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Visit

Accessibility Resources

A person in a wheelchair views a large classical painting in an art gallery, surrounded by wooden floors and white walls.
Photograph by Jens Van Hecke 

Our Commitment to Accessibility

This resource page provides information, context, and accessibility resources to help you plan your visit before you arrive. Here you will find details about the Museum's accessibility services, programs, and accommodations to support a welcoming and meaningful experience throughout your visit. If you have questions or would like assistance planning your visit, review the resources below or contact us in advance. 
 
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is a place for all people. The Museum is committed to making its art collections, buildings, programs, and services accessible to all guests across the entire human demographic spectrum and a wide range of lived experiences. Whether you are visiting for the first time or returning, accessibility is an integral part of the Museum's mission. The Museum strives to ensure that all visitors can engage with its collections, exhibitions, and programs in ways that are comfortable, enriching, and personally meaningful. 
 
As you plan your visit, it may be helpful to understand the size and scope of the Museum. The MFAH is an integrated visual-arts experience, counted among North America's largest museums, with an encyclopedic permanent collection of nearly 80,000 works spanning more than 5,000 years of history and six continents.
 
The Sarofim Campus spans 14 acres in the heart of Houston's Museum District. It encompasses several gallery buildings and the Glassell School of Art, so your visit may involve extended periods of walking and standing.
 
You may enter the Museum through either the Beck Building at 5601 Main Street or the Kinder Building at 5500 Main Street. Review the campus map before your visit to identify the areas you would like to explore and plan your route.
 
Beyond the Sarofim Campus, the MFAH includes two house museums at separate locations: Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens and Rienzi. See Accessibility at House Museums below for more information about each location.
A group of older adults, including a woman in a wheelchair, gather in an art gallery to view portraits against a red wall, while a male guide discusses the artworks.

Key Things to Know About the MFAH Main Campus

Three underground tunnels connect the main campus. For guests who wish to avoid these areas or may have light or sensory sensitivities, please see below for alternate routes to navigate the Museum.

1. The Wilson Tunnel connects the Beck Building and the Law Building. This tunnel includes a work of art, The Light Inside by James Turrell, which features a darkened passageway illuminated by colored neon light that slowly shifts from blue to crimson to magenta and creates an optical illusion of expansive space.

2. The Kinder Building is connected to the Glassell School of Art and the Glassell parking garage by a tunnel that features a site-specific light installation: Ólafur Elíasson’s Sometimes an underground movement is an illuminated bridge. Monochromatic yellow light floods the space—draining local color—except where two violet-tinted skylights interrupt to allow the return of natural color. If you wish to avoid the Elíasson Tunnel, exit the Kinder Building or Glassell School of Art at street level and pass through the Cullen Sculpture Garden.
 
3. The Cherie and Jim Flores Tunnel connects the Kinder Building and the Law Building. This tunnel features Chromosaturation MFAH, a site-specific light installation by Carlos Cruz-Diez that bathes visitors in red, green, and blue light. Depending on the direction of travel, the Flores Tunnel has a slight upward or downward slope. If you wish to avoid the Flores Tunnel, you can exit the Museum at street level and cross Main Street and Binz Street to reach the next building.
 
In regards to parking, there are three parking garages are available: an aboveground garage at 1144 Binz Street and underground garages at 5101 Montrose Boulevard and 5500 Main Street.Learn more about parking and transportation options

Welcoming All Guests

Who Have Limited Mobility | Accessible Entrances

Guests with limited mobility are encouraged to use the porte cochere at the Beck Building (5601 Main Street) or the valet entrance at the Kinder Building (5500 Main Street). Most public areas of the Museum, including the galleries, parking garages, theaters, restaurants, shops, and outdoor spaces, are wheelchair accessible.

The MFAH has wheelchairs that you may check out free of charge with a valid photo ID. The wheelchairs are available at any Museum entrance on a first-come, first-served basis. When you arrive, ask for a wheelchair, and the security staff can assist you. The MFAH also welcomes your personal walkers and wheelchairs. Motorized wheelchairs are permitted.

The Museum is accessible to visitors with limited mobility via escalators, elevators, and ramps. Wheelchair-accessible and family-accessible restrooms and elevators are located throughout the main campus.

Who Have Low Vision or Are Blind

The Museum offers a range of ways to access information. Audio guides are available in English and Spanish, with adjustable font sizes for improved onscreen readability. Large-print transcripts are available onsite. Please ask any staff member for assistance.
 
On the second Saturday of each month, the Museum offers Art Beyond Sight, a gallery program for guests who are blind or have low vision. Trained gallery educators use verbal descriptions and hands-on materials to engage participants with the MFAH collections and exhibitions. Admission is free, but space is limited, so advance registration is encouraged. Contact [email protected]  for more information or to register.

Who Are Hard of Hearing or Deaf

The Museum offers a variety of resources to support visitors who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Assistive listening devices are available for lectures, films, gallery talks, and many public programs. Please ask any staff member for assistance.
 
Visitors may also access and enjoy “Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: The John A. and Audrey Jones Beck Collection ASL guide,”  available on Level 2 of the Beck Building.
 
American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is available for Museum programs with advance notice. To inquire or request ASL interpretation, please email [email protected] or call 713-639-7300.

Who Have Dementia and Alzheimer’s

On the second Monday of the month, the Museum offers “Looking Together,” a program designed for individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease or dementia to discover and discuss works of art together with their family members or care partners. Admission is free, but space is limited, so be sure to pre-register. Contact [email protected] to sign up and for more information.

Looking Together is made possible through a partnership between the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Alzheimer’s Association Houston & Southeast Texas Chapter.

Who Are Neurodivergent and on the Autism Spectrum

Preparing in advance can help neurodivergent visitors and their companions have a more comfortable and enjoyable Museum experience.

Accessibility Resources and Amenities

Audio Guides and Accessible Formats

Museum audio guides are available for select exhibitions and artworks. Transcripts are located within the app with adjustable font sizes and contrast settings. Large-print transcripts are available onsite for special exhibitions. Please ask any staff member for assistance.

Quiet Times to Visit

The Museum is quietest between 1 pm and 4 pm on Wednesday and Friday. In general, attendance is lighter earlier in the day.

Crowds

Some areas of the Museum can become crowded—especially on holidays and on Thursday, when ALL ACCESS tickets are discounted and admission to the MFAH Permanent Collections is free, courtesy of Shell USA, Inc.

The Museum can be loud and crowded during peak periods. If you are sensitive to noise, consider bringing noise-canceling headphones.

Sensory Kits for Visitors

To support visitors with sensory needs, the Museum now offers sensory processing kits for checkout at the Beck Building and Kinder Building coat check desks. Each kit includes tools and materials that can help visitors manage sensory input in ways that best support them.

The kits are available during Museum hours and are intended for use within the Museum.

Lighting

The light levels vary across the Museum. Some of the rooms are lit to preserve the art and exhibitions. Other rooms have natural or bright lights. Moving lights are sometimes included in certain exhibitions or works of art.

Temperature Variations

The temperature varies as you move through the Museum. Some galleries and spaces are colder than others, so you may want to bring an extra layer of clothing to wear in these areas.

Support Persons, Caregivers, and Interpreters

Admission is free for one person accompanying a guest who has accessibility needs.

Service Animals

Service animals on leashes and under their owners’ control are welcome.

Family and Gender-Inclusive Restrooms

A family restroom is located in the Beck Building, on the lower level at 110. In the Kinder Building, family restrooms are located on the lower level at B216, the ground floor at 130, the second floor at 217, and the third floor at 317. Additionally, there is a gender-inclusive restroom on the lower level of the Law Building.

Lactation Room

A lactation room is located in the Beck Building’s main entrance area.

 

Contact Us
The Museum welcomes comments and suggestions about how to improve programs and services for visitors with disabilities. If you have questions about accessibility resources and programs, email [email protected] or call 713-639-7300.

Accessibility at House Museums

Visiting Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Bayou Bend, the MFAH house museum for American decorative arts, is located in the historic River Oaks neighborhood just minutes from the Museum’s main campus and about two miles from Rienzi. The house is surrounded by 14 acres of gardens and provides a robust set of outdoor programs, events, and seasonal parties.

At Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens, the Kilroy Visitor Center is wheelchair accessible. The public facilities within Bayou Bend’s house and gardens require assistance for those with limited mobility. Please note that large portions of the gardens are not wheelchair accessible and feature difficult terrain and stairs. In addition, because of the house’s historic nature, the second floor is inaccessible to guests who use wheelchairs and walkers. Please call ahead or visit the Kilroy Center for directions to the wheelchair-accessible entrance to the property, which is different from the main entrance, and for more details. Bayou Bend’s mobile tour, available on smartphones and tablets, offers audio and text descriptions of the house and significant objects in the Bayou Bend Collection. For more information, contact [email protected] or 713-639-7750.

Visiting Rienzi
Rienzi, the MFAH house museum for European decorative arts, is situated on four acres of wooded gardens in the historic River Oaks neighborhood, about five miles from the main MFAH campus and about two miles from Bayou Bend. Rienzi welcomes visitors for tours, family programs, lectures, music performances, and special events.

At Rienzi, the galleries are wheelchair accessible. Wheelchairs are available at the front entrance for guests to check out free of charge. Motorized wheelchairs are permitted. An elevator is available for access to the lower level of the house. Upon request, chairs are provided for guests to use in the galleries. Please note that the gardens surrounding the house are not wheelchair accessible and feature difficult terrain and stairs. Rienzi offers self-guided tours with a smartphone audio guide. Large printed maps are available.