Frequently asked questions

Timed entry to the whole museum: the 11 hectares of open-air grounds with more than 40 monumental sculptures, and the indoor galleries inside the restored Zabalaga farmhouse. We secure your slot for your chosen day and send your QR ticket by email.

No — the museum is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday, year-round. It is open Thursday to Monday, 10:00–17:00. This catches many visitors out, so plan your San Sebastián itinerary around it; our booking calendar only offers days the museum is actually open.

Yes. Chillida Leku uses timed entry — you book a date and an entry slot, and once inside you can stay as long as you like until closing. We secure the slot for you the moment your booking is confirmed.

Eduardo Chillida (1924–2002) was a sculptor from San Sebastián, widely regarded as Spain's greatest modern sculptor. A former Real Sociedad goalkeeper whose career ended with a knee injury, he abandoned architecture studies for art, worked in Paris in the late 1940s, then returned to the Basque Country to forge monumental works in iron, steel, granite and alabaster. His Comb of the Wind grips the rocks at the end of San Sebastián's bay.

Most visitors spend around two hours — roughly half walking the sculpture meadows and half inside the Zabalaga farmhouse. Art lovers and photographers easily fill a half day; there is no time limit once you are inside.

Take the BU05 bus from central San Sebastián — it runs about every half hour and stops directly at the museum entrance ('Chillida Leku' stop). A taxi takes about 10 minutes. Check the current bus timetable on the day, especially on Sundays.

Children under 8 enter free at the gate — you don't need to buy anything for them, just bring them along. Children 8 and over need a ticket; contact us when booking for a family group and we'll make sure your headcount lines up.

Yes — our reduced ticket covers students with valid ID and visitors aged 65 and over. Bring your student card or photo ID showing your age on the day, as the museum may check at the entrance.

The farmhouse — a Basque caserío dating from 1594 that Chillida and his wife Pilar Belzunce spent some fifteen years restoring — was hollowed by the artist into one soaring timber-and-stone interior. It houses the indoor galleries: smaller sculptures and works in alabaster and steel, plus the museum's temporary exhibitions.

The museum stays open — this is the Atlantic Basque Country and rain is part of the landscape. The grounds are walkable with decent shoes and a rain layer, and many visitors find the steel most dramatic under moving cloud. The farmhouse galleries give you a generous indoor portion whatever the weather.

Thursday and Friday mornings are the quietest; summer weekends are the busiest because entry is timed and the museum is shut Tuesday–Wednesday, compressing demand into five days. For light, the first and last slots of the day are the photographer's choice — low sun on rusted Corten steel against green grass.

Partly. The farmhouse and the main paths are accessible, but the grounds are rolling meadow with grass and gravel surfaces that can be soft after rain. If mobility is a concern, contact us before booking and we will confirm the current arrangements and best route with the museum.

The museum treats tickets as final once issued, so tell us your date carefully. If your plans shift, reply to your confirmation email as early as possible — our concierge team will do everything we can with the museum, though changes can't be guaranteed.

Yes — it's the perfect pairing and easily done in one day. Visit Chillida Leku in the morning, then head to the western end of San Sebastián's bay for the Peine del Viento (Comb of the Wind, 1977), Chillida's three steel forms bolted into the rocks where the bay meets the open sea — free, public, and best at high tide or sunset.

Pets are not allowed in the museum. There is a café on site, and Hernani and San Sebastián are minutes away for a meal before or after — San Sebastián is one of the great food cities of Europe.

An international programme of exhibitions and events marking the centenary of Chillida's birth in 1924, promoted by the Eduardo Chillida – Pilar Belzunce Foundation, with Chillida Leku at its heart. For the museum's current exhibitions and events, check the agenda on museochillidaleku.com.