The seabed figures
A crowd underwater.
Andy Blackledge from Scottsdale, AZ, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Andy Blackledge from Scottsdale, AZ, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Andy Blackledge from Scottsdale, AZ, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Andy Blackledge from Scottsdale, AZ, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Andy Blackledge from Scottsdale, AZ, USA — CC BY 2.0
A strange museum you can only visit underwater: some 500 life-size sculptures by Mexican and international artists, fixed to the seabed three to six metres down in three galleries inside the national marine park between Cancún and Isla Mujeres. Its idea was environmental before it was artistic: the marine park's director wanted to give divers an alternative destination and ease the pressure on the strained natural reefs. The sculptures were made of a special cement that helps coral grow; work began in 2009 and the museum opened in 2010. Its best-known works are a large group of human figures standing together on the seabed, a small car and a house underwater. Over the years algae and coral have covered them and fish have moved in, so each sculpture looks different from one visit to the next. The shallow galleries can be seen snorkelling, the deeper ones diving. Visibility is best on calm days, and rough seas sometimes cancel trips. Use reef-safe sunscreen.
A crowd underwater.
Growing on the art.
Living in the museum.
Cancún National Marine Park; tours from the Hotel Zone and Isla Mujeres
No: some galleries are shallow enough to see while snorkelling at the surface. The deeper gallery needs a dive trip with a licensed centre.