Discover more of the Gardner Museum’s magic through a personalized guided tour.
All guided tours must be reserved at least three weeks in advance. For groups of more than 30 visitors, a guided tour is required to view the galleries. With questions, email tours@isgm.org or call 617 278 5147, Monday through Friday, 9 am–5 pm. Tour options and pricing are subject to change.
Groups of 30 and fewer people may choose to visit the Museum on their own with General Admissions tickets. Due to the small size of our galleries, please divide into groups of five or fewer to explore the Museum. Outside tour leaders and guides are not allowed to teach in the galleries. Please contact boxoffice@isgm.org or 617 278 5156 to purchase group visit tickets.
GUIDED TOURS
The Gardner Museum welcomes adult groups of all kinds. One-hour tours are designed to engage visitors through conversation and close looking, while exploring the Museum’s past and present. Rather than rushing through many objects, we will select a few works of art to engage with deeply during your visit. Museum Teachers will provide a general introduction to the Museum and its founder, as well as facilitating inquiry into three to four artworks or galleries. We are happy to tailor any tour to your group’s particular interest. A Museum Teacher will contact you prior to your arrival to discuss the details of your visit.
Group size: 2-45 people.
Pricing: $30 per adult, $28 per senior, $6 per child under 18 years old, $21 per university/college student or $15 per member. Includes Museum admission.
Tour Times: Tours are available Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 11:30 am, 12:45 pm, 2:15 pm, 3:30 pm, and select Thursday evenings upon request. Lunch reservations at Café G may be available for groups of 35 or fewer. Café G only accepts group reservations in the mornings; please request a 12:45 pm tour and note your interest in lunch on the tour reservation request form.
Virtual guided experiences and tour accommodations are available with advance request, including touch tours, and American Sign Language interpretation. For more information, email tours@isgm.org.
GUIDED TOUR THEMES
The Gardner Museum offers a range of tour themes:
INTRODUCTION TO THE GARDNER MUSEUM
Explore masterpieces of the Gardner Museum, learn about the history of the Museum’s founder and find out why this is one of the great private art collections in America.
RENAISSANCE AT THE GARDNER
Investigate the Renaissance within the context of European art and explore the influence of antiquity and medieval art. Through highlights from the Museum’s collection, students will explore the significant cultural, artistic, and scientific achievements of the Renaissance and reflect on how Isabella Stewart Gardner was inspired by this period in her installations.
QUESTIONING POWER
This tour uses works of art from across cultures to explore visual representations of power. Together, we’ll consider who has historically had access to power and how image-making conveys both secular and religious authority. Weaving in visual analysis with historical context, we will critique how power is expressed in the past and present.
ARCHITECTURE: BUILDING ON A LEGACY
Celebrate the architectural innovations of the Gardner Museum’s New Wing, designed by the acclaimed Renzo Piano Building Workshop. This tour will focus on the architecture and sustainable features of the New Wing and how it relates to the design choices that Isabella Stewart Gardner made when creating the original Venetian-style building. With stops in both the New Wing and the historic Palace, visitors will consider the ways in which space and materials shape our experiences with art.
BOTANICAL TOUR
Step into the enchanting world of plants at the Gardner Museum. Experience the magic of the verdant Courtyard, view the Monks Garden designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, and discuss botanical imagery embedded throughout Isabella Stewart Gardner’s collection.
Botanical Talk & Tour: Once a month, the Gardner Museum offers a 30-minute talk with our horticulture staff in our Education Studio as an add-on to the 60-minute Botanical Tour led by our Museum Teachers. Step inside Isabella Gardner’s magical world with a presentation about the role of plants at the Museum, past and present. This is a ticketed event, and space is limited. See pricing and availability, and purchase tickets here:
FALL 2024 EXHIBITIONS: October 10, 2024 - January 20, 2025
Explore three exhibitions from radically different artists who remind us of the importance and complexity of families. This tour will include Manet: A Model Family; Mary Ellen Mark: A Seattle Family, 1983-2014; and/or Mickalene Thomas: Sandra, She’s a Beauty, 2009. All tours also include stops in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s historic collection.
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GUIDED TOURS
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum offers limited scholarship funding each year for groups that demonstrate financial need. If you are interested in applying for scholarship assistance, please review the guidelines below and apply here.
How do I know if I qualify?
Funding is based on need. If you are a school applying for funding for your school, your student eligibility for the free and reduced school lunch program should be at least 25%. Title 1 schools will be prioritized for funding. If you are a nonprofit organization, such as a family, neighborhood, for faith-based group, shelter, ESOL or ABE program, 25% of the population you serve should be classified as economically disadvantaged (eligible for Earned Income Tax Credit) and you should have official 501(c)(3) status.
Groups that receive funding must complete a post-visit survey. They may be asked to complete a letter of thanks to our sponsors.
What does the funding cover?
Funding for onsite Museum visits will cover the per-person admission cost of attending the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for a guided tour. Funding is not available for buses, student lunches, or self-guided visits.
Funding for virtual museum visits will cover the setup and facilitation of a remote guided experience at the Gardner Museum.
In order to extend funds to as many groups as we can, we may offer partial funding based on your group’s needs and our program costs. Groups that receive full funding will have the entire visit cost covered, while those that receive partial funding will be asked to pay $35.00 for each Museum Teacher guiding their onsite or virtual tour.
We receive many requests from groups and try to match every request with appropriate funding whenever possible, but group scholarship funds are limited. Funding is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Submission of an application does not guarantee funding.
How do I know if I received funding?
When we have received your application and visit request, we will check them against our tour calendar and current funding opportunities, and email you to confirm visit dates and funding amounts.
ARRIVAL
All visitors are admitted through the museum entrance at 25 Evans Way. Please arrive no earlier than 15 minutes ahead of your tour time. We request that all participants arrive together, prior to the tour time. When the entire group has arrived you will be greeted by a Museum staff member, who will provide a brief orientation.
If possible, leave bulky items at home or on the bus so you can comfortably enjoy your visit. All backpacks, packages, large purses, umbrellas, and coats, must be left at our complimentary coat check. Please use pencils only to write or sketch in the galleries. If you haven't already, please let us know if you have any special requests or require any support or accommodations to make the most of your visit.
Please call the Tour Coordinator at 617 278 5147 on weekdays, or the Box Office at 617 278 5156 on weekends, if you are behind schedule. Late arrivals may receive a shortened tour; groups that are more than 30 minutes late may not receive a tour.
PARKING
A limited number of free and metered spots are available near the Gardner Museum. We also offer discounted parking at the next-door Simmons School of Management Garage and are walking distance from the lots at the Museum of Fine Arts. Directions & Parking
Please note the Simmons Garage does not have bus parking. Buses may drop off and pick up passengers in front of the Evans Way entrance. The City of Boston has designated the north side of Huntington Avenue between Belvedere Street and Massachusetts Avenue for bus parking. See map at Guidelines for tour buses in Boston.