Vero Beach Museum of Art is bigger and more polished than you might expect from a small coastal city. It sits in Riverside Park on the barrier island side of town, close enough to pair with the beach but serious enough to be more than a rainy-day fallback.
The museum runs changing exhibitions, lectures, classes, and film programming, so the exact draw depends on the calendar. Even a short visit adds a useful counterweight to the beach-and-lagoon side of Vero.