If deep-sea diving makes you yawn, why not try a museum visit on the seafloor? But you may need a diving license as your entry ticket! There are quite a few unusual activities you can do below the waves.
Image: Jason deCaires Taylor - creator & photographer
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High five: 5 surprising things you can do under the water
Are diving and snorkeling too boring for you? Then dive deeper! Restaurants and museums are opening under the sea.
Image: Jason deCaires Taylor - creator & photographer
The beat of a different drummer
Danish band Between Music has developed instruments for playing under the water, including a hydraulophone, an underwater organ, a crystallophone, a glass harmonica, and even special drums. Their album "Aquasonic" was recorded in various pools at the warm water temperature of 35 degrees. They also utilized a special vocal technique to record the singing.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J, Nackstrand
Not your average English country garden
Are your fish always eating your aquarium plants? Perhaps try aquascaping, the hobby in which you can create the most beautiful underwater landscapes using not only plants but also stones, roots and driftwood — sans fish.
Image: DW
Deep dining
Belgian restaurant "The Pearl" is located in Brussels in one of the world's deepest pools. To get inside, guests have to squeeze into a diving suit and then dive five meters deep into a capsule. And what's on the menu? Seafood, naturally! Every meal has to be individually packed in waterproof glass, justifying the €100 menu price tag per person.
Image: DW
Underwater art
In 2016, British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor opened his new project off the coast of Lanzarote in the Canaries. His "Museo Atlántico" consists of more than 200 sculptures submerged 14 meters below the water. The portraits, figures and group sculptures were made of environmentally friendly material so they can get populated by animals and plants.
Image: Jason deCaires Taylor - creator & photographer
Message in a bubble
The institution of marriage may be a sinking ship, but the couple above at least had an interesting guest list at their wedding: colorful fish, seahorses, rays and even sharks! It is actually possible to get married in many aquariums across Europe. You can express the obligatory "I do" by blowing bubbles.
Image: MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP/Getty Images
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People who want to see the exhibitions of British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor need to make a special effort: His galleries are the world's seafloors. In order to admire his sculptures, you need to dive many meters into the oceans. His work, located near Grenada and the Bahamas, among other places, includes a 5-meter high sculpture of the mythological Greek Titan Atlas that reaches from the ocean bed all the way to just below the water's surface. Another example of Taylor's unique art is the 500 life-sized sculptures in the underwater "Subaquatic Museum of Art" near Cancun, Mexico.
In 2016 Taylor unveiled his latest project entitled "Museo Atlantico" ("Atlantic Museum") in a bay off the coast of the Canary Island of Lanzarote. The more than 200 sculptures are intended to resemble some of the inhabitants of Lanzarote. He installed them in several stages under the water along the eastern coast of the island. A visit to these sculptures requires a ten-minute boat trip — and a diving license.
Taylor installs his sculptures on the seafloor. This one is part of his 'Museum Atlantico' exhibit off Lanzarote.Image: Jason deCaires Taylor - creator & photographer
Art and environmental protection
So far the underwater sculptures near Lanzarote still resemble their original state of being whereas some of Taylor's older projects have taken on a life of their own. Fish and marine animals, corals and sea plants have settled on his artworks, transforming them into colorful artificial coral reefs.
From Taylor's perspective, his sculptures aren't only artworks but also a contribution to environmental protection by creating new habitats for marine animals while keeping visitors away from natural — and delicate — coral reefs.
To discover more unusual underwater activities check out the above picture gallery.
