The 38 best museums in NYC

Opened in 1880 and situated along Central Park, this iconic New York institution contains 5,000 years of art — from prehistory to the latest in contemporary works — under one roof. That's range, folks. Its unparalleled collection comprises more than two million objects that include Old Master paintings, the Ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur and the museum’s famed period rooms. Sure, you'll never take it all in at once, but that's alright – just visit again and again!

Now on: "Women Dressing Women" and "Look Again: European Paintings 1300–1800"

At this massive art institution, find the classics in contemporary art (Picasso, Matisse, Pollock), alongside art by new and up-and-coming artists, with a special focus on women and artists of color. The museum covers a whopping 708,000 square feet, and every inch is packed with paintings, sculptures and films.

The galleries are divided by era, so you can literally walk through the evolution of modern art.

Don't miss: "Picasso in Fontainebleau"

The Fotografiska gallery in Stockholm, Sweden's New York branch resides in the heart of the Flatiron District. It features three floors of exhibition space as well as Verōnika, a dining room and bar. The gallery itself mounts temporary exhibits featuring photos from “grand masters and emerging talent” that range from “easily accessible to hardcore conceptual.”

Now on: "Best in Show: Pets in Contemporary Photography"

With its mind-boggling holdings of artifacts and specimens from around the globe, the American Museum of Natural History, founded in 1869, tells nothing less than the story of creation, from the Big Bang to the present. Its dazzling highlights include the 94-feet long blue whale and the Hayden Planetarium directed by famed astrophysicist and media personality, Neil Degrasse Tyson. Like many of these monster museums, you won’t get around this properly within a day. 

See the stunning new Gilder Center wing.

Standing at the foot of the High Line along Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District, the 63,000 square facility features both indoor and outdoor exhibition space. True to its founder Gertrude Vanderbilt's wishes, the Whitney is dedicated to presenting the work of American artists. Its collection holds about 15,000 pieces by nearly 2,000 artists, including Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Edward Hopper (the museum holds his entire estate), Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O’Keeffe and Claes Oldenburg.

Three outdoor sculpture spaces provide views of the Hudson and the surrounding neighborhood. This is a goldmine for slightly lesser-known but fantastic exhibitions. 

Now on: "Ruth Asawa Through Line"

The third-largest museum in the five boroughs, the Brooklyn Museum follows the encyclopedic template of the Metropolitan Museum with a collection housed in an 1897 Beaux-Art building packed with period rooms, ancient art and contemporary paintings, sculptures and more. Loads of things, all of the things.  

It has become one of NYC's premier art institutions that boast Egyptian, African and Oceanic artifacts as well as hotter contemporary art exhibits that rotate in and out. In fact, it has an entire wing devoted to the latest in feminist art, where you will find Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party, a huge permanent installation that pays tribute to famous women throughout history.

Now on: "Spike Lee: Creative Sources"

In addition to a superb collection of Judaica, The Jewish Museum also mounts important exhibitions of modern and contemporary art. Housed in the 1908 Warburg Mansion, the museum maintains a collection of more than 28,000 works of art, artifacts and media installations. That's a lot of things. The museum aims to be at the intersection of art and Jewish culture for people of all backgrounds. 

On view: "RBG Collars: Photographs by Elinor Carucci"

The place to explore NYC’s past, present, and future, the Museum of the City of New York on Fifth Avenue at 104^th Street takes visitors on a tour of the city’s 400-year history through rotating exhibitions and its extensive collection of vintage photographs, costumes, textiles, theater memorabilia, furniture, decorative arts, and more. For the full New York experience, really this place basically has to be on your list. 

On now: "This is New York"

Devoted entirely to late-19th- and early-20th-century German and Austrian fine and decorative arts, this elegant addition to the city’s museum scene has the largest concentration of works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele outside Vienna, including Klimt’s masterpiece, Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer I. That's well worth a visit in itself, but there’s always plenty of great and undiscovered gems to view here. The Viennese-inspired cafe is excellent, too. 

To see: "Austrian Masterworks from The Neue Galerie"

Housed in the former Gilded-Age mansion of Henry Clay Frick, The Frick maintains a collection of Old Master paintings (including works by Rembrandt, Holbein, and Vermeer) on par with the Met’s. The Frick’s holdings also include paintings by Whistler and Renoir as well as furniture and other examples of the decorative arts. It's truly a frickin excellent, less well known spot to check out.

The Frick is currently open on Madison Avenue at Frick Madison—the former Whitney and Met Breuer building.

Now on: "Nicolas Party and Rosalba Carriera"

Once the private library of J. Pierpont Morgan, the Morgan Museum was gifted to the city by the Gilded Age financier along with his collection of artworks and rare books—holdings that include drawings by Michelangelo and three Gutenberg Bibles. There’s also a first edition of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol that’s put on display every Christmas. A bookworm’s dream. There are also frequent special exhibitions, so keep an eye on their website. 

Now on: "Medieval Money, Merchants, and Morality"

Frank Lloyd Wright broke the mold on museum design when he completed his building for the Guggenheim in 1959. Since then, millions of visitors have come to the Gugg to gawk at its spiraling rotunda, but they stay for its daring art shows and its collection, which includes Peggy Guggenheim’s trove of Cubist, Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist works, as well as the largest collection of Kandinskys in the United States. Beautiful and innovative both inside and out, what more inspiration do you need?

Now on: "Going Dark: The Contemporary Figure at the Edge of Visibility"

Taking its name from the New School, where it was founded in 1977, the New Museum has grown from a single gallery space to a global showcase of cutting-edge art. It's housed inside a purpose-built, seven-story building on the Bowery, designed by the cutting-edge Tokyo architectural firm SANAA.

Now on: "Judy Chicago: Herstory"

The biggest attraction at the Queens Museum in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park is undoubtedly The Panorama of the City of New York, an exacting 9,335-square-foot scale model of the five boroughs created for the 1964 World’s Fair. In fairness, though, there’s a lot of other great things to see. Check the website or just swing by. You'll likely end up making a day of it. 

Now on: "to reverberate tenderly"

Situated in a former public school, MoMA PS1 hosts an international studio program in addition to mounting exhibitions (including career monographs) of cutting-edge artists. Affiliated with the Museum of Modern Art since 1999, MoMA PS1 is also known for its summer series of outdoor parties called “Warm Up.” If you find yourself in the area, you can basically guarantee popping by will be worth your time, whether it's for the exhibitions or just a hip event being hosted there. 

Go see: "Rirkrit Tiravanija: A LOT OF PEOPLE"

Located in Astoria, Queens, the Museum of the Moving Image presents exhibitions and screenings that relay the history and cultural impact of movies, television and digital media. In addition to a state-of-the-art 267-seat cinema, the museum features ongoing installations such as “Behind the Screen,” which examines the filmmaking process. Film-nerds, if you haven't already been, it's a must. The NYC spot for going full geek. 

Don't miss: The ongoing exhibit on Jim Henson

Besides shining a spotlight on neighborhood artists as well as on African-American, Asian and Latino artists from the 20th and 21st centuries, this multicultural museum founded in 1971 has the virtue of being free. Ideal. It’s also an internationally recognized cultural destination, with great educational resources, events, and exhibitions aplenty. 

On now: "Michael Richards: Are You Down?"

You know the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and at the International Center of Photography Museum is where you should go to immerse yourself in the world visual storytelling. The institution caters to a wide audience—not merely shutterbugs and Instagram fans. 

Now on: "ICP at 50From the Collection, 1845–2019," opens January 24, 2024

Situated on Columbus Circle, The Museum of Arts & Design mounts lively exhibitions dedicated to the latest in contemporary art and design. It's a beautiful and fascinating spot to check out after a morning stroll in nearby Central Park.

Now on: "Taylor Swift: Storyteller"

Founded in 1804, the New-York Historical Society is NYC’s oldest museum and is dedicated to the history of Gotham (not the Batman one) and its central place in American life, politics, and culture. Its collection and library contains more than 1.6 million items including an outstanding cache of Hudson River School paintings, as well as James Audubon’s preparatory watercolors for his seminal study, The Birds of America. 

On view: "Running for Civil Rights: The New York Pioneer Club, 1936–1976"

Sure, MoSex is dedicated to elevating porn and erotica to institutional status, but not every exhibit there is presented just for titillation’s sake. Its exhibitions have included serious explorations of such issues as gender and the impact of new technologies on human sexual behavior. Interesting, right! Plus you know, you'll be forgiven for having a little giggle. It might even be romantic! 

One of two Smithsonian museums in NYC, the Cooper Hewitt is housed in a sumptuous former mansion and is dedicated to the field of design. It houses a collection of objects that span 3,000 years. Among the ongoing exhibits is the Immersion Room, which allows visitors to interact with digital projections of wallpaper. But there's endless rooms and objects to gaze at here. Plus, it's worth popping in just to nosy at what was someone's actual, very lavish, home. 

On now: "Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols"

Dedicated to Hispanic artists in the U.S. and Latin America, this museum located in East Harlem (a.k.a. El Barrio) holds a 6,500-piece permanent collection that ranges from pre-Colombian artifacts to contemporary installations. Very few places provide such depth on the history and culture of a region of the world. 

Go see: "Something Beautiful: Reframing La Colección"

If you haven't been to the Fraunces Tavern Museum yet, it's definitely worth a visit. First of all, it's the oldest building in Manhattan, dating all the way back to 1719 and it has an important role in American history. These days, the museum operates on the upper floors of the building with exhibits focusing on George Washington and Revolutionary-era history. The tavern and restaurant serve hearty fare at lunch and dinner.

On view: "The Birch Trials"

With 750,000 objects, The Hispanic Society Museum & Library boasts the largest assemblage of Spanish art and manuscripts outside Spain. The collection includes many religious artifacts, including 16th-century tombs from the monastery of San Francisco in Cuéllar, Spain. A permanent fixture of the museum, however, is Valencian painter Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida’s Vision of Spain, comprising 14 monumetal oil paintings commissioned by the Society in 1911. Each massive panel reflects a different region of Spain in vivid colors.

On view: "Picasso and the Spanish Classics"

The Fashion Institute of Technology owns one of the largest and most impressive collections of clothing, textiles, and accessories in the world, including some 50,000 costumes and fabrics dating from the 5th century to the present. Overseen by fashion historian Valerie Steele, the museum showcases a selection from the permanent collection, as well as temporary exhibitions focusing on individual designers or the role fashion plays in society. Admission is free and no, you can't try on the clothing! This museum also offers a wide range of events and educational resources. 

Now on: "Statement Sleeves," as of January 24, 2024

As it names suggests, The Drawing Center is devoted to exhibiting and promoting works on paper, both historical and contemporary. A Soho stalwart since its founding in 1977, The Drawing Center is as much a museum as it is a gallery, but its wooden floors and cast-iron columns are reminiscent of Soho’s glory days as a gallery district. 

Now on: "Stéphane Mandelbaum"

MOCA occupies an airy former machine shop designed by prominent Chinese-American architect Maya Lin. In an interior loosely inspired by a traditional Chinese house, with rooms radiating off a central courtyard and areas defined by screens, MOCA’s core exhibit traces the development of Chinese communities on these shores from the 17th century to the present through objects, images and video. Mixed-media displays cover the development of industries such as laundries and restaurants in New York, Chinese stereotypes in pop culture, and the suspicion and humiliation Chinese-Americans endured during World War II and the McCarthy era.

Now on: "Five Senses Of Chinatown"

Opened in 2004, this six-story museum in Chelsea houses Donald and Shelley Rubin’s impressive collection of Himalayan art and artifacts. It also mounts large-scale temporary exhibitions that have included offerings by contemporary artists. If you've never been to a place dedicated to the ideas, culture and art of Himalayan regions, now's your chance.

On now: "Death is Not the End"

A battle-hardened veteran of World War II, the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid at Pier 86 has been repurposed as a floating museum since 1982. With a collection of military aircraft crowding its flight deck, the Intrepid also features the space shuttle Enterprise and a British Airways Concorde. It's chock-full of educational facilities and is a non-profit institution, so your admission fee will be spent wisely!  

New York City’s only preserved 19th-century family home is an elegant, late Federal-Greek Revival house stocked with the same furnishings and decorations that filled its rooms when it was inhabited by hardware tycoon Seabury Treadwell and his descendants from 1835 to 1933. so if you're in NoHo and want the low-down on what the area used to be like, here's the place to start. 

As its name suggests, the American Folk Art Museum celebrates traditional craft-based works, but more than that, it has been instrumental in promoting the work of outsider, visionary, and other self-taught artists. You can teach yourself all about the concept while here. Admission is free, and there are also publications and educational programs if you want to learn more. 

The other branch of the Smithsonian Institution in NYC, along with the Cooper Hewitt, the National Museum of the American Indian displays its collection around the grand rotunda of the 1907 Custom House at 1 Bowling Green. In total, the museum contains some 825,000 items from 1,200 Indigenous cultures covering 12,000 years of Native American history. It's one of the world's most expansive collections of Native objects, all housed in a stunning building.

The galleries at the Asia Society host major exhibitions showcasing art—both historical and contemporary—from Asia, the Philippines and the Indian subcontinent. It’s a non-profit focused on educating the world about Asia, and is one of several Asia Societies worldwide.

When sculptor (and landscape architect and theatrical-set and furniture designer) Isamu Noguchi opened his Queens museum in 1985, he was the first living artist in the U.S. to establish such an institution. It occupies a former photo-engraving plant across the street from the studio he had occupied since the 1960s to be closer to stone and metal suppliers along Vernon Boulevard. Twelve galleries and a garden are populated with Noguchi’s sculptures; also on display are drawn, painted and collaged studies, architectural models, and stage and furniture designs.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a tourist, commuter or longtime NYC resident: No visit to Lower Manhattan is complete without paying your respects at the September 11 Memorial & Museum. Both the outdoor memorial and accompanying museum are solemn, moving tributes to the nearly 3,000 victims who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and February 26, 1993. Designed by Israeli architect Michael Arad, two of North America’s largest man-made waterfalls mark the footprint of each tower, framing the perimeter and cascading into reflecting pools almost an acre wide. 

Set in a lovely park overlooking the Hudson River, the Cloisters houses the Met’s medieval art and architecture collections. A path winds through the peaceful grounds to a castle that seems to have survived from the Middle Ages—even though it was built less than 100 years ago, using material from five medieval French cloisters.

Be sure to check out the famous Unicorn Tapestries, the 12th-century Fuentidueña Chapel and the Annunciation Triptych by Robert Campin. There's a focus on Romanesque and Gothic periods. The building is fascinating in itself, so even if you just marvel at the exterior, it'll be well worth a visit. 

Opened as a foundation to promote LGBT artists by Charles Leslie and his late partner, Fritz Lohman, this Soho institution was granted museum status by New York State in 2011. Its program includes solo shows, as well as group shows organized around important LGBTQ+ themes such as identity and gender. There are around 30,000 items in their collection, so you can spend a lot of time here and not see the same thing twice. 

Note: The museum is closed between January 8-March 14, 2024.