I’ll have one day, a Thursday, Nov. 14 in the Tampa, Florida area. I’d like to visit the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg. The museum is open late on Thursdays. I enjoy modern art, so I’m looking forward to it.
The $21 price for admission seems a bit steep, are there any discounts easily available? I’m a member of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as AAA. Are there any other places to look for discounts, perhaps brochures at my hotel or an easily obtainable tourist book?
How is the collection and how much time would you give the museum? Is it a horrible drive from the Tampa airport Westshore area?
I’ve been there and I enjoyed it a lot. You never really see a painting - especially the huge ones that Dali did - until you see the originals. They have a bunch of the famous ones, too.
I didn’t come from the airport, but the metro area is fairly compact. Google maps says it’s a 20 minute drive, and that’s probably not far off.
Have seen the collection but not in the new building. Unless its expanded, it is more quality than quantity, but I second Exapno’s assessment. The scale of Dali’s paintings is part of their essence.
I went there about 15 years ago. Having only seen pictures in books, I had no idea how big many of the Dali paintings were. I enjoyed it and thought it was worth seeing.
Was there about 11 years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, seeing the circus-tent sized paintings is absolutely worth the experience. I believe I spent about 2-3 hours in the museum.
I went a long time ago too. I hadn’t even realized there is a new building. Have they added to the collection?
I really like small, specialized museums. You don’t get the feeling that you have to rush through exhibits or that you’re missing something important. Instead, you can take your time and concentrate on the depth of the experience, read all the signs, look from a variety of angles, let the entirety sink in. You remember it longer, too.
Thursdays are $10 after 5 PM. Definitely take a guided tour - the docents are excellent and then you can wander on your own afterward.
The trip from the airport to downtown St Pete isn’t fun at any time but evening rush hour sucks. That being said, it’s not a complicated ride; interstate 275 south all the way until you get to the downtown exit which is clearly marked.
Lots of other great museums, restaurants and bars downtown too.
I’ve been there within the past year, and would give it high marks. I go to a lot of museums, too.
I would give it between 90 minutes and two hours for the galleries, and more if you know you like a slower pace for your museum visiting. It is also a great architectural space, and if that interests you, I would give yourself some time to wander around the non-gallery areas and take in the views.
I will add that when it is crowded, it FEELS crowded and that can add time when you’re not able wander as freely as you might like in the galleries. It’s the kind of museum that’s designed for visitors to see things in a certain order (in the main exhibit), and with a crowd, it can feel a little like a herd slowly moving through the exhibit spaces. This is a downside when it comes to the larger works - it can be hard to step back to see them because of the flow of people traffic. I have only been on the weekend, so I hope the crowds are better for you on a Thursday.
They also have a very good gift shop – a lot of items very specific to Dali at a good range of price points.
I’ve only been there once, but really enjoyed it. I’d go for the late, reduced fee. The museum is walking distance from a lot of bars and restaurants in the area near Central Avenue, and the weather is beautiful (may seem hot to you) for a walk along the Vinoy basin up towards Vinoy Park.
I only get home on Thursday evening or I’d offer to meet up with you over there.
There’s no discount for AAA membership at the museum itself, but if you buy a ticket in advance from AAA, you get a few dollars off. (It’s probably late for that, given that tomorrow is the day you’re going, unless you can do it all online and print a voucher or such.)
As others have said, the docent tour is well worth-while.
I picked up a $2.00 off coupon at my hotel. I took the docent tour and it was absolutely amazing. I found the museum amazing and could easily have spent the entire day there. The tour hit the highlights of the museum, mostly the larger works. He provided great detail about the life of Dali and was quite open about Dali, which I think shocked a few of the seniors on the tour. I only got to take a quick glimpse at the gift shop, but it had some nice books and I’ll be ordering a feew.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it. I only just recalled, after your comments, that on the audio tour there is a little “moustache” button that gives you different info than the regular audio tour. You can listen to both, of course.
