Guggenheim Museum: What to See, Tickets and Free Hours
Guggenheim Museum: What to See, Tickets and Free Hours
Guía rápida
- The Guggenheim collection
- Temporary exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum
- The Guggenheim building
- Who was Solomon R. Guggenheim?
- Guggenheim App
- Discounts for the Guggenheim Museum
- How to visit the Guggenheim Museum in New York for free
- 10 Tips to Save on Your Trips
- 👇🏼 Leave your email and be part of something special.
- Deals for your getaway
- 15% off your hotel
At the Guggenheim Museum in New York you'll see iconic works of modern and contemporary art, starting with the building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a masterpiece of contemporary architecture.
And if you've already been, go back. The exhibitions change every six months or so, showcasing contemporary artists from all corners of the world.
Visiting the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (its full name) is a must for anyone who loves art and architecture.
The Guggenheim collection
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was established in 1939 around a private collection of abstract paintings belonging to Solomon R. Guggenheim himself.
Over the years it has added other important private collections of modern and 20th century art, and today it holds more than 1,500 pieces.
The Guggenheim New York found its permanent home in 1959, with the opening of its iconic building on the Upper East Side, right on Museum Mile.
The permanent collection includes surrealist paintings by Joan Miró, more than 50 expressionist paintings and sketches by Paul Klee, oils by Vincent Van Gogh, mobiles by Alexander Calder, paintings by Vasily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian…
Impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, European and American minimalism and post-minimalism, conceptual art. And that's just naming a few.
Temporary exhibitions at the Guggenheim Museum
Roughly every 5 months the Guggenheim New York refreshes its temporary shows, so there's always a chance to discover a contemporary artist from somewhere new.
You can check current and upcoming exhibitions on the museum's official website.
The Guggenheim building
The beautiful home of the Guggenheim New York, facing Central Park, was the last great project by the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Its curvaceous design was controversial. The organic forms of this white cylinder contrasted dramatically with Manhattan's grid. Today it inspires other museums.
The effect of the building's interior is stunning: a vast white void crowned by a glass dome and wrapped in a spiral ramp that carries visitors up through the museum's floors.
That continuous ramp is also a gallery. During the «procession» up to the top floors, you'll pass a number of works while taking in the view of this monumental building.
I write «procession» in honor of Lloyd Wright's original idea for the building: he wanted it to be a «temple of the spirit«.
Who was Solomon R. Guggenheim?
A curious fact: Solomon R. Guggenheim, the founder of the Guggenheim New York, was able to become an art patron thanks to his mining investments in various parts of the world, including faraway Chile.
He was the first manager of the Braden Copper Company, which controlled the El Teniente Mine, the largest underground copper mine in the world, home to the Sewell Mining Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
His connection to the country ran so deep that his family donated the land for Santiago's first airport, today the Cerrillos National Center for Contemporary Art.
Mines and art, that's the Guggenheim legacy around the world.
Guggenheim App
One tip for making the most of your visit: download the Guggenheim app to your phone, available on iTunes or Google Play (Guggenheim App). It will guide you through the museum.
Discounts for the Guggenheim Museum
Admission to the Guggenheim is expensive, like most museums in New York, but you have to see it! It's one of the most important museums in the world (it's worth buying tickets online to save time, since it gets very busy)
One way to save up to 50% on admission is to buy a tourist discount pass that includes access to the Guggenheim:
🗽 The New York Pass,
🏙️ The GO CITY New York
🎟️ The City Pass.
Besides the savings you'll get with these discount passes, you'll skip the entry line and gain time for other attractions.
The other way to save is to visit the Guggenheim during the «pay what you wish» hours. Here's how it works and how to get these reduced-price tickets:
How to visit the Guggenheim Museum in New York for free
After the pandemic, most attractions got used to online ticket reservations, even for free tickets or pay-what-you-wish ones, as is the case at the Guggenheim.
Thanks to this, you no longer have to wait in long lines on museum free days. Instead, you book free or reduced-price tickets in advance on each museum's official website.
At the Guggenheim, here's how it works:
On Saturdays, between 5 pm and 8 pm, you can pay whatever you want for admission to the Guggenheim Museum in New York (the minimum is $1).
The minimum you can pay is $1, though they suggest at least $10.
You can enter from the time slot you booked until 7:45 pm (15 minutes before the museum closes). The time you select is the earliest entry time on Saturday.
«Pay what you wish» tickets go on sale the Monday before each Saturday at 12 pm on the museum's website. Quantities are limited and they sell out fast, so plan your visit a week ahead and grab them as soon as you can.
«Pay what you wish» tickets are non-refundable and can't be rescheduled, so only book them if you're sure you can go.
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Address of the Guggenheim New York
1071 Fifth Avenue, between 88th and 89th Streets. Manhattan
How to get there
Nearest subway:
Lines 4, 5 and 6. 86 St station.
Hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday 10 am to 5:45 pm
Saturdays 10 am to 7:45 pm
Closed Thursdays
Closed December 25,
Ticket prices for the Guggenheim New York
Adults US$ 30 / Students, 65+, visitors with disabilities US$ 19 / Under 12 free
Saturdays from 5 pm to 8 pm you can “pay what you wish”.