Adult Tours

Guided tours must be reserved at least three weeks in advance. 

Group Size: 2–45 people
A guided tour is required for groups of more than 30 visitors. Groups of 30 and fewer may choose to visit the Museum on their own with general admission tickets.

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
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 11:30 am, 12:45 pm, 2:15 pm, 3:30 pm, and select Thursday evenings upon request.

Dining
11:30 am lunch reservations at Café G may be available for groups of 35 or fewer. Please request a 12:45 pm tour and note your interest in lunch on the tour reservation request form.

Accessibility
Virtual guided tours and tour accommodations, including, but not limited to, American Sign Language interpretation and touch tours for visitors who are blind or have low vision are available with advance request. For more information, email tours@isgm.org.

Questions? 
Email tours@isgm.org or call 617 278 5147, Monday–Friday, 9 am–5 pm. Tour options and pricing are subject to change.
 

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.

SUMMER 2025 EXHIBITIONS
June 26, 2025–September 21, 2025 
Explore how gardens can unlock memory and imagination across three unforgettable exhibitions featuring work from Isabella’s contemporaries, celebrated sculptor Ming Fay, and Artist-in-Residence Yu-Wen Wu.  This tour will include Ming Fay: Edge of the Garden; Flowers for Isabella; and/or Yu-Wen Wu: Reigning Beauty on the building’s facade. All tours also include stops in Isabella Stewart Gardner’s historic collection and courtyard garden. 

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:
 

We offer 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.

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 you are behind schedule, please call the Tour Coordinator at 617 278 5147 on weekdays, or the Box Office at 617 278 5156 on weekends. Late arrivals may receive a shortened tour; groups that are more than 30 minutes late may not receive a tour.

What to Bring
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 checked in our lobby.

Please use only graphite pencils to write or sketch in the galleries.

Parking
A limited number of free and metered parking spots are available near the Gardner Museum. We also offer discounted parking at the Simmons School of Management Garage* nextdoor and are walking distance from the lots at the Museum of Fine Arts. See Directions & Parking for more.

*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 a map at Guidelines for Tour Buses in Boston.