Visiting the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida
The Dali Museum, opened in 2011 in St. Petersburg, houses the largest collection of Salvador Dali’s work outside of Europe, with 96 oil paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings. The intriguing Dali collection spans every stage of Dali’s eccentric artistic career, from early to late, where his inspirations and visions took him from the real to the impressionistic, a deep and long plunge into the surreal, modernism, and the science of DNA.
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquis of Dalí de Púbol, known professionally as Salvador Dalí, was a prominent Spanish surrealist artist. Born in Figueres, Spain in 1904, Dali created an immense body of work from paintings to sculpture. He completed his last painting – The Swallow’s Tail – in May 1983. He died in 1989 in his birthplace.
The 20,000 sq. foot state-of-the-art building located on the waterfront, designed by architect Yann Weymouth, is a giant rectangle with 18-inch thick hurricane proof cement walls. The massive glass atrium is 75 feet high with geodesic domes (that are a nod to Dali’s museum in Spain) and glass bubble windows. The atrium is constructed from some 1,062 pieces of specially designed, thick, triangular, insulated and laminated glass. It let’s in light and is truly an architectural wonder.
The helical staircase leading to the galleries pays homage to Dali’s obsession with spirals and the double helix DNA molecule.
The 20,000 sq. foot state-of-the-art building located on the waterfront, designed by architect Yann Weymouth, is a giant rectangle with 18-inch thick hurricane proof cement walls. The massive glass atrium is 75 feet high with geodesic domes (that are a nod to Dali’s museum in Spain) and glass bubble windows. The atrium is constructed from some 1,062 pieces of specially designed, thick, triangular, insulated and laminated glass. It let’s in light and is truly an architectural wonder.
The helical staircase leading to the galleries pays homage to Dali’s obsession with spirals and the double helix DNA molecule.
The Cafe
A visit to The Dali is not complete without a stop at Café Gala located on the main floor. The cafe is named in honor of Salvador Dali’s wife Gala, his lifelong inspiration and muse. The menu is inspired by Spanish cuisine. You can enjoy light fare including tapas, appetizers, pastries, gazpacho, salads and sandwiches. Kahwa local roasted coffee is served, including espresso, cappuccino and macchiato, along with a selection of Spanish beer and wine.
No ticket purchase is necessary to stop in for a relaxing bite or pick-me-up. You can eat inside the cafe or outside on the beautiful waterfront terrace. Open daily until 5 pm, Thursdays until 7:30 pm.
The Museum Shop
Visitors enter and leave through the Dali Museum Store. It contains the largest collection of Dali-inspired merchandise in the world that you can only get there.
The Gardens
Taking photos isn’t allowed inside the galleries (museum security is watching so follow the rules!). But there’s plenty to photograph on the grounds from the Dali Wish Tree...
A visit to The Dali is not complete without a stop at Café Gala located on the main floor. The cafe is named in honor of Salvador Dali’s wife Gala, his lifelong inspiration and muse. The menu is inspired by Spanish cuisine. You can enjoy light fare including tapas, appetizers, pastries, gazpacho, salads and sandwiches. Kahwa local roasted coffee is served, including espresso, cappuccino and macchiato, along with a selection of Spanish beer and wine.
No ticket purchase is necessary to stop in for a relaxing bite or pick-me-up. You can eat inside the cafe or outside on the beautiful waterfront terrace. Open daily until 5 pm, Thursdays until 7:30 pm.
The Museum Shop
Visitors enter and leave through the Dali Museum Store. It contains the largest collection of Dali-inspired merchandise in the world that you can only get there.
The Gardens
Taking photos isn’t allowed inside the galleries (museum security is watching so follow the rules!). But there’s plenty to photograph on the grounds from the Dali Wish Tree...
to standing in Dali’s mustache…
or the fountain of youth… We all need some of that, right?
For more information you can visit the museum website: The Dali Museum
The Dali museum in St. Petersburg is not the only one. Other Dali museums and galleries can be found in his birthplace in Figueres, Spain, as well as Berlin, Germany; Paris, France; Australia; New York, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee in the U.S.A., Madrid, and Cadaques, Spain, London, England, Venice . . .
The Dali museum in St. Petersburg is not the only one. Other Dali museums and galleries can be found in his birthplace in Figueres, Spain, as well as Berlin, Germany; Paris, France; Australia; New York, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee in the U.S.A., Madrid, and Cadaques, Spain, London, England, Venice . . .