Museum Tour: Early Access with Art Historian Guide

Beat the crowds at the Art Institute of Chicago with an expert guide. Discover masterpieces and their stories in an exclusive, intimate tour.

Duration: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • The Art Institute of Chicago - Our expert guide will take you on a journey to explore one of the world’s premier art museums. Whether you’re an art enthusiast, a history buff, or simply seeking inspiration, our tour of the Art Institute promises an unforgettable experience. Along the way they will discuss some or all of the following art works:…
What's Included
  • Skip-the-Line Semi-Private Guided Museum Tour (Group Size of 12 or Less)
  • All Admission Fees
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Beat the crowds with an expert art historian guide on this exclusive early morning tour. Immerse yourself among the masterpieces housed within the acclaimed museum and listen as your guide brings each piece to life by sharing the story behind it. Let your guide lead you to the most important pieces of the 300,000-strong collection, taking the hard work…

Location
The Art Institute of Chicago
South Michigan Avenue
Guide will be standing near the North Lion (the one on the left as you face the main entrance to the museum).
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(126 Ratings)
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Karen_e
Oct 14, 2024
Excellent Tour with Robert - Excellent tour with Robert. He was knowledgeable and interesting. His tour was enjoyable and he treated everyone with respect. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Viator
Helaine-s-alpharetta
Oct 13, 2024
Doesn’t get better than this. - Our tour guide, Joel, was awesome. He is everything you want in a guide - knowledgeable, passionate and a great sense of humor. Joel showed us all of the most famous pieces and also other not so famous but fascinating items. He had the perfect balance of sharing interesting information without overwhelming you with too much detail, but if someone in our group wanted more detail, Joel was able to provide it. Joel clearly knows the history of Chicago, the institute and all of the artists and their works. I can’t thank Joel enough for a great tour. Highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wespch
Oct 11, 2024
So glad we did this! - Sarah was awesome. She was very knowledgeable and made the information very entertaining. So glad we did the tour rather than trying to navigate the museum on our own. It was great for getting the highlights of what would otherwise take days to explore.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Emily_a
Oct 8, 2024
Great tour with Mandy! - We had a great tour with Mandy - our group was varied ages/backgrounds and she made it fun and engaging for all. Easy to follow and keep up with her pace and fun info she gave about well-known and not so common pieces on the museum. She kept us involved and asked questions for the group to participate. My son is 11 and enjoyed the tour and wasn’t bored. I’d recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
54christinan
Oct 6, 2024
Great way to see the Art Institute! - Joel was informative, insightful, and easy going! Really enjoyed all of the backstories and art history knowledge he shared. The Art Institute is a truly amazing museum for any/ all art lovers! 2.5 hours barely scratches the surface, but if it’s your first visit, you will defn get the most out of your time spent - would defn recommend this tour, with Joel!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Linda_c
Oct 5, 2024
Fabulous tour - Our guide, Joel, was not only extremely knowledgable, but he was also very personable. He was able to balance imparting information to the group with speaking to and meeting the needs of individual participants. Additionally, he had a good sense of humor. We enjoyed his tour very much, learned a lot, and appreciated the history behind the artwork. We would highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Adnan_p
Oct 5, 2024
Impressive, museum, and perfect tour guide - Joel is an excellent tour guide for the art Institute of Chicago museum. He explained the highlights with entertaining and humorous anecdotes.
Review provided by Viator
Grloustalot
Oct 5, 2024
Highly recommend - Our Guide Joel was the best. My wife and I are casual but very curious art appreciation types. Joel made our experience an amazing two hour art history class with just the right amount of levity to not lose our interest. We suggest this tour for those who want to see the most important works , understand the Institutes standing among top collections in the world and to learn about the acquisitions of these collections. We very highly recommend this tour. And go early for a less crowded and less noisy experience. Thank you Joel !!! Gil and Cindy Santa Barbara
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Albatross212
Oct 4, 2024
A must do! - Our guide Robert was awesome! A guided tour of the museum is a must. So much to see but Robert guided us to the best spots. He even took extra time after the tour was over to show us other areas for those us us that wanted a little extra.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dennis_r
Oct 4, 2024
A great introduction the the hallery - Fantastic tour of the Art Gallery covering all of the highlights accentuated by personal stories and insights from the guide. A great introduction to the gallery.
Review provided by Viator
From $74
up to 12 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).