Galerie Michael | a must-see in Beverly Hills

Many visitors come to Beverly Hills for the shopping. Walking down Rodeo Drive, you’ll see a store for virtually every luxury brand — Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton — as well as small, independent boutiques. If you’re in the mood for some serious retail therapy, Beverly Hills awaits...

But if you want to shop somewhere totally unique, drop into Galerie Michael, a small, privately owned art gallery at 224 North Rodeo Drive. The owner possesses an extensive collection of 20th century art, just a small fraction of which is on display You’ll be able to view original works by Picasso, Chagall, Dali, and Miro — as well as some pre-Impressionistic paintings and even some older works by Rembrandt. If shopping ‘till you drop appeals, you’ll find price tags as high as $1 million. I wasn’t tempted, although several works by Chagall, priced below $3000, seemed reasonable.

Part of the short cobblestoned pedestrian walk at 2 Rodeo Drive, I encourage you to visit. John Welch, the gallery’s curator took pleasure in showing us around. Galerie Michael was easily the highlight of our walk around Beverly Hills.

Copyright (c) 2019 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Dali museum | Figueres, Spain

An hour north of Barcelona is the village of Figueres, Spain. We spent an afternoon there during our trip to Spain (after spending the morning in Gerona). Pictured above is the home of surrealist artist Salvador Dalí, right next door to the Dalí Theatre-Museum.

Built in the former Figueres Theatre, the town asked Dalí to design a museum commemorating his own work. The museum itself has been described as "the world's largest surrealistic object," and indeed it is. You can easily spend two hours in this museum - and be sure to visit the jewelry exhibit next door; a separate ticket is included in the price of admission.

Even if you are not a fan of Dalí or of the surrealist movement, the Dali Museum is worth a visit. I was impressed by his technical skill as well as by the sheer creativity of the artist. Pictured in the inset is a room size piece incorporating several different objects. Only when you climb some stairs and look through the lens at the assemblage of objects can you fully appreciate the artist's subject, actress Mae West.

For a whimsical and fun morning or afternoon, the Dali Museum is a wonderful diversion!


Dali Museum (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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