Love art-going but hate stuffy museums? Then here’s a rundown of the best open-air art exhibitions from around the world…

1. Fundacion NMAC, Vejer de la Frontera, Spain

Squeezed between the sierras and sea of Andalucia’s Costa de la Luz, Vejer de la Frontera is a traveler’s dream. A typical whitewashed Andalucian town, it’s just about as calm and authentic a place as you’re likely to encounter anywhere on your travels.

One of the world’s leading art exhibitions can also be found here. The collection at the Fundacion NMAC is simply awesome, including installations by established artists such as Susana Solano, Richard Nonas, Sol LeWitt and Roxy Paine. And, what’s more, like Paine’s giant metal tree (pictured above), it’s almost all outdoors.

The Fundacion is about showcasing contemporary art in natural landscapes, emphasizing ’specific projects which promote social dialogue and understanding through art’. The result is an enchanting and cerebral place that demands hours upon hours of happy wanderings (or should that be wonderings?).

2. Vigeland Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway

Frogerparken in Oslo is a little bit special. The laid-back urban park is different from most in that, aside from the usual leafy expanses and picnicking couples, it includes an 80-acre sculpture park that features 212 large-scale pieces by Gustav Vigeland.

The sculptures sit along an axis that splits the park into five different segments, each carrying its own theme. At the top of this axis, you find the standout sculpture – a 12-foot high ‘Monolith’ of naked bodies climbing their way to heaven. It’s a magnificent jewel in the park’s already glittering crown.

3. Hakone Open-Air Museum, Hakone, Japan

This massive establishment, based in the expansive Fuji Hakone Izu National Park, was Japan’s first-ever outdoor museum. Opened in the 60s, it has built up a stunning collection over the years and today boasts Rodins, Miros, Renoirs, Picassos and Moores.

The sculptures by Henry Moore, in particular, find a happy home here – as the artist himself proclaimed, ‘Sculpture is an art of the open air’ and, gazing at the solid form of his sweeping pieces cut against the backdrop of Japan’s rolling mountains and infinite sky, you can see what he was getting at.

4. Victoria’s Way, Dublin, Ireland

Spread out across 22 acres of beautiful countryside, Victoria’s Way contains several massive sculptures of Ganesha, provoking the visitor into inner-contemplation and prodding them onto the road of ultimate happiness. Which is kind of surreal, really, since it’s in Catholic Ireland, only a half hour from Dublin.

The Park stands out for a number of reasons: partly because the sculptures are impressive, partly because you can chat to the mastermind behind it all (if you find his workshop next to the car park), and partly because it’s very much a hidden gem. Few tourist guide books cover Victoria’s Way, and fewer tourists still make it out here. Those that do are in for a veritable treat.

5. Frieze Art Fair, London, England

While the Frieze Art Fair isn’t a permanent exhibition (rather, it’s an annual three day event), it deserves a place on the list simply because it’s a mainstay in the calender of every mover and shaker in the contemporary art world.

Held in Regent’s Park, the Fair invariably exhibits the world’s most cutting-edge (and let’s be honest, downright expensive) ‘trendy’ art - although most of the visitors are there just to enjoy the view. Whether it’s the spectacle of the art, or the view of the bigwigs networking, well, who’s to say?

This year’s Fair has already passed but, rest assured, it will be back in 2009. In the meantime, you could always throw some paint at a canvas, hang it on the wall in your garden and then gaze at it intently, mumbling something about the nature of perception in posthumanist times and flicking at your mustache.

Or you could get a friend to do it while you watch and point.