Practical · Access

Accessibility guide

A city of steps and cobbles can be difficult to navigate. This guide gathers what a visitor with reduced mobility, a sensory need or a companion with a wheelchair should expect.

Level routes

The riverside museums are the easiest to reach without steps. Lifts, level entrances and wide doorways are standard in the newer buildings, and the promenade connecting the Guggenheim to the Museum of Fine Arts is smooth throughout. Lifts connect the gallery floors, and the main halls are laid out to leave generous turning space.

The old town

The Casco Viejo is more complex. Some streets rise steeply, and pavements can be narrow. The Basque Museum is the most accessible of the old-town venues, while many of the small independent galleries occupy historic rooms with thresholds. Allow more time, and consider a companion if the route is unfamiliar.

Inside the museums

Lifts and accessible sanitary facilities are provided in the major institutions, and wheelchairs are often available on request at the desk. Large-print and audio material is usually offered in Spanish, Basque and English. Guide and assistance dogs are welcome throughout.

Sensory and cognitive needs

Quiet hours are not formally advertised by every museum, but the first hour after opening is generally calm. Busy exhibitions can be loud, so it helps to check the programme before setting out. Written introductions to each collection are widely available.

Planning

Match your day to the opening rhythm, and use the getting around page to identify lift-equipped metro stations and low-floor tram stops. If you need specific guarantees, contact the museum directly; our own contact page is for editorial corrections only.

A note on our own site

We aim to meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Our more formal commitments are set out in the accessibility statement.

Planning a route

If you are planning a longer day, build it around the riverside, where the surfaces are level and the distances are short. Add one old-town venue at most, and allow generous time for the streets around it. The tram and metro both offer no-step access at most stops, which makes them a reliable way to link the clusters without tiring yourself before you arrive.

It also helps to visit at quieter times, both for comfort and for the chance to take a lift or a doorway without a queue. Staff at the larger museums are generally helpful if asked in advance, and a short message before a visit can remove most of the uncertainty. Our aim in this guide is simply to describe what to expect, so that a visit can be planned rather than hoped for.