Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

There are no advertised discounts for people with disabilities or their companions on the Bilbao Guggenheim website so we were pleasantly surprised that my entry fee was reduced and my partner/carer was able to come with me for free. This was just automatically applied to our tickets without my having asked about any discount however I am visibly a wheelchair user. The building in which the gallery is based is very modern and has several lifts which go to all areas of the building. One is large enough to transport extremely large works of art so no matter the size of your chair you should be covered! As a manual chair user I did struggle with some of the steeper slopes created in the building but I was also quite tired from doing touristy things - I recommend having someone to help with those if you have any trouble with steeper ramps or tiredness. Photography is not allowed inside the gallery at all which is quite disappointing however I did enjoy the masterworks galleries including works by Jean Michel Basqiat, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol not to mention the large outdoor Jeff Koons sculpture 'Puppy' (one of the few parts you can photograph freely as it is out front).

Along with many other museums and galleries in Spain, the Guggenheim offers specially adapted tours for visually impaired people on days when the museum is closed to the public (Mondays). Earlier this month I went on one of these as a sighted guide with Travel Eyes, a travel organisation which pairs visually impaired and sighted travellers with each other on a huge range of adventurous and cultural holidays. The touch tour at the Guggenheim was part of a 4 day city break and the cost was included in the holiday so I can't say what this would be, but independent travellers are able to book the tour. We began with a touch tour around the building - or rather around 3D scale models of the building. Guggenheim Bilbao is housed in a visually striking building, and its construction is very unusual. We were given an introductory talk about its historic and architectural significance accompanied by small scale 3D models, which really gave the visually impaired visitors an understanding of how the building's appearance. Each element of the museum and the external sculptures were represented in small scale, and we were even given samples of the construction materials to handle - sandstone and titanium. Next we went out into the huge atrium, where the steel skeleton can be seen and felt, and our guide showed where the titanium scales lapped into the building from the outside. All this before we'd even started on the artworks! Our guide had chosen exhibits for their tactile, visual and auditory aspects. Visitors with visual impairments were given latex gloves, and we were then guided inside a huge steel coil and encouraged to shout at the walls, to listen and feel the echo returning. There was a tunnel of maribou feathers which enveloped us as we walked through, and a huge waterfall of digital light, with streams of words constantly falling - the same words were engraved on a third exhibit nearby. Our guide spoke only Spanish so you would need a good interpreter, but the only real downside was that the tour only lasts 2 hours. Some of our group returned the following day to visit the rest of the gallery. The welcome we received and the efforts of the Guggenheim team to meet the needs of visually impaired people, were outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble.

My husband gets around on his mobility scooter. It is great around the museum, and water side ,Also inside the museum. There is a lift and disable toilet The lift is very slow. The new shopping mall and park are beautiful too. Just when you get to the older part of the city , the stoops are not too smooth. But all by all we have been there three times and always enjoy our visit.