Travel bucket list idea:
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
New York, United States of America (USA)
Photo David Heald. Copyright Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation 2021
Last updated: 07 April, 2024
New York’s Guggenheim is home to one of the world’s finest collections of modern and contemporary art. Permanent collections include works by world-renowned artists such as Calder, Chagall, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, and van Gogh. Special exhibitions showcase important artists from the 19th century through the present.
The museum building, too, is a masterpiece. Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic, curvaceous design – completed in 1959 – is an architectural stunner, both outside and inside, where artworks are displayed on a walkway that spirals up in a great rotunda.
Logistics
Price from: £22
Minimum age: 0
Age suitable: 18+
When: All year around
Getting there & doing it
Take the 4, 5, or 6 train to 86th Street; it’s a few minutes walk from there. Book tickets in advance on the website to guarantee entry.
The Guggenheim’s interior is mostly a giant space with one spiral viewing walkway sloping downhill from the top. Take the lift up to the first floor then work your way down. There are educators posted throughout the museum to explain the artworks, or download their digital guide from the website before you go.
You can also download and print out a visitor brochure that explains where the current exhibitions are.
The City Pass
The mobile-delivered City Pass gives you entry to 6 top New York attractions at a 40% discount: the Empire State Building’s 86th-floor observatory, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim Museum, the Ferry Access to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island or the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
When to do it
The museum is open all year round, Thursday to Monday. Closed Tuesday & Wednesday.
Saturday afternoons are ‘pay what you wish’ time – best avoided if you don’t like crowds.
