New York Metropolis is the place to go to for a museum vacation within the US. It’s no secret that the town is filled with historical past and tradition. And this cultured surroundings makes it extremely well-suited to museums because of all of the subjects and tales it could cowl. Its vary of museums are a few of the metropolis’s most superior issues to do.
New York has the whole lot from a Jewish Museum to the Tenement Museum and New York Transit Museum. New York Metropolis is iconic, and its museum scene is simply too. So, earlier than you get any additional, our first recommendation is to dedicate as a lot time as doable to seeing one of the best museums in NYC.
High Museums in NYC
You might need a love for up to date artists. You might wish to glimpse New York’s maritime historical past or a time machine-like transportation again to the Center Ages. On this information, we’ll provide the lowdown on the place to go to to get your museum repair. These high 18 museums are one of the best in New York Metropolis.
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Beneath are a few of the high excursions in NYC. Don’t overlook to plan forward when visiting New York Metropolis!
High Museum Tickets And Excursions in NYC:
1. 9/11 Memorial & Museum
The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is essentially the most well-known of all of the museums in New York and, arguably, essentially the most somber too. The museum stands subsequent to the place the Twin Towers fell, with two large swimming pools marking their foundations. Undoubtedly, the 2001 (and earlier 1993) terrorist assault is considered one of historical past’s most catastrophic occasions. The complicated story is already acquainted to many. After the hijacking of two planes in a nationwide assault, the Twin Towers of the World Commerce Heart have been focused in a terrorist assault.
Flying the planes instantly by the towers, the 2001 attackers prompted an estimated dying toll of two,977 individuals. An enormous group of firefighters, paramedics, and workplace employees misplaced their lives, and mid-way by the rescue proceedings, the towers tragically collapsed, inflicting unprecedented additional lack of life.
The museum is a harrowing however lovely ode to the people who misplaced their lives and survived the ordeal. Some extremely impactful accounts of the tragedy embrace Michael Hingson, who was led from the tower and saved by his information canine, Roselle. It additionally covers the opposite assaults orchestrated throughout the US on the identical day. United Flight 93 famously crashed in a area in Pennsylvania after passengers sabotaged the hijacker’s efforts – saving the lives of these within the proposed goal space of Washington, DC.
Stroll amongst the reveals and permit at the least 3 hours to course of and totally discover the museum. There may be such nice consideration to element, so anticipate plenty of little reveals, particular person tales, and a few movies.
2. Metropolitan Museum of Artwork
- Opening instances: Closed Wednesdays, open 10 am till 5 pm Sunday to Thursday, and 10 am till 9 pm Fridays and Saturdays
- Price: $30. Get Your Tickets Right here.
Prepare for a giant assertion; the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork is a giant deal. It’s one of many grandest artwork galleries on this planet – of all of the artwork museums in New York, the Metropolitan Museum is essentially the most revered. To be sincere, its mixture of historic fashionable, and up to date artwork is astounding. The museum covers over 5,000 years of paintings and artwork historical past. You’ll discover the whole lot from outdated grasp work to Egyptian statues. ‘The Met,’ as it’s affectionally known as by native New Yorkers, is the biggest artwork museum within the metropolis and the third largest museum.
Alongside its substantial everlasting assortment, the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork has a spread of short-term reveals. These embrace reveals just like the fabulous Van Gogh’s Cypresses and the African Origin of Civilization. The Met is someplace you’ll be able to go to to browse extra typically or look forward and decide short-term reveals to deal with as particular occasions. This makes the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork extraordinarily thrilling for severe artists. Whereas for many who aren’t normal artwork lovers, it may be useful to cherry-pick what to see.
3. American Museum of Pure Historical past
- Opening instances: 10 am till 5:30 pm
- Price: Advised $25.
Each main metropolis has a museum devoted to the pure world. And the American Museum of Pure Historical past is a museum positioned in New York Metropolis devoted to doing exactly that. The museum options the whole lot from dinosaurs to area historical past. In order for you a full day trip, it’s the excellent answer.
Simply to stroll the reveals takes round 3 hours. However then the museum has particular exhibits and exhibitions, every taking upwards of an hour. And there’s a present store on the finish. It’s finest to go to with the restriction of a time restrict looming over your head, so depart a day for this museum. The American Museum of Pure Historical past hit the bottom working in 1869 and has continued accumulating reveals and the most recent analysis info since. David Attenborough can be proud; let’s simply put it that manner.
The American Museum of Pure Historical past is a part of the Smithsonian Museums’ establishment. It’s conveniently positioned simply off of Central Park. It is a superb museum to mix with an early morning Central Park stroll.
4. Intrepid Sea, Air & House Museum
Intrepid Sea, Air & House Museum is likely one of the most enjoyable museums in New York Metropolis. The museum covers three main subjects: sea, air, and area. So naturally, it options well-known reveals from every three, together with an plane service known as Intrepid and an area shuttle known as Enterprise. It supplies an actual ‘present and inform’ strategy to sea, air, and area schooling. And younger kids particularly will discover this thrilling strategy extra partaking.
You may see an actual submarine and be taught the way it observes ocean life and performs a army function as a missile submarine. And you’ll rise up near the world’s quickest jets.
This museum is fascinating, and that is the one museum prefer it in New York Metropolis. Closely military-focused but additionally only a nice normal perception into sea, air, and area historical past, Intrepid Sea, Air & House Museum is a good go to.
5. Ellis Island Nationwide Museum
- Opening instances: 9:45 am till 4:45 pm
- Price: $25
It’s no secret; Ellis Island Nationwide Museum is considered one of New York Metropolis’s most well-known museums and for wonderful motive. Discover the Statue of Liberty and also you received’t be removed from Ellis Island. Ellis Island Nationwide Museum is within the Higher Bay area of the Hudson River. The museum was as soon as the primary port of name for immigrants arriving in New York and was a former processing station. These days, you’ll be able to retread these footsteps. Passenger information and artifacts offer you a transparent perception into the people and their lives earlier than stepping onto New York soil and beginning afresh.
Extremely individual-focused and a very good museum for social historical past, Ellis Island Nationwide Museum is likely one of the finest museums in NYC. We’d additionally suggest visiting as a strategy to go by the Statue of Liberty totally free, and it is likely one of the finest sights to mix with admiring Girl Liberty herself.
6. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Opening instances: 11 am till 6 pm Sunday to Monday, 11 am till 8 pm on Saturdays
- Price: $25. Get your Tickets Right here.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a haven for up to date artists. The huge assortment can also be displayed in one of many metropolis’s most lovely exhibition areas – making Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum top-of-the-line museums in NYC for an aesthetic inside. The well-known ramp structure is rife on social media, particularly Instagram. And the intense white museum spirals up from the ground to the skylight in a ramp across the exterior wall, leaving a dizzying drop within the center. The structure is classy. And it completely suits the post-impressionist, impressionist, modernist, and up to date artwork it showcases.
Visiting Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is non-negotiable if you’re after iconic and various structure in New York Metropolis. As an artwork gallery, it additionally suits an ideal area of interest extra anybody wanting up to date and impressionist paintings. It undoubtedly ticks a extremely sought-after field, and it seems to be gorgeous whereas doing it.
7. Brooklyn Museum
- Opening instances: 11 am till 6 pm Wednesday to Sunday
- Price: $16 normal admission, $25 ticketed exhibition, and free entry on the primary Saturdays of the month between February and August
Brooklyn Museum is undoubtedly one of many finest issues to do in Brooklyn. The imposing Beaux Artwork landmark is the second-largest museum within the metropolis and is an attraction simply due to its structure. Its reveals are simply as spectacular, although, and Brooklyn Museum comprises a rotating exhibition of round 500,000 objects.
The museum focuses on world cultures and confronting colonial legacies. So, after all, you’ll see paintings from all around the world, together with African artwork and Egyptian treasures. There’s an enormous vary in paintings intervals, too, with reveals from the period of Egyptian pharaohs but additionally fashionable artwork items on subjects like environmental justice.
Brooklyn Museum is likely one of the hottest museums in New York. The combo of a considerable everlasting assortment and the fixed refreshing of short-term exhibitions make Brooklyn Museum an thrilling spot to go to. And if you wish to see a museum that challenges you and your worldview, that is the artwork gallery to take action.
8. New York Transit Museum
- Opening instances: 10 am till 4 pm Thursday to Sunday
- Price: $10
New York Transit Museum is suitably positioned in a 1936 subway station, so that you enter by heading down steps from road degree. The museum options many immersive reveals, together with classic subway vehicles you’ll be able to sit on. Transit historical past is (admittedly) fairly a distinct segment topic of curiosity. However you don’t want an enormous curiosity in New York’s transit historical past to take pleasure in this museum, because of its immersive design and structure. NYC historical past has by no means been extra aesthetic, and the recreated classic transit scenes are a successful contact.
The New York Transit Museum is right for a half-day exercise. It solely actually requires two hours or so, so it’s straightforward to squeeze into what is going to undoubtedly be a busy New York itinerary. The subway system is essentially the most prized and influential achievement in New York’s engineering historical past. This makes it some of the necessary issues to study and have a good time when visiting – particularly as you’ll doubtless be catching plenty of subways to get round.
9. Rubin Museum of Artwork
- Opening instances: 11 am till 5 pm from Thursday to Sunday, with 11 am till 10 pm on Fridays.
- Price: $20
Rubin Museum of Artwork is far more area of interest than the opposite massive artwork galleries in New York Metropolis. The museum has an in depth assortment of paintings from Himalayan Asia, together with reveals from Tibet and Bhutan. The exhibition area comprises the whole lot from work to statues – famend for its various strategy to showcasing artwork. Rubin Museum of Artwork is a good looking ode to Himalayan Asia’s inventive historical past.
It’s price looking ahead to the applications and occasions that the Rubin Museum of Artwork additionally runs. Prior to now, this has included mindfulness and meditation lessons. And there are many Buddhist-angled exhibitions to be taught extra concerning the practices driving Himalayan paintings. Hold a two-hour block in your schedule for this museum.
10. Tenement Museum
- Opening instances: 10 am till 6 pm
- Price: $30
Tenement Museum is a good looking idea of a museum on the Decrease East Aspect. The museum captures the tales of working-class historical past by a sequence of Nineteenth-century to Twentieth-century recreated tenement residences. Tenement Museum is people-focused, uncooked, and genuine.
The 1863-built constructing is filled with character and, for those who like social historical past, is definitely one of many high museums in New York Metropolis. Stepping from tenement to tenement is exceptional. And the museum has carried out an excellent job of expressing every household’s distinct character and story in every condo. Every exhibition area has a novel character – comparable to Mrs. Wang from China and Natalie from Prussia.
Apart from its reveals, Tenement Museum has digital and precise strolling excursions all through the Decrease East Aspect. It is a distinctive contact amongst the museums in New York, and you may get away from the confinements of museum partitions and see historical past locally.
11. Whitney Museum of American Artwork
Whitney Museum of American Artwork is likely one of the hottest New York Metropolis museums. We aren’t exaggerating once we say that New York Metropolis is 90% artwork galleries. Nevertheless, the Whitney Museum actually stands out inside its area of interest. Whitney Museum solely options American paintings slightly than historic paintings from completely different nations.
You’ll solely discover artwork from the Twentieth century and the twenty first century. Actually, the Whitney Museum is so fashionable that the majority of its artists are nonetheless dwelling. Most artwork museums in New York take a posthumous take a look at artists and their work, a defining marker of individuality.
The museum is in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District, an space you’ll doubtless spend sightseeing in any manner. The combo of everlasting and rotating exhibitions can also be good, as there’s at all times one thing recent to see and the everlasting reveals. The Whitney Museum seems to be company and weird from the surface, with an oddly-designed stacking structure. It isn’t removed from the Museum of Illusions (not featured on this information however a notable point out) and Carrie Bradshaw’s Condo. So visiting is sensible.
12. Jewish Museum
- Opening instances: 11 am till 8 pm on Thursdays, 11 am till 6 pm Friday to Monday
- Price: $18 however free on Saturdays
The Jewish Museum is likely one of the finest museums in New York Metropolis if you need an expertise completely devoted to Jewish tradition. This area of interest museum maintains a good looking documentation of Jewish historical past and traditions. You’ll discover reveals on conventional marriage contracts and choose Jewish experiences just like the Holocaust by the eyes of artists – as an example, housing paintings on Anne Frank and combined media sculptures.
In contrast to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the Jewish Museum has an actual artwork focus. The historical past, neighborhood, and particular person sentiments are channeled creatively to create a chic assortment of paintings that represents lived expertise.
Whereas each the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Jewish Museum are wonderful museums in New York to go to. We really feel just like the Jewish Museum is essentially the most wrongly neglected. The inventive lens it makes use of to doc the Jewish expertise all through historical past is far more summary. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is extra fact-based, with over 40,000 artifacts devoted to memorializing the Holocaust.
13. American People Artwork Museum
- Opening instances: 11:30 am till 6 pm
- Price: Free
Prepared for a healthful perception into American artwork historical past and past? It is a museum devoted to self-taught artists and American folks artwork. Overlook your run-of-the-mill fashionable artwork and up to date American artwork; these highly effective items will be something from watercolors to tapestries. The American People Artwork Museum is deliberately candid and goals to highlight real, uncooked inventive processes. It is a area of interest of an artwork gallery that ticks a selected field. And for those who fancy a extra ‘natural’ artwork expertise in New York Metropolis, that is your prime contender.
The American People Artwork Museum is free to enter (and ‘at all times will likely be’). It’s a profound, non-stuffy perception into an on a regular basis relationship with artwork. And a wonderful celebration of self-taught and folk-style items.
14. Museum of Broadway
- Opening instances: 9:30 am till 18:30 pm from Sunday to Friday and 9:30 am till 8 pm on Saturdays
- Price: $25. Get Your Tickets right here.
The Museum of Broadway is an experiential darling on the New York museum entrance. The museum covers the whole lot Broadway associated, from previous to current and future. You stroll from room to room, gazing at costumes, listening to throwback music and Broadway backing tracks, and studying written exhibit after exhibit. The exhibited Broadway exhibits vary from The Lion King to West Aspect Story and the whole lot in between.
For anybody with a ardour for theater, the Museum of Broadway is a dream. It presents a passionate and thorough perception into New York’s most famed performances, and also you’ll completely adore it.
15. Morgan Library & Museum
- Opening instances: 11 am to five pm Wednesday to Sunday
- Price: $22
Bibliophiles alert; welcome to Morgan Library & Museum, top-of-the-line museums in NYC. Morgan Library is gorgeous, with walnut bookshelves and complete extravagance all through the premises. Wandering its studying rooms and reveals is likely one of the most serene methods to spend just a few hours in New York.
It isn’t simply its books that make Morgan Library so particular both. The museum has that ‘outdated cash’ enchantment and, fairly frankly, appears like moving into a movie set. Its grandeur is so intense that many individuals liken getting into Morgan Library to a Harry Potter scene. Regardless of its comparatively small dimension, it is likely one of the grandest locations within the metropolis and carries some severe oopmh. We expect (in addition to a lot of the metropolis’s inhabitants) that it’s essentially the most lovely library in New York Metropolis – so get it in your itinerary, bibliophile or not.
16. New York Historic Society
- Opening instances: 9am till 5 pm Monday to Friday
- Price: $22
New York Historic Society is likely one of the most superb museums New York has to supply from a historic perspective. The museum extensively paperwork American historical past. And New York Historic Society boasts a proper museum with reveals, a analysis heart, and a library open to guests.
It was based manner again in 1804 and, momentously, is New York’s very first museum.After we speak about beginning initially, the New York Historic Society is the definition of it. If you’re even barely traditionally inclined, this museum will likely be up your road. The New York Historic Society is a good looking place to understand tons of archives – every representing 1000’s upon 1000’s of hours of devoted analysis into American historical past.
The New York Historic Society is positioned in Higher West Manhattan, simply exterior the boundaries of Central Park. The 400 years of historical past is brilliantly mixed with a stroll in Central Park, the place you’ll be able to course of all of the data you’ve simply acquired and loosen up amongst nature and one of the best climbing trails.
17. New Museum
- Opening instances: Closed Mondays, 11 am till 6 pm Friday till Wednesday, and 11 am till 9 pm on Thursdays
- Price: $20
New Museum shouldn’t be, the truth is, only a new museum. The museum is a surprising up to date artwork gallery and additional proof that New York is heaven for the artwork obsessed. The intense white constructing is designed like higgledy-piggledy constructing blocks, oddly stacked on one another with overlaps in random locations.
The overall consensus is that one of the best plan of assault is to discover the three ranges of reveals first, head to the cafe after, after which benefit from the roof terrace views. New Museum is suited to artwork lovers and is a pleasant place to hang around. It has a lowkey vibe that makes it some of the relaxed museums in New York to go to.
18. The Skyscraper Museum
- Opening instances: 12 pm till 6 pm Wednesday to Saturday
- Price: Free timed entry
The Skyscraper Museum is likely one of the solely of its variety worldwide. The museum is completely centered on the historical past of the skyscraper, particularly concentrating on documenting New York’s journey to turning into the ‘world’s initially vertical metropolis.’ As of 2023, admission is free till the tip of the 12 months, though this might change after this level -s o get your go to in ASAP. It’s a good strategy to familiarize your self with New York’s well-known skyline and a very good area of interest focus for a museum.
The Skyscraper Museum is within the lovely Battery Park in Decrease Manhattan, the place you’ll be able to take ferries previous the Statue of Liberty. This attraction is most undoubtedly already in your record. So take into account combining the 2 and benefiting from the free 2023 entry. Whether or not you take pleasure in structure or not, it’s a enjoyable, budget-friendly strategy to get a style and perception into the skyscrapers that make New York iconic.
To Conclude
These finest museums in NYC ought to preserve you ticking over for at the least 4 days or so. New York Metropolis is a metropolis of museums. You most undoubtedly don’t wish to skip over exhibitions throughout your keep. And with extra data on New York, you’ll be empowered to attach with the town on a deeper degree. By means of its museum scene, you principally get to know precisely what makes New York tick. And who wouldn’t wish to join extra deeply with the one-and-only New York Metropolis?
Whether or not you go to the Smithsonian museums or the Morgan Library, these finest museums will preserve you entertained and problem and stimulate you mentally. On the lookout for extra adventures to your keep in New York Metropolis? Right here is our final five-day itinerary. Don’t overlook our information on the place to remain, which features a rundown of one of the best neighborhoods relying in your New York itinerary.
