Museums in New York City
United States · 8 museums
Quick answer
World Museum Guide covers 8 museums in New York City, United States — led by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of Natural History, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum — with verified admission prices, opening hours, and highlights for each. See each guide for prices and free days.
New York's Museum Mile and Midtown cluster include the Met (nearly 6 million visitors), MoMA, Guggenheim, and the American Museum of Natural History. Pay-what-you-wish policies at some institutions benefit NY state residents.
Suggested itinerary
Day 1: Met Fifth Avenue (European + Egyptian wings). Day 2: MoMA + Rockefeller Center area. Day 3: AMNH (dinosaurs + Hayden Planetarium) → Central Park walk.
Best time to visit
Weekday mornings. Met and MoMA quietest first hour after opening. Avoid school holiday weeks for AMNH.
Top museums in New York City
- 1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 3–5 hours
- 2. American Museum of Natural History · 3–4 hours
- 3. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum · 1.5–2 hours
- 4. Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) · 2–4 hours
- 5. Brooklyn Museum · 2–3 hours
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) on Central Park West is one of the world's preeminent scientific and cultural institutions, founded in 1869 and now encompassing 25 interconnected buildings across four city blocks. Its collections exceed 34 million specimens and cultural artifacts — among the largest holdings of any natural history museum on Earth.
⏱ 3–4 hours
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is the second-largest art museum in New York City and one of the oldest and largest in the United States, housed in a Beaux-Arts building designed by McKim, Mead & White that opened in 1897. Its 560,000 square feet make it physically larger than the Manhattan Met, yet it remains Brooklyn's neighborhood museum — rooted in one of America's most diverse boroughs.
⏱ 2–3 hours
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world.
⏱ 2–4 hours
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Founded in 1939 as the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, the Guggenheim moved into Frank Lloyd Wright's revolutionary spiral building on its Fifth Avenue site in 1959.
⏱ 1.5–2 hours
The Frick Collection
Henry Clay Frick built his Beaux-Arts mansion in 1914 to house his collection. It opened as a public museum in 1935 with the residence largely intact.
⏱ 1.5–2 hours
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially 'the Met', is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments.
⏱ 3–5 hours
The Morgan Library & Museum
Built between 1902 and 1906 by McKim, Mead & White as J. P. Morgan's private library, the Morgan opened to the public in 1924. Renzo Piano's 2006 expansion added new galleries and a glass atrium.
⏱ 1.5–2 hours
Whitney Museum of American Art
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney founded the museum in 1930 with her own collection of works by then-overlooked American artists. The museum moved into Renzo Piano's stepped building beside the High Line in 2015.
⏱ 2–3 hours
Planning New York City museums
Met vs Met Cloisters?
The main Met on Fifth Avenue holds the encyclopedic collection. The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park specialises in medieval art — separate location, included with Met ticket.