A sculpture in its own right, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s building almost overshadows the collection of 20th century art it houses. The museum’s holdings include works by Kandinsky, Picasso and Jackson Pollock. Over time, other key additions have been made, including paintings by Monet, Van Gogh and Degas, photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe, and key surrealist works. Temporary exhibitions are the real draw – the best of which are stunning site-specific installations by some of the great visionary artists of today. Completed in 1959, the inverted ziggurat structure was derided by some critics but hailed by others, who welcomed it as a beloved architectural icon – indeed, since it first opened, this unusual structure has appeared on countless postcards, TV programs and films. The Guggenheim came out of the collection of Solomon R Guggenheim, a New York mining magnate who began acquiring abstract art in his 60s at the behest of his art adviser, an eccentric German baroness named Hilla Rebay. The museum’s ascending ramp is occupied by rotating exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. Though Wright intended visitors to go to the top and wind their way down, the cramped single elevator doesn’t allow for this. Exhibitions, therefore, are installed from bottom to top. There are two good on-site food options: The Wright, at ground level, a space-age eatery serving steamy risotto and classic cocktails, and Cafe 3, on the 3rd floor, which offers sparkling views of Central Park and excellent coffee and light snacks.

New York is the city of the rectangle, of the sharp right angle. Our streets form a severe grid, our buildings are boxy and regular. Until you get to the Guggenheim, that is. Frank Lloyd Wright’s delirious spiral of a museum sits among the towers of Fifth Avenue like a steroidal peacock among guinea hens. Architectural critic Herbert Muschamp described the look best when he wrote, “What else but a building brought back from a dream would be windowless, have walls and floors that tilt and twist, begin on the top floor, and spiral in towards the center like an enigma.” Visiting the center of this 1959 masterpiece and trudging up the ramps of curving halls transforms the standard museum experience into a profound journey, no matter what artworks are on display. Early critics dismissed the museum, but I think today even the most jaded visitor will feel the power of the place, the symbolic weight of infinite circle upon circle upon circle. Beyond the architecture, the museum is popular thanks to its curators’ abilities to formulate blockbuster retrospectives on top contemporary artists and topics that combine art with history and in some cases sociology—shows on Aztec culture, motorcycles, and Brazilian art, to mention just a few that created headlines in past years. Aside from the architecture and changing exhibits, the Guggenheim is known for its concentration of artworks by Kandinsky, Brancusi, Picasso, Miró, and Mondrian, among other modernists. In addition, the museum devotes permanent gallery space to the stars of the Guggenheim’s core collection, towering figures such as Chagall, Brancusi, Mondrian, Miró, and Kandinsky, among other modernists.

At the top of Museum Mile you cannot miss the dramatic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art housed inside Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece of a giant nautilus shell. A monument to modernism, the unique architecture of the space, with its spiral ramp riding to a domed skylight thrills visitors. In the words of Paul Goldberger, "Wright's building made it socially and culturally acceptable for an architect to design a highly expressive, intensely personal museum. In this sense almost every museum of our time is a child of the Guggenheim." Examples of exhibits include masterpieces by Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Picasso, and works by Jackson Pollock.

This spiraling white concrete structure, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is one of the most iconic buildings in NYC, if not in all of the USA. This is one museum where the building itself is as interesting as the exhibition inside. First check out the façade from the Central Park side of Fifth Ave, and then head inside to examine the rotunda and the famous coiled ramp; it’s more enjoyable to take the elevator to the top and walk down. By Marc Einsele

Set in a distinctive, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is known for its modern artworks. Originally called The Museum of Non-Objective Painting when it opened in 1939, the Guggenheim started with a collection of American and European abstract and non-objective works. Renamed after its founder in 1952, the Guggenheim now displays its core abstract collection along with works from all manner of contemporary art genres, among them Dada, Impressionism, Pop Art, and Surrealism.

Designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the building housing Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is as much a tourist draw as the collection of modern art located inside it. Named after and founded upon the private collection of its founder, the museum holds notable works by Picasso, van Gogh, Monet, Gauguin, and other modern masters. The building's spiral design recalls a nautilus shell, featuring continuous spaces that flow freely into one another. Wright ascribed symbolic meaning to the building's shapes, comparing its geometric forms to the ideas of infinity, unity, progress, and integrity. To learn more about the museum's distinct architecture and art, join a guided tour or download an interactive gallery app to your mobile device. Use our New York City online itinerary planner to visit Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on your trip to New York City, and learn what else travelers and our writers recommend seeing nearby.