Five Places to Celebrate Van Gogh’s Legacy

This July marks the 125th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh’s untimely death at the age of 37. Though the painter is now credited as one of the most important Dutch artists of all time, the Postimpressionist genius was largely ignored in his lifetime.

Here are five unusual places to experience van Gogh’s legacy—minus the absinthe:

A genetic copy of van Gogh's ear, on display in New York City (Photograph by Diemut Strebe, AP Images)
A genetic copy of van Gogh’s ear, on display in New York City (Photograph by Diemut Strebe, AP Images)

Eindhoven (Netherlands): Look down for a stellar sight along the new bike path inspired by “Starry Night” and made with solar-powered stones.

New York City (USA): The Ronald Feldman Gallery hosts a living-tissue replica of van Gogh’s ear, created by artist Diemut Strebe with DNA from a descendant of the artist’s brother.

Arles (France): Dine under the famous yellow awning of Café la Nuit—now the Café van Gogh—the outdoor eatery depicted in van Gogh’s “Café Terrace at Night.”

Tilburg (Netherlands): Make your own masterpiece at an interactive re-creation of van Gogh’s high school art classroom.

Auvers-sur-Oise (France): Though van Gogh originally hailed from Holland, the cemetery where the artist and his brother Theo are buried is located in a northwestern suburb of Paris.

This piece, written by Hannah Sheinberg, first appeared in the August/September 2015 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. Follow Hannah on Twitter @h_sheinberg.


  1. Escort Eindhoven
    April 11, 2016, 9:11 pm

    Why didn’t you mention Nuenen…

  2. Gerard'us
    July 26, 2015, 6:01 am

    Why didnt You mention Etten NL.
    Vincent made gere his frist drawings wh en hé stayed at his parents.during 2 years aprox.