The most cultural cities in the world: best destinations for art, history, music and museums

Taking a group on an incentive travel jaunt can easily focus on easy decadence - sun, drinks, fancy restaurants. And while those are all noble pursuits, there can be a different approach when putting together a group itinerary with a wow factor. UK Google searches for ‘cultural holidays’ increased by 2,500% in 2024: people seeking out experiences rich in art, history, and local experiences. Furthermore, two in five travellers are considered ‘cultural tourists’. People are looking to be intellectually and artistically entertained or challenged when they're abroad: that that's useful to know when considering incentive travel packages. To drill down into these search trends, Adobe Express curated a list of the top seven cities for culture fiends to visit in 2024, comparing key factors, such as the number of art galleries and museums, theatres, historic spots, attractions, libraries, and artworks.If you’re looking for a dynamic locale with a thriving arts scene to take your clients for an incentive travel experience, these are the hottest locales in the world for culture vultures, according to Adobe’s research. 7. Los AngelesMuseums: 157Theatres: 81Galleries: 75Libraries: 263 To dismiss the City of Angels as little more than a hive of Hollywood excess is to sell this cultural mecca short. While it offers ample opportunity for sun, surf, and celebrity spotting (nothing wrong with any of that), there's a greater depth to LaLa Land.Take Destination Crenshaw, a 1.3-mile open-air art corridor on Crenshaw Boulevard. Open - though not yet completed - this ambitious locale showcases and celebrates the art of Black Angelinos, from large-scale permanent sculptures to temporary installations. When finished, it will be the largest Black art showcase in the UK. More famously there's the Griffith Observatory, one of the preeminent space observatories in the US, where you can peer through telescopes, explore exhibits, see live shows in the Planetarium, and enjoy panoramic views of the city (yes, even the Hollywood Sign).After a good night of music? The Teragram Ballroom is the West Coast equivalent of New York's beloved Bowery Ballroom, freshly opened, and host to a fantastic roster of indie bands. For something more rarefied, try the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Don't get dissuaded by the association with the House of Mouse. The building was designed by America's premier architect, Frank Gehry, it's edifice a collection of folding and billowing steel 'sails' that prompts spontaneous gawping. Inside, the acoustics are impeccable, and you can revel in classical performances by the LA Philharmonic and the LA Master Chorale.6. MadridMuseums: 134Theatres: 213Galleries: 21Libraries: 209Barcelona has the flashier reputation, but don't make the mistake of dismissing Madrid - Spain's capital is all cool understated sophistication. It's also six times bigger than its coastal cousin, making it a considerably less harried location to navigate. For a cultural sojourn with the team, take them on a tour of the Lavapiés neighbourhood. This labyrinth of medieval roads has been brought into the 21st century with energetic street art. Dip in and out of the vibrant bars and tasty tapas bars and live in the unhurried style of a chic Madrileño.After some art? Move over, the Louvre - for our money, Madrid's Prado Museum is the finest European art museum - and considerably easier to navigate. Showcasing masters from the 12th century to the early 20th century, make sure to take in the captivating portraiture of Velasquez, the surreal decadence of Bosch, and the cherubic innocence of Murillo's pieces. If you want a chaser of modern and contemporary art, take your team to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. The collection is extensive and thought-provoking, and you can catch sight of Pablo Picasso’s famous Guernica and many of Salvador Dalí’s most famous pieces.5. BarcelonaMuseums: 171Theatres: 268Galleries: 38Libraries: 309As Freddie Mercury sang, it's such a beautiful horizon. Anyone who has had the good fortune to visit this enthralling city will have reveled in the heady atmosphere of La Rambla, sighted the awe-inspiring Sagrada Familia before touring Gaudi's other architectural masterworks, and meandered through the fantasmagorical Park Güell, which is barely scratching the surface of what the Catalonian capital has to offer. If you can manage to drag your team away from the surf, sea, and cocktails of Barceloneta Beach, they'll thrill to the beauty of Mirador Torre Glòries, the 470-foot tall, gleaming iridescent tower in Sant Martí. Designed to be redolent of a geyser, climb to the 30th floor to the observation deck, which offers unparalleled 360-degree views of the cityscape, and the 'Cloud City' art installation, a walkable multi-sensory art sculpture by artist Tomas Saraceno.The Picasso Museum is edifying, set across no less than five palaces, and taking a tour of the artist's work from a very young age (don't expect to see his 'hits' which are located in museums across the globe, but there's still plenty of interest to see). And the Fundació Joan Miró, set on the storied Montjuïc hill, is an eye-popping collection of the modern artist's abstract (and sometimes challenging) works. For music, take to the glass palace L’Auditori to take in a swooning performance from the Barcelona Symphony or the Catalonia National Orchestra.4. New YorkMuseums: 226Theatres: 207Galleries: 307Libraries: 461Author John Updike said of New York, 'The true New Yorker secretly believes that people living anywhere else have to be, in some sense, kidding.' We see his point. It's an endlessly thrilling place to wile away your time, and whatever your team prefers to get up to, you will be able to keep them amply entertained. New York is famed for its museums, and you don't need further instruction to hit the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, the Frick, or the Guggenheim - even art neophytes know of those institutions. And of course, the Natural History Museum is rightly the stuff of legend (you could easily spend a week gawping at their dinosaur bones and animals ).Less well-known but a fabulous outing is the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, a must for film lovers. The permanent collection will take you behind the scenes of movie-making - you can practice additional dialogue recording, create your own animations, make a flip-book movie, and record the sound effects for a film. And no one needs to be told to hit Broadway to take in a show - so check the off-Broadway listings to find new plays, emerging talents, and entirely more reasonable ticket prices. Good to know: the DeKalb Market in Brooklyn houses vendors serving affordable street food from Ecuador, Israel, the Caribbean, Japan, Poland, Hawaii, South America, and Italy - even the city's own Katz Deli has a showing. A great way to take a culinary tour of the world, at a fair price. 3. BerlinMuseums:344Theatres: 234Galleries: 307Libraries: 239While much has happened since the cultural glory days of Berlin's Weimar Republic, it remains as hedonistic and culturally diverse a city as it did in the days of the KitKat Club and Christopher Isherwood's pomp. Berlin is (rightly) famous for its nightclubbing scene, which is dominated by dark, sweaty locales that play pumping techno. Be forewarned: if techno is not your vibe, these hotspots are not for you. But if you like to trip the light fantastic, line up to get down at Berghain, Sisyphos, Renate, or the rooftop bar Klunkerkranich. Of course, if you're taking your team or a group of delegates, such liveliness might not suit everyone. Altogether more contemplative would be a trip to one of the city's myriad excellent art spaces. The most renowned are the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Contemporary Fine Arts Centre. But don't sleep on some of the fringe spaces, such as the Khroma multimedia centre, photography gallery CO Berlin, or the fascinating Boros Bunker, a private art collection located, as one may imagine, in a converted bunker. After a spot of avant-garde theatre? The Schaübuhne am Lehniner Platz is famed for its cutting-edge productions. Most are presented in German, but at least one a month is surtitled in English and French. 2. LondonMuseums: 302Theatres: 293Galleries: 282Libraries: 497London's cultural pleasures are endless and ever-renewing. Modern British art at its finest can be found at the Tate Modern, or head to the Design Museum in Kensington to learn about everything from fashion and graphics to architecture and product and industrial design. And then there's the fabulous fashion, art, and design collections at the V&A or a revolving display of literary treasures at the British Library. And while the West End is famous for its theatrical productions, you can find new, emerging work at spots such as the Finborough in West London (artistic director Neil McPherson has a keen eye for spotting new talent and unearthing excellent forgotten scripts for restaging), Holloway's Pleasance Theatre (where many Edinburgh Fringe shows are previewed), or Southwark's cavernous Union Theatre. Music wise you're spoiled for choice, with live venues such as Camden's legendary Roundhouse (host to an eclectic roster of musical acts), Evolutionary Arts Hackney, also known as EartH (great for catching indie bands), or Wigmore Hall, one of the best chamber music venues in the world. Of course, every borough of London has its own unique cultural delights... after all, to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, to be tired of London is to be tired of life. 1. ParisMuseums: 302Theatres: 548Galleries: 489Libraries: 580 While the City of Lights is currently thrumming with the buzz of the Olympic Games, the French capital is perpetually fascinating. Home to a remarkable 302 museums, skip the labyrinthine hassle of the Louvre in favour of the Musée du Luxembourg. It houses a stunning collection of mostly French classical paintings, from luminaries such as Fragonard, Cezanne, Chagall, and Fantin-Latour. Head to the 1st Arrondissement to the Saint-Eustache Church, an imposing structure currently hosting LUMINESCENCE. This immersive show featuring live music, theatre performances, and 360-degree video mapping tells the remarkable history of this impressive 13th-century building. Make sure to take your team to the Jewish Quarter, where myriad cool concept stores and cultural hotspots are located - not to mention the best falafel in the city (Try L'As du Fallafel, Chez Hanna, or Mi-Va-M). At night, head to the Le Bal Blomet, in Montparnasse, one of the city’s oldest - and hottest - jazz clubs.

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