13 Best Galleries and Museums in New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a colossal museum, part of a museum triad that forms one of the largest collections of artworks in the US, encompassing 5 millennia. The exhibits range from ancient Egypt to medieval weapons, and even the most modern art. It also includes an entire relocated sandstone temple imported from Egypt. The museum is world-famous for the size and quality of its collection, and it's located in the very heart of Manhattan. It can be easily accessed by subway and it's a major stop along what is known as the New York Museum Mile.

The American Museum of Natural History offers vast exhibits covering the entire geographic, anthropological, sociological, and human history of the world in an accessible and easy-to-understand way. While this vast museum is kid-friendly, it’s still a great deal of fun for adults. The epic collection spans 45 different exhibit halls and showcases everything from meteorites to minerals, prehistoric animals to modern alligators. It includes a planetarium, IMAX and 3D cinema experiences, and a gift shop. Best of all, this Central Park museum offers you to pay what you wish to enter!

The Museum of Modern Art, or MOMA, carries modernist and contemporary artwork from all over the globe in a 150,000-plus artwork collection. Not only does it include paintings, sculptures, and statuary, but it contains thousands of representative films and photography stills from films. Just a few of the important artists represented are Jackson Pollock, Picasso, Van Gogh, Dali, and others in a collection that can easily take several days to go through. It's located just south of Central Park within easy walking distance to Times Square and Rockefeller Centre.

Whitney Museum of American Art champions the best American artists of the 20^th and 21^st centuries in a building that’s fittingly modern. This spacious structure opened in 2015. It was designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, who was also responsible for The Shard in London. The museum sits close to the Hudson River, a short distance from New York’s High Line park.

Inside, head straight for the Biennial, its most exciting exhibition space, where the museum displays the work of up and coming artists. You might just discover the art world’s next big thing.

Spyscape is an independent nonprofit museum dedicated to the entire history of spycraft with interactive exhibits and experience zones. The museum also features a James Bond-themed exhibition, the first of its kind in New York. Themed galleries include encryption, deception, surveillance, hacking, cyberwarfare, special ops, and intelligence. Exhibits include World War ll German Enigma machines and spy gadgets, important figures like Edward Snowden and SOE agent Virginia Hall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and many others. You can get hands-on and test your skills in empathy, agility, personality, risk tolerance, and brainpower. It's located in Midtown Manhattan.

Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is a unique museum on Ellis Island, just north of Liberty Island. It tells the compelling and sometimes heartbreaking stories of those who came to the USA to start a new life in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

Rent an audio guide to hear the poignant and fascinating stories of some of the 12 million people who fled economic hardship or religious persecution in pursuit of the American Dream. Stand in the hall where officials processed their applications. Some would get no further. For others, it was the beginning of the most transformative chapter in their lives. Circle Line boat tours call in at Ellis Island after stopping off at Liberty Island. As a result, many visitors combine their visit with the Statue of Liberty.

The Cloisters is one of a triad of institutional art museums that comprise the Metropolitan in New York and offers medieval art and architectural exhibits. The museum overlooks the Hudson River and takes you through a winding path of tended green space to a reproduction medieval castle built from actual French cloisters. Some highlights of the exhibits include the famed Unicorn Tapestries, the Annunciation Triptych by Robert Campin, and the Fuentidueña, which dates to the 12th century. The entire exhibit is dedicated to the architecture, weapons, and artwork of the Middle Ages.

Brooklyn Museum is the 2nd-largest museum in New York, after The Met. Though distant from Manhattan’s famous Museum Mile, it’s worth the detour across the East River. Opened in 1895, its collection amounts to around 1.5 million paintings and sculptures from as far afield as Europe, Africa and Asia.

The museum celebrates the work of artists such as Edgar Degas, Edward Hopper, Norman Rockwell, Mark Rothko, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Outside, wander through the museum’s sculpture garden which showcases architectural salvage rescued from places like Penn Station and Coney Island.

The Frick Collection houses a private set of classical art representing all of the great masters from the 14th through the 19th centuries. The collection is housed in an opulent mansion originally built for Henry Clay Frick in 1914, but based upon 18th-century European architectural styles. The building contains a reflecting pool and a stunning interior courtyard. Collections include sculpture, furniture, and paintings by artists such as Rembrandt Renoir, Vermeer, and Riesener, amongst others. It's located along 5th Avenue right at the borders of Central Park.

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum covers the entire history of aeronautics, seafaring, and space travel, including an aircraft carrier lined with real fighters and a space shuttle. You'll be able to check out the original Concorde airliner and explore an actual nuclear submarine. This museum covers just about everything you ever wanted to know about the military history of air and sea and their efforts to explore the cosmos. From outer space to the skies above, from the ocean surface to the seafloor, you'll find exhibits, artefacts, photos, information, and real vessels to explore and experience. It's located in the Hell's Kitchen area.

The New York Hall of Science is your hands-on opportunity to experience and explore all things science, technology, engineering, and maths with over 450 exhibits. The New York Hall of Science is Manhattan's answer to a genuine science museum and has been in place since the 1964 World's Fair. Today, it houses interactive exhibits in all areas of STEM. Many of the exhibits are hands-on and encourage visitors to experience and explore the world of technology and technological development for themselves. It's a wonderful place for kids to get involved in STEM paths and for adults to learn something new, too. It's just off the 111th Street 7 train stop.

The Tenement Museum is an unusual attraction encompassing both a landmark tenement that dates to 1863, and the surrounding area. The museum is only accessible by group tour, which should be booked in advance, and allows visitors inside a building that once housed nearly 7,000 working-class immigrants. The indoor exhibits tell the storey of early American workers and the socio-political issues that shaped their lives and society at the time. At the end of the tour, you can visit a gift shop with puzzles, housewares, and puzzles as souvenirs to take home.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is located at Ground Zero and commemorates the historic terrorist attacks that permanently altered the fabric of American life. The museum recounts the events of that day and the outcome of the attacks. It also explores the individual stories of families who were directly affected. The museum goes beyond the events of the day to look at how it's changed our society, how it's become a part of our collective memory, and why it's important to memorialise the day of 9/11. It's easy to access by getting off the Subway at the World Trade Centre stop.