From futuristic museums to those set in woodland, from Art Nouveau to street art, a selection of European destinations of artistic and cultural value aimed at young travellers who want to get around sustainably.
A visit to the Old Continent is a must for any traveller interested in art and culture, both past and modern. No fewer than 710 million tourists chose Europe as their destination in 2018 (5 per cent more than the previous year), four in ten of them drawn by its cultural offerings. It is the most visited region in the world; the European Union countries alone, with almost 540 million arrivals, account for half of all international arrivals globally. A tremendous asset, yet one that also comes at a cost — including an environmental one linked to transport. In the EU, transport is responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and is the only economic sector in which emissions have not fallen compared to 1990, meaning it is not on track with the goal of decarbonising the economy by 2050.
The tourism sector too must play its part. This is why it is essential to focus on sustainable travel, which involves the use of low-emission means of transport such as electric vehicles, trains and even bicycles. Young people are well disposed to travelling in this way, thanks to a greater awareness partly attributable to the growth of the student climate movement born from the experience of Greta Thunberg (see, for example, the Swedish young people who choose the train over the plane). And if we consider that almost 85 million EU citizens — around 30 per cent — who made a trip for personal (non-work) reasons in 2018 were aged between 15 and 34, it is clear that this age group can set a good example by genuinely reducing the environmental impact of its travel choices.
It is to young people that this selection of European destinations of artistic and cultural interest is dedicated — not to be missed, from the north to the south of the continent. Some well known, others more "alternative", along less-trodden itineraries to be explored by sustainable means, of course. To rediscover travel not as reaching a destination as quickly as possible, but as the exploration of places we would never get to know unless we took the time to do so.
The Foam is home to one of the most celebrated photography collections in the world, bringing this art form in all its aspects to a wide audience, with a keen eye on contemporary photography and the discovery of emerging talent. Exhibitions and publications are organised, as well as debates and educational projects. Every Thursday evening, for example, it is possible to take part in a free tour that allows visitors to get to know the works and the artists beyond what meets the eye at first glance. In addition, the international photography magazine produced by this institution, Foam magazine, is published three times a year, always on a different theme.
Portishead and Massive Attack. The coastal city in the southwest of England gave rise not only to some of the greatest contemporary musicians, but also to the most famous street artist in the world, Banksy. What is known about him is that he was born here, where he returned for an exhibition at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in 2009 and at the nearby town of Weston-super-Mare in 2015 to create the dystopian amusement park Dismaland, which in just over a month attracted 150,000 visitors. The artist's works in Bristol, such as The grim reaper and The girl with the pierced eardrum, have become true tourist attractions.
Those who live in cities take light for granted, even at night. In reality, street lighting can be the result of careful study not only of its functional aspects, but also its artistic and aesthetic ones. Ghent, or Gent in the original Flemish, is the city of lights because for over twenty years it has implemented a genuine strategy for illuminating the streets, monuments and buildings of its city centre — which is pedestrianised and rich in medieval architecture — based also on intelligent energy use. At night, then, the city is even more beautiful thanks to the magical atmosphere created by the lights, with positive knock-on effects for liveability and safety, and therefore for tourism.
A forest becomes a museum when art integrates with nature. At Arte Sella, in the province of Trento, visitors can immerse themselves in an Alpine landscape enriched by unique artistic installations made from natural materials — whatever the forest has to offer, such as leaves, wood, stones and earth — which blend harmoniously into the surrounding environment. This open-air museum, run by the eponymous cultural association with over thirty years of experience, is in constant flux as new works are introduced and as existing ones respond to the passage of time and changing weather conditions.
To immerse oneself in the fairytale aesthetics of Art Nouveau architecture, there is no need to go to Vienna, Barcelona or Paris. Subotica, in Serbia, is one of the jewels of this artistic movement which, at the turn of the twentieth century, revolutionised art, design and architecture by breaking with the rigid conventions of the previous century. The small Serbian city near the border with Hungary experienced its peak of urban development precisely as Art Nouveau was spreading across Europe, influencing the design of the city's most important buildings, such as the town hall and the synagogue.
In 2018, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, designed by Frank Gehry, one of the most important contemporary architects, celebrated its twentieth anniversary and is already considered one of the most innovative and iconic buildings of our era. This futuristic, boldly shaped structure covers 24,000 square metres, of which almost 11,000 are used as exhibition spaces. It is home to a world-famous museum of modern and contemporary art, which houses one of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation's collections — others are located in Venice, New York and Abu Dhabi — among the most prestigious in today's art world.
Athens's theatrical tradition fuses its past and its present. This city — home to the world's oldest theatre, the Theatre of Dionysus on the Acropolis — boasts 150 stages, more than those of London's West End and New York's Broadway combined. Athens is, in fact, the city with the most stages in the world. In the Greek capital, performances can be seen in history-laden venues such as the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, both host venues for the Athens and Epidaurus Festival that enlivens the city during the summer months, but its theatrical offering also includes opera, contemporary productions and dance.
