Carnegie Hall in New York

Carnegie Hall in New York is the city’s most famous concert venue. Since its opening in 1891, it has hosted more than 50.000 performances, including some big names from the classical and popular music scene. Carnegie Hall was built in 1890 by and named after Andrew Carnegie. I’ll tell you everything you need to know about this New York concert venue.

Book tickets for Carnegie Hall concerts here

Carnegie Hall Tickets

Planning to attend a performance at Carnegie Hall? Buying tickets for Carnegie Hall is simple, but do make sure to book on time! The world’s greatest artists perform at this prestigious venue. It’s hard to indicate a ticket price since this depends on the type of performance and the seat. Carnegie Hall’s schedule includes everything from orchestras to pianists, from classical singers to soul and jazz.

Visiting Carnegie Hall

If you want to learn more about Carnegie Hall and its unique history, you can visit the on-site museum. Guided tours are also available to book.

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Eric’s Tip: Founder Andrew Carnegie’s Scottish surname is pronounced ‘CarNEgie’, but the building’s name is pronounced ‘CARnegie’. If you start coughing during a performance, the staff will bring you sweets to soothe your throat. How about that for service?

Carnegie Hall’s Rose Museum

The Theatre’s Rose Museum displays many old theatre programmes, as well as photos, videos and many more things. The museum isn’t too big, so don’t go nuts if you can’t see it, but if you’re there anyway, you might just as well have a look. The museum is open during the concert season and admission is free.

Carnegie Hall Tour

For an insider’s view of the impressive venue, you can book a Carnegie Hall tour. These guided tours are organised a few times a day, and you might even be allowed to go backstage. This depends on the rehearsals and performances though. In any case, the knowledgeable guides have lots of information to share with you, and the tour lasts an hour. The tour is included in the New York Pass and Go New York Explorer Pass.

Inside Carnegie Hall

From the outside, Carnegie Hall isn’t particularly impressive, but from the inside it definitely is. You’ll see that the moment you walk into the hall, which you can do without a ticket. The building consists of 3 halls:

• The ‘main hall’ – nowadays the Isaac Stern Auditorium / Ronald O. Perelman Stage – can accommodate 2800 people.
• The Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall below can host 600 people.
• The Joan and Sandford I. Weill Recital Hall accommodates 250 people.

I haven’t tried them all, but these halls are said not to have any bad seats; only the legroom on the balcony is a bit small. It must be said: Carnegie Hall’s acoustics are brilliant. This is a concert venue with style. Attending a Carnegie Hall concert is a marvellous experience, especially if you’re staying in New York for a little bit longer.

Famous Performers at Carnegie Hall

The greatest names in music history performed in this place. Think of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Maria Callas and Luciano Pavarotti, to name just a few. It’s not just classical music all over in Carnegie Hall, though. It also welcomed renowned jazz artists as Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, giving a strong presence for jazz and blues in New York.

The building is even famed for its long line-up of famous ‘pop stars’: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Josephine Baker, Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Nat King Cole and – yes, really – Jay Z.

Restaurants near Carnegie Hall in Manhattan

Situated in Midtown, just below Central Park, Carnegie Hall is easily accessible. You’ll have lots of restaurants to choose from, making sure you won’t go hungry during the concert. I highly recommend Trattoria Dell’Arte. This Italian place is right across the music hall and fully understands what its customers want: a welcoming atmosphere and delicious food.

Another favourite, perfectly complementing a visit to the concert hall, is the Russian Tea Room. Once you step inside, you feel like you’ve travelled back in time, bursting straight into the Roaring Twenties.

How do I get to Carnegie Hall?

Rumour is that a pedestrian asked violin player Jascha Heifetz: ‘Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?’ To which Heifetz answered: ‘Practice, practice, practice!’ For those with less lofty ambitions, it’s easiest to go by subway. Take any of these lines:       

• ACBD1 to 59th Street / Columbus Circle
• NQR to 57th Street / Seventh Avenue
• BDE to Seventh Avenue
• F to 57th Street / Sixth Avenue

You can get there by bus too: the M5, M7, M10, M20, M31, M57 and M104 all stop nearby. Also, Hop on Hop off buses make stops close by.

Practical Information

• Opening hours:
  • Tours generally run from Monday through Saturday during the concert season (subject to change due to events)
  • The box office is open until 30 minutes after the beginning of every event.
• Location: 57th Street and 7th Avenue, Midtown Manhattan
• Accessibility:  All concert halls and tours at Carnegie Hall are wheelchair accessible

Book tickets for Carnegie Hall concerts here