The Guggenheim Museum

Duration: 7 1/2 hours

Tour Code: sjl-001

Spend the day exploring the fabulous Guggenheim Museum on this full-day tour that takes you through the Basque country to Bilbao, Spain and this impressive attraction.

Starting off from the pier, it's a scenic drive of approximately 2-hours to reach the city of Bilbao, home of the famous Guggenheim Museum. Since its opening on October 19, 1997, architecture critics have been tripping over themselves to invent new superlatives to praise this modern art repository; many settle on the word miracle. A wondrous sculpture of a building crafted in titanium, limestone and glass by controversial American architect Frank Gehry, it rises majestically above the banks of Bilbao's Nervion River. Its restless form truly defies description. From one angle, its form is likened to fish squirming in a basket; from another it takes the form of a massive ocean liner. From across the Nervion, it is seen as a rose with unfolding silver petals.

Once inside this three-story building, it continues to fascinate, seeming to bob and weave, with barely a straight line or right angle. The atrium soars to 165 feet and the boat gallery which looks like the hold of a ship, is a vast 433-foot cavern. The Museum includes exhibition space totaling an incredible 110,000 square feet. Gehry's work here is as astounding to the eyes as the Eiffel Tower or Frank Loyd Wright's 1959 screw-shaped Guggenheim. Gehry himself says, "It's really a miracle of collaboration between the Americans and the Basque people."

Your time here is on your own. Although guides are not allowed to make any comments inside the museum, audio-guides are available. For your convenience, there are venues available in the museum for a light snack or restaurants in the area for you to enjoy lunch.

After approximately 3 1/2 hours, you will re-join your escort and make the return journey back to the pier.

Please note: This tour includes moderate walking, mainly at the guests' discretion and elevators are available at the museum. The tour is not considered suitable for wheelchair guests and those guests with mobility concerns are cautioned to evaluate their personal level of ability and stamina. Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.