Artist-Guided Tour of the Guggenheim Museum

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Review My wife and I visited the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao on July 25 for the 16:00 guided tour, with Manu. It turned out to be the perfect afternoon to visit a museum, as it started raining outside just as we were beginning our tour. We were very happy to be inside exploring such an impressive place while the rain came down. Manu was extremely knowledgeable, not only about the museum and its art, but also about the history behind it and how the entire project came to be. What we especially appreciated was his insight into the local perspective during the museum’s development and construction. Hearing about how people in Bilbao viewed such an ambitious project at the time, and how the museum ultimately became such an important part of the city, gave us a much deeper appreciation for what we were seeing. He also explained the architecture and artworks in an engaging and accessible way, adding a great deal of context that we would have missed had we simply walked around on our own. The only downside to the experience was finding the meeting point at the beginning. The directions said to meet in front of the large dog sculpture outside the museum, but this is a very busy area with a lot of people gathered around. It would have been much easier if the meeting instructions had been more specific—for example, exactly where near the sculpture Manu would be standing, or what Manu would be wearing. A little more detail would have made finding each other much simpler and the start of the tour less confusing. Once we met up, though, the tour itself was excellent. The Guggenheim is spectacular and absolutely worth seeing in person. Between the architecture, the art, the history, and Manu’s excellent guidance, it was a memorable afternoon for both my wife and me. A wonderful experience in Bilbao and one we would happily recommend. Thank you, Manu! 👀 Arrive a little early, as the meeting point by the large dog sculpture can be crowded. Be sure to get a white wristband if you plan to leave and re-enter the museum later. Backpacks and larger bags must be left at the free storage area near the entrance, where you’ll receive a claim ticket to pick them up when you leave.👍🏻 4/5

The price seems quite high at first, but the expense is really worth it: our guide Julia was as fascinating as she was passionate and so pleasant! It was a great experience that opened our eyes to many things that had escaped us during our first visit. We are delighted! A big thank you to Julia and also to Manuel who went to great lengths to ensure our visit could take place at a time that suited us. Thank you!!!

Inés was a wonderful guide. We saw many exhibits in the Guggenheim and she really pulled out the meaning and history behind not just the architecture of the building, but the exhibits.

Very informative and knowledgeable about the museum. And friendly

t was great and I'm so glad I booked it. It made the museum and art work so much more meaningful. Highly recommend hiring an artist guide!

This was a great tour. Our guide was thoughtful, knowledgable, fun and engaging. She provided an overview of the development of the museum itself, some Basque history and a lot of information about the selected exhibits. I wouldn't hesitate to book this guided tour of the Guggenheim. Very impressive.

We arrived at our meeting point for our guide 10 minutes before the appointed time. No one showed up. I contacted them at the time that we were supposed to meet and finally received an email saying that they completely forgot about the tour and that they are not available today nor tomorrow. Extremely unprofessional and I would certainly not book with them again.

Very informative tour with an actual artist. We learned so much about the architecture and of course the art inside. Oddly, on our tour was another couple from our area in California. Highly recommended!

Inez was a good guide. She did a good job explaining the evolution of the museum. In the museum, she did an excellent job explaining and involving us in the main exhibit which are sheets of metal curled. In the art exhibit, she helped us to better understand the different aspects of the works of art. Where 3 of the 4 of us felt Inez or Ines fell short was in her overall level of engagement. She has a good personality and does engage well but seemed in a hurry to finish.

Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about history of not only the museum but the city itself. Our tour of the museum was done at a great pace and the areas of the gallery he took us to were really great. I’d recommend this tour 100%