The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Visitor's Guide

There are many art museums in New York City, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art is known all over the world for a reason. It is among the world's largest and most important art museums. Visitors to the Metropolitan Museum of Art can find it at 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street. There is also a smaller section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, called "The Cloisters," which contains medieval art. The Cloisters are at Fort Tyron Park in Upper Manhattan. But when most people think of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they are thinking of the main building on Fifth Avenue. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's website is: http://www.metmuseum.org.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is open Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and Friday and Saturday 9:30 am to 9 pm. It is closed on Mondays. The price of a ticket to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is $20 for adults, $15 for seniors over 65, $10 for students, and free for members and children under 12 if accompanied by an adult. Students at New York City's public schools can attend for free, as well as students from Bard College, Barnard College, Columbia University and Institute of Fine Arts. The ticket includes all special exhibitions, tours, The Cloisters, etc. In other words, there is no extra pay for any special part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The best way to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is by subway. The 4, 5 and 6 trains stop at 86^th Street. From there, walk west to Fifth Avenue and south to 82^nd Street. You can plan your trip more directly at mta.info, seeing what subways near you intersect the 4, 5 or 6. You can also use hopstop.com to get direct address-to-address directions.

I don't recommend driving because that area of Manhattan is noteworthy for difficult traffic. If you do decide to drive to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there is a parking garage at Fifth Avenue and 80^th Street. With a validated ticket, the fee is $15 for one hour, $18 for two hours, $23 for three hours, $26 for five hours, and $35 for five to ten hours. Be sure to get your ticket validated or the cost will be higher.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers free one hour highlight tours throughout the day, as well as free scheduled gallery talks, which focus on a specific wing or gallery (see the museum's website for the schedule). For $6, you can have an audio tour, which will give you information at your own pace and on pieces of your choice. That way, you can have your own Metropolitan Museum of Art experience.

It's difficult to see the entire Metropolitan Museum of Art in one visit, so you'll have to pick what you want to see. My favorite part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the Egyptian wing. The amount of art on display from all different periods of Egypt's history is incredible. The centerpiece is the Temple of Dendur, an entire ancient temple that was dismantled and given to the United States and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Egyptian wing has over 36,000 pieces.

If you want food nearby, there is a small, comfortable place called Nectar Restaurant, at 1090 Madison Avenue at 82^nd Street. It's essentially a diner/coffee shop that serves American and Greek specialties, but the food is wonderful and very reasonably priced. They serve an excellent cup of coffee as well. The Viand coffee shop, located at 1011 Madison Avenue at 78^th Street, is one of the city's more popular coffee shops. For something a bit more classy, Giovanni Venti Cinque offers authentic Italian cuisine at 25 East 83^rd Street near Madison Avenue. It's pricy but highly recommended. All of these places are filled with Metropolitan Museum of Art visitors. You can eat at the Metropolitan Museum of Art itself, with multiple eateries in the building, but they are all overpriced.

The gift shop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is expansive, offering everything from souvenirs for memorabilia to information on the art itself in book form. Just be careful that your kids don't go to crazy!

The best time to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art is Friday and Saturday evenings, when there is less of a crowd and the classical quintet performs. Sunday afternoon is the worst time to go. The museum is so crowded that they don't allow strollers.