The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A vast global collection invites a deliberate route rather than a race through famous rooms and the grand staircase.
Artwork inspired by Edward Hopper
The Met Fifth Avenue spans many cultures and more than five thousand years, so a theme is more useful than a highlights checklist. Choose a material, a question about belief or power, or two distant periods to compare. A sculpture, a textile, and a painting may answer the same human problem differently. Use the Great Hall to orient yourself before entering a wing.
The broad Fifth Avenue stairs are a landmark, but galleries include entire architectural settings as well as works made for walls and pedestals. Friday and Saturday evenings allow a slower visit. Admission includes same-day entry to The Met Cloisters, a separate uptown site. New York residents can pay what they wish with qualifying proof; that policy is not universal free entry.
- Entrance
- Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street
- Collection span
- More than 5,000 years
- Same-day access
- The Met Cloisters included
Quick guide
- Pick a thread
- Follow one material or question across two collections instead of attempting every wing.
- Use the evening
- Friday and Saturday hours give room for a slower route after daytime crowds.
Know before you go
- Orient in the hall
- Use the map before committing to a wing of the building.
- Pair unlike rooms
- Compare an object made for use with one made chiefly for viewing.
- Rest your eyes
- Choose a bench or a quieter gallery before the collection becomes a blur.
- Check open galleries
- Renovations and installations can temporarily close individual spaces.
Good to know
The Met Cloisters is a separate location, not a gallery upstairs. Same-day access is included, but travel time between the two sites can consume much of an afternoon.
Notice these
- Great Hall
- Global collection
- Fifth Avenue steps