Museums · New York City · United States
6 best museums in New York City
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
.jpg){kind=link}
Quick answer
Start with Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and American Museum of Natural History. Together the 6 picks below take roughly 13–16 hours across 5 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 6
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 13–16 hours
- Areas
- Upper East Side, Midtown and Upper West Side
Museums in New York City
_-_Central_Park,_NYC.jpg){kind=link}
Museum · Upper East Side
1.Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Met's collection spans 5,000 years, from the Egyptian Temple of Dendur in its glass-walled hall to European paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, arms and armour and the American Wing.
- Time needed
- 3–4 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Iconic
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
Gallery · Midtown
2.Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
MoMA on 53rd Street holds Van Gogh's The Starry Night, Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Monet's Water Lilies, Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans and works by Frida Kahlo, alongside design, film and photography.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Iconic
- Rainy day
Museum · Upper West Side
3.American Museum of Natural History
Dinosaur halls with a towering Barosaurus and T.
- Time needed
- 3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
- Iconic
.jpg){kind=link}
Gallery · Upper East Side
4.Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Frank Lloyd Wright's white spiral on Fifth Avenue, opened in 1959, is a work of art in itself: a continuous ramp climbs around a central atrium to a skylight.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Fort Tryon Park
5.The Met Cloisters
The Met's branch devoted to medieval Europe is built from parts of French and Spanish monasteries and set in Fort Tryon Park above the Hudson River.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Views
Museum · Lower East Side
6.Tenement Museum
Guided tours through restored apartments on Orchard Street tell the stories of real immigrant families — Irish, German, Italian, Jewish, Chinese and Puerto Rican among them — who lived in these tenements from the 1860s into the late 20th century.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Upper East Side | Metropolitan Museum of Art and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum | 3–4 hours + 1.5–2 hours |
| Midtown | Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) | 2–3 hours |
| Upper West Side | American Museum of Natural History | 3 hours |
| Fort Tryon Park | The Met Cloisters | 2 hours |
| Lower East Side | Tenement Museum | 1.5 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 6, 6 mid-priced. Book ahead for Tenement Museum. The longest visit is Metropolitan Museum of Art; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- Tenement Museum: Tours are small and often sell out; book online.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Upper East Side): Metropolitan Museum of Art, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Upper East Side and Midtown): Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum → Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Upper West Side): American Museum of Natural History, at least 3 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Fort Tryon Park and Lower East Side): The Met Cloisters → Tenement Museum, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 10 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold and grey with the best chance of snow, but quiet museums and good hotel deals.
- January: highs of 4°C (39°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. The coldest month, often below freezing at night with occasional snow; hotel prices are at their lowest after New Year.
- March: highs of 10°C (50°F), about 11 rainy days, moderate crowds. Changeable, with cold snaps and the first mild days; spring break brings more visitors late in the month.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Midtown — Times Square, Broadway theatres and the classic skyscrapers
- Upper West Side — Brownstones, Central Park and the Natural History Museum
- Upper East Side — Museum Mile, Madison Avenue boutiques and grand townhouses
- Lower East Side and East Village — Old tenements, dive bars and some of the city's best cheap eats
More of New York City
All things to do in New York City · Where to stay · When to go.
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in New York City?
Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Met's collection spans 5,000 years, from the Egyptian Temple of Dendur in its glass-walled hall to European paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, arms and armour and the American Wing.