Europe's First Underwater Museum Is Finally Complete

Calling all divers, snorkelers and underwater adventurers. After a two-year construction period, international artist Jason deCaires Taylor’s vision of a world on the ocean floor is complete and accessible off the coast of the Spanish Island of Lanzarote. It’s called Museo Atlantico and it displays more than 200 sculptures of human figures in the midst of doing everyday things; one sculpture features a couple taking a selfie.

You might think, “that’s kind of creepy,” but deCaires Taylor’s end goal is something we can all get on board (or overboard) with. He has created similar installations in the Bahamas, Mexico and the Antilles all to raise environmental awareness about the threats facing our oceans. The concrete human figures, made from pH neutral materials, act as an artificial reef to promote marine life.

The museum opened to the public in March of 2016, and now it’s complete in all its ghostly splendor. Museo Atlantico Lanzarote offers transportation to and from different resorts in the Canary Islands. You can also rent full dive equipment and a camera.

Photo courtesy of Museo Atlantico Lanzarote/Facebook

Amanda Allbee is a travel intern for Paste and a freelance writer based out of Athens, Georgia.

Europe’s First Underwater Museum Is Finally Complete