders with a concrete 'clone' off their shores are seen in Human Tour, or Giro Humano, where 200 or so people-statues march around in a circle, stacked on top of each other.
Hybrid Garden, or Jardín Híbrido, shows a man tending to plants native to the Canary Islands, such as the Drago cactus.
Los Jolateros features a group of children rowing fishing boats typical of those found in Lanzarote.
All very local scenes instantly recognisable to anyone who lives in or has visited the Canaries and, in particular, Lanzarote.
But others are more thought-provoking, depicting recent tragedy – the global refugee crisis is displayed in a close-up that feels chillingly tangible compared with footage on the internet, in the press or on TV screens: Balsa de Lampedusa shows a lifeboat crowded with desperate migrants, and recreates the sinking of the French frigate Medusa off the coast of Mauritania, west Africa.
Not in a visually-disturbing way – no dead or mutilated bodies – but in an empathy-inducing manner, with the numb despair and tiredness of life of a people pushed to the limits of human endurance clearly marked on their faces.
As for how to visit – the only way is through one of the diving centres in the Las Coloradas bay, and this is by far the most rewarding, even if you're a highly-experienced scuba-diver, since you get a full explanation of the different parts of the displays to help you get the best out of your trip.