"Oh, we have to build here, this is pure abstraction wherever you look."
— Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright began building this desert masterpiece in 1937 as his personal winter home, studio, and architectural campus. Located on the beautiful Sonoran desert in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains in northeast Scottsdale, the site offers a broad range of guided public tours. Visitors experience Wright’s brilliant ability to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces.
DAY & EVENING GUIDED TOURS
PUBLIC TOURS
The site offers a broad range of public tours everyday, except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, from 9 am to 4pm. For details about the tours, ranging from one to three hours long, and what you will experience on each tour, see below.
We're excited to announce that you will now have the ability to book tours in advance of your visit for all tours as of January 1, 2013 through our ticketing company, Zerve.
Booking in advance is highly recommended as tours can sell out.
Check availability and buy tickets for a public tour of Taliesin West:
Or to purchase by phone, call our ticketing company, Zerve, at (888) 516-0811. Check our updated tour calendar for tour schedule and availability.
Taliesin West is a National Historic Landmark built between 1937 and 1959. As such, it was not designed or built to contemporary accessibility standards. Please see Information for Guests Needing Special Assistance at Taliesin West on this page for more details on accessibility at Taliesin West.
SPECIAL GROUP TOURS
Tours will be custom-designed for prearranged groups of 15 or more. Group rates are available. Please contact tour manager for details, (480) 627-5340 or toll-free (855) 860-2700.
PRIVATE PERSONAL TOURS
With advance booking, individuals and very small groups may schedule a tour by an architect, or personal guide. Call (480) 627-5340 for pricing and to book your personal tour.
Tour Brochure
See September 2012-May 2013 Visitor Guide here.
TALIESIN WEST TOUR OPTIONS
September 2012-may 2013
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90-Minute INSIGHTS tour (Our signature tour)
Daily | Hourly 9am-4pm (every half hour November-April)
Cost: $32 adults, $17 youth, 4-12*
The living quarters and the dramatic Taliesin West “Garden Room” are the highlights of this tour, which also includes all the elements of the Panorama Tour. The living room was the social gathering place for Wright and the many famous guests he entertained. Visitors experience the drama of being a guest in Wright's famous home.
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1-HOUR PANORAMA TOUR
Daily | 10:15am & 2:15pm.
Cost: $24 adults, $10 youth, 4-12*
Experience Wright’s brilliant ability to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces. Visit the Cabaret Theater, Music Pavilion, Seminar Theater and Wright’s private office–all linked by dramatic terraces, gardens, and walkways overlooking the rugged Sonoran Desert. See how the site itself amplifies the desert's beauty.
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2-Hour NIGHT LIGHTS Tour
Friday evenings at 6:30, 7 and 7:30pm.
Cost: $35 adults.*
October, February, March & April
Friday evenings at 6, 6:30, 7pm.
Cost: $35 adults* Booking your tour in advance is highly recommended.
Holiday Night Lights Tours
December 27, 28, & 30 at 5:30, 6, and 6:30pm
Cost: $35 adults* Booking your tour in advance is highly recommended.
]Wright's desert masterpiece in the nighttime takes on a luminous, jewel-like quality. The structures, lighted from within, appear as sculptures. The renowned fire-breathing dragon sculpture transforms into a link with the Valley lights below. A truly dramatic, romantic setting. This tour includes all the spaces shown on the Insights Tour, plus refreshments. Highly recommended as an enchanting way to view Wright's home.
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3-HOUR BEHIND THE SCENES TOUR
No children under 12 on this tour.
Mondays, Thursdays, & Saturdays, 9:15 am.
Cost: $60 adults. Booking your tour in advance is highly recommended.
A highlight of this tour is a stop in the colorful Taliesin Fellowship dining room where you'll be treated to mid-morning tea. You'll speak with Wright associates and examine several unique desert structures. Architecture enthusiasts consistently cite this tour as a highlight of their travels.
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90-Minute DESERT WALK
November through April only
No children under 12 on this tour.
Desert tours require appropriate footwear.
Daily | 10:45am (weather permitting)
Cost: $32 adults. (The Desert Walk may be combined with other tours for discounted admissions: Panorama Tour plus Desert Walk: $45; Insights Tour plus Desert Walk: $52). Booking your tour in advance is highly recommended.
A guided “Desert Walk” explores the beautiful desert trails at Taliesin West. Guides reveal how native materials and landforms were translated into design elements by Wright. Desert wildlife (javelina, tortoise, and coyote to name a few) may enliven the walk.
2-Hour DESERT SHELTER TOUR
mid-November through April only
No children under 12 on this tour.
Desert tours require appropriate footwear.
Saturdays and Sundays, 1:15 pm (weather permitting)
Cost: $40* Booking your tour in advance is highly recommended.
First-year architecture students at Taliesin West generally live in simple eight-foot square shepherds' tents (later designing more elaborate "shelters" for themselves). Our students will host you on an up close and personal visit to their desert dwellings.
For more information about the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, click here.
SUMMER 2013 June-AUGUST
Please check out our tour calendar for upcoming summer tour schedule.
Taliesin West is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays July-August.
MEMBER DISCOUNTS
Members of the Frank Lloyd Wright Association receive complimentary Panorama tours, discounts on all other tours, a 10 percent discount in Anneliese’s Bookstore and website (www.franklloydwright.com), and a one year subscription to the acclaimed Frank Lloyd Wright Quarterly magazine that provides in depth stories about Wright’s life and work, rare and never-before published photographs, a national calendar of events and much more. Call in advance of the tour day for information or how to join. (480) 627-5374.
HOW TO FIND TALIESIN WEST
Taliesin West is located at the intersection of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd. and Cactus Road, just east of the 101 loop in northeast Scottsdale, Arizona.
For GPS directions, use 12345 N. Taliesin Dr. Scottsdale, AZ, 85258.
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Parking is free and we highly recommend purchasing your tickets in advance as tours do sell out. Tickets for Public Tours of Taliesin West can be purchased in advance online or by calling our ticketing company, Zerve, at (888) 516-0811. Tickets can also be purchased in the Bookstore, near the main parking lot, on the day of the tour if there is still space available.
Information for Guests Needing Special Assistance at Taliesin West
Taliesin West is a National Historic Landmark built between 1937 and 1959. As such, it was not designed or built to contemporary accessibility standards. The pathway for today’s tour includes gravel walk ways, uneven steps and stairs. Narrow, steep-sloped ramps over steps are available for guests to use at their own discretion throughout the tour.
All Taliesin West tours are walking tours, and guests with special requests and needs should contact the Tours Department at 480.627.5375 or dyeaw@franklloydwright.org prior to their visit.
Wheelchair Access
Buildings at Taliesin West are terraced into the landscape, resulting in gravel walkways, steps and uneven surfaces. Ramps are available on the property, and visitors are welcome to use them at their own discretion. Ramps are 26” in width with slopes ranging from 21 to 27 degrees.
Walkers
Walkers are permitted in all venues. Guests who wish to use walkers are advised that Taliesin West has steps, gravel walkways and uneven surfaces.
Hearing Impaired
Hearing impaired guests may request an Interpretive Guide that highlights all the aspects of each unique tour offered at Taliesin West. Hearing impaired guests who wish to bring a sign language interpreter on the tour may do so, and that interpreter will not be charged admission.
Visually Impaired
Certified service dogs and white canes are permitted on all tours. If a visually impaired guest wishes to bring someone to assist them on the tour, the person providing assistance is not charged admission.
Guests with special needs who are interested in visiting us but chose to not take the walking tour may request an Interpretive Guide and view a video on the history of Taliesin West while on site.
