The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Don’t miss·Museum Mile, Upper East Side
Pay-what-you-wish for tri-state residents. One of the few NYC museums you can’t see in a day. Collection is unmatched, even if half of it was probably looted. The Matisse/Derain show was thought-provoking. Free public lectures are great.
What it is
A grand setting for one of the world’s greatest collections of art, from ancient to contemporary.
Pair it with
Worth a detour or better, within a 15-minute walk. Numbers match the map.
- 1Neue Galerie0.2 mi · $28
Saw the Klimt exhibit: large, well laid out, but light on context.
- 2Guggenheim Museum0.3 mi · $30
Great but small permanent collection.
- 3Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum0.4 mi · $22
Cool exhibit on the evolution of Olympic iconography.
- 4NY Historical Society0.6 mi · $24
Would have been a 0 if not for an inexplicably great Tiffany Lamp exhibit on the top floor.
- 5Bard Graduate Center Gallery0.6 mi · $15
Several floors, surprisingly large.
- 6Museum of Natural History0.6 mi · Free
One of NYC’s AAA museums.
Also on the block, if you have time
Irish Historical Society (0.1 mi), Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (0.2 mi, free), Ukrainian Institute (0.2 mi, free), Gilded Age Tour (0.3 mi), The Jewish Museum (0.5 mi).
Skip Czech Center (0.8 mi), even if you’re passing: “Hard to know when it’s even open (Mon–Thu only?).”