A number of hotel brands sit at the intersection of hospitality and art, so for the cultured traveller among us, these properties offer more than just a place to lay your hat.
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Home to Renaissance masters who have left an enduring influence on the contemporary and modern art scene, Europe is, perhaps, a natural backdrop for art not to be confined to galleries, and instead woven into everyday spaces – including where visitors choose to stay.
So, where can travellers go to not only experience art, but live alongside it, even if only for a few nights? Here we take a look at some of Europe’s top art-inspired hotels.
MACAM, Portugal
Portugal’s capital Lisbon is home to the Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins (MACAM), an art museum that not only includes stunning works of art, but also a stunning hotel.
Featuring the private collection of founder Armando Martins, which spans more than five decades, the museum first opened its doors to the public in March 2025.
“The integration of a contemporary art museum with a hotel transforms the way the public engages with art, shifting it from a more institutional setting to a more every day and immersive environment,” Vera Cordeiro, Director of the MACAM Hotel, told Euronews Travel.
She added that rather than a one-off, scheduled visit, art becomes part of an immersive experience.
Split into two sections, the collection is dedicated to Portuguese art from the end of the 19th century until the end of the 1980s. Spotlighting works from the “nucleus of Portuguese art”, Julião Sarmento, Paula Rego, Helena Almeida and Pedro Cabrita Reis are among the artists featured.
“Proximity tends to break down barriers, physical, symbolic, and even psychological, that sometimes alienate audiences from the so-called traditional museum,” Cordeiro added. “At the same time, it fosters a more intimate and spontaneous relationship with the artworks, allowing for unmediated discoveries and more personal interpretations.”
The latter part of Martins’ collection is always being updated, with Portuguese and international art from 1980 to the present day. More than 280 artists, including Marina Abramović, Isa Genzken and Dan Graham are featured, in addition to various authorial ensembles and thematic groupings.
Cordeiro also told Euronews Travel that after guests depart MACAM, she hopes they will take away a lasting experience that stirs their emotions.
“Unlike a traditional hotel, where comfort and service are dominant, at MACAM we want to go beyond these expectations, and we aim for art to be part of that experience, not as decoration, but as inspiration,” she said.
“Ultimately, we hope that, in addition to a memory of a place, they take with them a cultural experience lived in a more intimate way.”
Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà, Italy
Located on the outskirts of Verona, Byblos Art Hotel sits between Renaissance elegance and avant-garde art.
The five-star luxury property has 56 rooms within its Villa Amistà, which are awash in polychromatic hues. Featured spaces in the hotel include The Millar Room and Love Room.
The former was designed by Beatriz Millar and personifies her poetic vision, while the Love Room common space sees designers and artists from eight countries, including Andy Warhol, converge in one space.
The villa itself dates back to 1700 and was designed by architect Ignazio Pellegrini.
Elizabeth Arthotel, Austria
Located in the premier ski resort village of Ischgl, art and sculpture have been part of the Elizabeth Arthotel since its founding in 1976.
Welcome to guests aged 16 and above, the hotel takes its name from its founder, Elisabeth Aloys. The hotel’s new rooftop sculptural commission by the Austrian sister duo Mercedes & Franziska Welte / NONOS is titled “Sissy” – Elisabeth’s nickname.
For those not able to visit Ischgl, the hotel also offers a virtual version of its “The Art of Legacy” exhibition. The showcase spans five decades of archival photography from the 1960s to the modern-day Elizabeth Arthotel.
A museum hotel chain in the US
On the other side of the Atlantic, the boutique 21c Museum Hotels chain blends architecture, accommodation and restaurants with a free curated contemporary art museum.
Spread across six locations from America’s South and Midwest, these “open round the clock” museums are currently hosting a range of exhibitions exploring portraiture, contemporary feminist art, installation art and themes like collective memory.
For Patrick Weber, Senior Director of Museum Operations, the coupling of art and lodging is a renaissance moment in hospitality – one that 21c has been pioneering for years.
“By seamlessly combining a contemporary art museum with a boutique hotel, 21c helped redefine hospitality, transforming it into an immersive, unexpected cultural experience,” Weber told Euronews Travel. “As more travellers prioritise meaning, creativity, and connection, this model feels more relevant than ever.”
At select locations, guests can sleep among the art in the “Nightwatch” suite, a guestroom-turned-exhibition by American multimedia artist Chris Doyle and curated by 21c Museum Director and Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites.
At the backdrop of a forest-inspired dreamscape, the custom-designed walls turn into a multi-sensory experience at nightfall where projected lights bring the designs to life.
Weber also said that each location engages with its local and regional art scene through the “Elevate” programme, which showcases visual artists from those locations through the outreach of the property’s Museum Manager.
He said this approach removes the “formalities” of traditional gallery settings, which allows 21c to create a space for guests to connect with contemporary art in a personal, spontaneous way that lasts.
“Rather than setting aside time to ‘go see art’, guests encounter it as part of their everyday rhythm – on the way to dinner, in conversation with friends, or during quiet moments throughout their stay,” he said.
