The grande dame of the city’s museums, the Metropolitan is overwhelming. The museum is best enjoyed in small bites, if you are able to make repeat visits. But many people cram a lot into one marathon day. For this, you can grab a map and hit the highlights (or visit the bookstore first and peruse the postcards to suss out the notable works). The permanent collection itself is encyclopedic—both broad and deep—and every nook and cranny of the building has been put to use to show it off. Still, there is far more in the collection than can be displayed at one time, so objects are rotated in and out to keep things interesting, though the star attractions usually remain on view. The website is up to date on which objects are or aren’t on display.
The Metropolitan has textbook examples of Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian statues and objects, including the transplanted Temple of Dendur, acquired by the Met when construction of the Aswan Dam meant it would be underwater. There’s a wealth of European and American painting—still lifes, landscapes, portraits, history and genre paintings—by such well-known artists as Vermeer, Rembrandt, El Greco, Monet Jacques-Louis David, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, and more. You can march through time, from one gallery to the next, or visit different continents in the Asian, Islamic, and African sections, for example. If medieval armor or musical instruments are your thing, there are galleries devoted to those as well. Special blockbuster exhibitions are often so crowded that a viewing strategy is required. (Pro tip: Don’t be cattle dutifully shuffling along; be a butterfly, flitting to works with fewer people, then back to the highlights when there’s more breathing room.) The museum’s Costume Institute, which throws the annual Met Gala fashion extravaganza, mounts exhibitions ranging from historical and thematic clothing traditions to contemporary designs. Alexander McQueen’s posthumous show saw lines out the front door and up Fifth Avenue.
And don’t forget the roof! Each year the museum commissions a contemporary artist to create a large-scale installation for the roof, which is open from May through October, and where you can grab a cocktail or snack before or after taking in the art. Memorable examples include Mike and Doug Starn’s climbable bamboo structure and Lauren Halsey’s riff on the Temple of Dendur inscribed with people and things from her life in South Central Los Angeles. It doesn’t get much better than enjoying a cool beverage while enjoying art and a sweeping view of Central Park and the surrounding skyline.
