The private guided tour at the Neue Galerie

Why it is on the list

The Neue Galerie is New York's museum of early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design, in the William Starr Miller House on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 86th Street.¹ The second floor holds Klimt, Kokoschka, Schiele and the Wiener Werkstätte; the third, Kandinsky, Klee, Kirchner and the Bauhaus. Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I has hung there since July 2006.¹ The tour is led by one of the museum's own docents; outside lecturers and tour operators may not speak to groups in the building.²

It is the wrong choice with children under 12, who are not admitted with a tour during regular hours.² The galleries are closed until 12 November 2026 while the building is worked on.³ For an artist's own rooms rather than a collection, take the guided visit to 101 Spring Street, where Donald Judd's spaces are shown by guides and only by advance reservation.⁴

How to get it

Send the request form on the Guided Tours page, or write to visitorservices@neuegalerie.org or call +1 212 994 9493, at least three weeks ahead.² Tours start at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. or 4 p.m. for up to ten people, or 5 p.m. for up to fifteen, every day but Tuesday, when the museum is closed. Confirmation comes by email within two weeks, and nothing is paid to send the request.² The docent fee is $250, plus admission for each guest, $28 at the general rate.²³ A table at Café Sabarsky is not included: dinner is booked through Resy, breakfast and lunch are first come.²

Discretion

Every guest passes a security screening at the door, and bags larger than 13 by 17 by 4 inches go to the coat check on the lobby level.⁵ Photography is not allowed in the galleries, and phone calls are not allowed there or in the lobby.⁵