Planning Your Visit

The museum has made special preparations to help manage the 150,000 visitors anticipated for the exhibition Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from American Collections. Expanded hours, special Monday and holiday hours, and alternative parking are all parts of the plan to accommodate the museum-goers, half of which are expected to come from outside the Cleveland area. The last major Impressionist exhibition at the CMA - from London's Courtauld collection - drew over 180,000 people. Because of this, and with the presence of the Cleveland Botanical Garden Flower Show (June 1-4), the museum is taking extra measures to help assure that our visitors have a good experience.

Ten hours of evening viewing time have been added to each week. The museum will be open all of Memorial Day weekend including the Monday holiday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The ticket center staff will double to include a night shift to process telephone and Web site orders. CMA staff and volunteers will be required to park off-site in order to free about 200 spaces in the parking deck. A flat fee of $5 will be charged for parking upon entry into the lot or deck in order to expedite the process. A tent will be pitched on the north lawn of the museum for special exhibition merchandise (normally sold inside) to relieve congestion in the lobby and corridors. For out-of-town visitors, the CMA has negotiated several hotel packages and a group discount rate with Continental Airlines.

Initial capacity for this exhibition is set at 200 per half hour with an additional 50 admissions available for members only. As usual for special exhibitions, there is a separate ticket line and an express entry for members to the show. Visitors are urged to purchase tickets in advance, either by phone or on our Web site <link to tickets>. We suggest coming during the times that are usually the slowest: weekdays from about 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday mornings from 10 a.m. until around noon. We also expect the expanded hours on Thursdays and Saturday evenings to be slower in the first few weeks. Call ahead or check our Web site for attendance advisory updates.

The exhibition will be open 10 additional hours a week beyond normal gallery hours: Thursday and Saturday evenings until 9 p.m. and Tuesdays and Sundays until 6 p.m. Extended hours apply only to this exhibition, and are: Tuesday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The exhibition will be open Memorial Day (Monday, May 29) 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Permanent collection hours remain as usual. Hours for the rest of the CMA: Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.)

Tickets are issued for admission at 30-minute intervals on the hour or half-hour.
You may stay in the show as long as you like. You can and should buy tickets in advance for the exhibition. The sooner you order your tickets, the better your choices. You may buy tickets in person, through our Web site, or by telephone. A per-ticket fee applies when ordering by phone or Web. Save time when you visit by ordering your audio tour ($4) when you order your tickets.

Most tickets are available through our Web site: www.clemusart.com (or www.clevelandart.org). This service will be especially useful during times of high volume on our telephone lines, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A convenience fee (approximately $1.50 per ticket, plus $1.50 per order) is charged by the Web ticketing company (tickets.com).

Call 216-421-7350 or outside Cleveland 1-888-CMA-0033. The phone convenience fee is $2 per ticket, $1 per ticket for members. These fees are lower than the industry standard to encourage people to order tickets in advance. Ordering tickets during the evening hours may be the most expedient.

For the convenience of all visitors, beginning May 28, the fee for parking will be a flat rate of $5 upon entry for either the surface lot or the deck. The after-5 p.m. rate will be $3. People with disabilities and seniors (65+) can park for free on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays. If our deck and lot are filled to capacity, ask our parking attendants about alternative parking at Severance Hall, the VA Hospital garage, and other area facilities. Shuttles may be available depending on day and time.

Special Parking Note: During the Cleveland Botanical Garden Flower Show (June 1-4) parking will be at a premium, and parking fees at other lots in University Circle will be $7 or more. Therefore, during these days, we will restrict use of our lot and deck to CMA visitors only (with membership card, purchase receipt, or exhibition ticket stub). There will also be off-site parking and shuttles running throughout the event.

The Ritz-Carlton, from $249. Phone: 216-623-1300.