The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York: The Complete Visitor Guide

The Metropolitan Museum of Art — the Met — is the largest art museum in the Americas and one of the five most visited in the world. Its permanent collection of over 1.5 million objects spans 5,000 years of human creativity from every continent and virtually every culture: Egyptian antiquities (including an entire reconstructed Temple of Dendur), European painting from the medieval period to the Impressionists, the largest collection of arms and armour in the world, extraordinary Asian art galleries, and American decorative arts covering the entire history of the country. Attempting to see everything in one visit is both impossible and inadvisable.

Strategy matters here. The museum's main entrance on Fifth Avenue opens into the Great Hall; turn right for European paintings (the sequence from medieval through Rembrandt, Vermeer, and the French Impressionists is one of the great room-to-room experiences in any museum). Turn left for Egyptian art and the Temple of Dendur in its glass pavilion. The American Wing's courtyard cafe is one of the most pleasant museum eating experiences in New York. The Asian art galleries on the second floor, particularly the Chinese garden court, are criminally under-visited relative to the painting galleries.

The Costume Institute, located in the basement and temporarily accessible during its annual exhibition season (the Met Gala in May opens the exhibition), has hosted some of the most significant fashion history exhibitions ever mounted. The roof garden is open seasonally (May–November) with contemporary sculpture installations and sweeping Central Park views that are worth the price of admission alone.

The "suggested admission" pricing allows you to pay any amount, including very little. Audio guides and the Met app are both excellent and free with admission. Allow at least three hours; budget the full day if you have it.