The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, usually called the Met, stands on Fifth Avenue along the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan. By floor area it is one of the largest museums in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas, and it is among the most visited museums anywhere.

The Met was founded in 1870 by a group of businessmen, artists and civic leaders and moved to its present site in 1880. The building has grown in stages since then, including the Beaux-Arts Fifth Avenue facade completed in 1902 and later modern wings at the back.

Its permanent collection holds more than a million and a half works. Highlights include the Temple of Dendur, an Egyptian temple of about 15 BC reassembled in a glass hall, the European paintings galleries with works by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, the American Wing with Washington Crossing the Delaware, the arms and armour galleries and large collections of Greek, Roman, Islamic and Asian art.

The roof garden opens in the warmer months with a yearly art installation and views over Central Park. The Met Cloisters, a separate branch in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan, is devoted to medieval European art and architecture and is included in the same ticket.

Admission is a set ticket price for most visitors (check the current rate on metmuseum.org), while New York State residents and students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut pay what they wish. Tickets are valid for three consecutive days at both sites. The museum is closed on some weekdays, so check hours on the official site.

Size explains why a single visit rarely covers everything. The Fifth Avenue building alone has a floor area of roughly 190,000 square metres along Museum Mile, and the collection is split among 17 curatorial departments. The Met counted 5,727,258 visitors in fiscal year 2025, the highest of any museum in the United States, so the Great Hall and the Egyptian wing are busiest from late morning on weekends.

Some departments are large enough to plan a visit around. The Egyptian collection holds more than 26,000 objects shown across about 40 galleries, and the Asian art department has more than 35,000 pieces in a wing of some 6,000 square metres. The Greek and Roman department counts more than 17,000 works and Arms and Armor about 14,000. The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, opened in 1982 for the arts of Africa, Oceania and the ancient Americas, holds more than 11,000 pieces and began a $70 million renovation of its galleries in December 2021.

Fashion fans should look for the Costume Institute, which keeps more than 35,000 costumes and accessories and mounts two exhibitions a year. Its spring show opens with the Met Gala on the first Monday of May, when the museum closes early for the benefit. On a first visit, pick two or three departments, start at opening time and leave the roof garden for late afternoon.