When I think of a museum, a few very distinct images come to mind: huge marble statues, pristine walls, big signs warning against flash photography or touching the paintings.

Sound familiar?

And, more importantly…sound kind of boring?

Of course! I absolutely love visiting museums, but sometimes they can become a little dull if you don’t shake up your cultural experiences every once in a while.

Enter Museo a Cielo Abierto, Chile’s open-air art museum.

Finding the Museo a Cielo Abierto isn’t hard, because it’s literally part of Valparaíso, a port city in the south of Chile. Anyone wandering through the streets could stumble on this multi-block museum, and they’d be lucky if they did: famous murals and graffiti sit side-by-side in this museum, and everything from the stairways to the window boxes are painted in bright, eye-catching hues.

If you get tired from trekking up and down Valparaíso’s famous hills, you can find a seat in the museum in the form of mosaic-ladden benches that compliment the primary colors of the houses lining the street. If you finish up your visit to the museum but still want more, you can walk over to Cerro Alegre, a section of the city famous for its freestyle murals that feature everything from divers swimming with octopi to cityscapes decorated with live plants.

It is truly a beautiful experience, and you (and your Insta-feed) would not want to miss out!

Other things to do in the area include visiting Pablo Neruda’s seaside home, checking out the beach scene, and petting the (many!) friendly dogs that roam the city. Just let me know if you go visit—I know a great little café where you can rest in between snapping pics of this iconic city.