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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum


TripAdvisor Traveller Rating: 4.0 of 5 stars
TripAdvisor Popularity Index: #35 of 330 attractions in Boston
Traveller Description: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the Fenway area of Boston features a fine art collection housed in a building that is a work of art in... more »
Know about Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum? Share your expertise with other travellers. Add to this description now.
Attraction type: Art gallery, Garden
Activities: Group tours/walking tour
Address: 280 The Fenway Boston, MA 02115
Tel: 617-566-1401

Reviews you can trust

[ Date ] [ Rating ]
14 Oct 2009

Justback from a 9 day visit to Boston. Made the mistake of visiting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The woman on the admission desk grunted at me when I asked to buy a ticket. Another member of staff was enjoying an animated conversation with a customer, explaining the procedure in the museum - where to start, audio guide etc. I... more

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5 of 5 stars
Sterling, VA
26 May 2009
1
person found this review helpful

All those years we lived in Boston (even at one, point not too far from this museum), we never did get here until now. This museum is different from other art museums in so many different ways. First of all, there is no obvious rhyme or reason for why objects and paintings were placed where they are. You would have... more

9 May 2009
1
person found this review helpful

Many Sundays around 1:30pm there are chamber music recitals at the museum. Ticket price for the concert (which is only a few dollars more than regular admission) includes free admission to the museum. The concerts themselves are truly worth hearing - you will experience a first rate chamber music concert - up close and personal. The concert usually is about... more

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5 of 5 stars
New Jersey
2 Mar 2009
1
person found this review helpful

I think the ISG museum is often misunderstood. Mrs. Gardner put together a museum at a time when American museums were in their infancy, so it differs significantly from the organization and general feel of the big, modern museums in our major cities. If you go in with the expectation that you're not going to visit an art museum ala... more

eh.
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2 of 5 stars
Boston
29 Jan 2009
1
person found this review helpful

Pros: Beautiful museum Cons: Nothing is labeled, very disorganized I took my mother here and have to say it is a beautiful museum and with some improvements it could be a wonderful place to visit. However, as it is now it is a very frustrating place to visit. We started off through the museum and realized quickly that none of... more

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5 of 5 stars
Vancouver, WA
28 Oct 2008
1
person found this review helpful

This museum is the personal collection of a gifted collector. And the works of art and antiquity are among the finest in the world. I was stunned at the Della Robia altarpiece -- larger and in better condition than any I have seen in Florence, Nice or the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Wandering through the many rooms... more

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1 of 5 stars
San Francisco, CA
23 Aug 2008
2
people found this review helpful

I've been to most museums of Western Art in the world and this is the worst one. It is too small for the crowds that are allowed in at one time, very dis-organized, very dark, and way over-priced. Stick with the Boston Museum of Fine Arts across the street and avoid this place, it will waste your time. more

7 Aug 2008
2
people found this review helpful

What a let down. The moment we walked in, I knew this museum which is more like a mausoleum, was a mistake. Very gloomy and dark. My stomach turned in disappointment over many major issues. The staff are aggressive, almost assaultive, and are everywhere. Treated guests like they were intruders, at the least, they assumed the worst, e.g., that I... more

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5 of 5 stars
Rio Grande Valley
16 Jul 2008
1
person found this review helpful

When I visited the Gardner Museum in Boston, I was fascinated by two things. First, Ms. Gardner arranged all of the objects of art and decreed that none of them could ever be moved. Thus, when 2 famous works of art were stolen, nothing could be put in their place, leaving blank spaces on the walls. Second, she used an... more

26 Jun 2008
2
people found this review helpful

This museum was very frustrating. The art is difficult to see and nearly impossible to identify. It's mission seems to be to maintain a monument to Ms. Gardner and her collecting and display philosophies. Ms. Gardner's establishment of the collection and the museum were great public gifts, but the slavish dedication to the time capsule effect of the museum obscures... more

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Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Address

280 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115
Tel: 617-566-1401