Skip to content

Top New York Museums

Top New York Museums

There are many top New York Museums, which ones to pick when visiting the city? With over 200 museums in New York, not to mention the countless New York art galleries it can be hard to pick. I’m not a massive museum lover, but from time to time (when it’s raining or very hot) I can be found inside looking at Roman sculptures or learning about fossils. It’s of course a personal preference, but I’ve made a list of the best museums in New York. I’ll also give you tips on how to save time and money by visiting the various NYC museums.

Top New York Museums

My list of top New York museums contains a bit of everything; art museums as well as (natural) history museums. I’ve also included a bonus museum that’s really unique to New York as well as tips on what to do in New York when it’s raining or too hot outside. If you are just looking for a list of fun museums in NYC then scroll to the very bottom.

9/11 Museum

The 9/11 Museum in New York (officially called The National September 11 Memorial & Museum but also known as Ground Zero Museum) is my number one pick because it commemorates the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and 1993. I think it’s one of the best attractions in New York and a museum that everyone needs to visit alongside the 9/11 Memorial to pay tribute. The 9/11 Museum educates about the attacks but also allows room for visitors who do not directly want to be confronted with graphic images or artefacts.

  • 9/11 Museum: £27 for adults
  • Location: Lower Manhattan

Buy 9/11 Museum tickets here

Top New York Museums - 9/11 Museum

Met Museum New York

The Met (officially called The Metropolitan Museum of Art) is a large museum similar to the British Museum. I can easily get lost exploring the Egyptian Art section, and I’m a big fan of the arms and armour on display. What I appreciate most about the Met Museum is the wide variety – you will have no trouble finding something for everyone – or maybe you will as there is too much to see. It’s best to plan your visit to make the most of your time. The great thing about Met tickets is that they also allow you a same-day visit to the other Met museum: The Met Cloisters. However, the Cloisters are further away and I would only recommend visiting in the spring/summer.

  • Met Museum ticket prices: starting at £25 for adults
  • Location: Upper East Side
Buy your Metropolitan Museum of Art tickets with guided tour here

 

Top New York Museums - Met Museum

The Natural History Museum New York

The Natural History Museum New York (officially called the American Museum of Natural History) is a great museum to visit with kids. When you first enter the museum you are greeted by a dinosaur and in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs (or as I like to call it the “dino room”), you can learn about the great Tyrannosaurus rex. I would also make sure you see the big blue whale which is a great feature of the Natural History Museum. It also is home to the New York Space Museum: the Rose Center for Earth and Space, featuring the Hayden Planetarium.

  • Natural History Museum ticket prices: £24 for adults
  • Location: Upper West Side

Buy Natural History Museum tickets here

Top New York Museums - Natural History Museum

Guggenheim Museum New York

The Guggenheim Museum New York (officially called Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum) is probably one of the most iconic museums in New York. The museum is most famous for its futuristic white building that you can’t miss on Fifth Avenue. It resembles a nautilus shell and is very photogenic, so even if you don’t want to go in you can snap a photo and have coffee nearby. The Guggenheim Museum hosts a lot of thought-provoking and edgy exhibitions and because of the design, it’s an easy museum to navigate through.

  • Guggenheim Museum ticket prices: £24 for adults
  • Location: Upper East Side
Buy your Guggenheim Museum tickets here

 

Top New York Museums - Guggenheim Museum

MoMA – Museum of Modern Art New York

The MoMA is one of the last art museums in NYC on my list. It’s officially called the Museum of Modern Art. MoMA is the place to go if you would like to see work by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock or Frida Kahlo. The museum has a collection of modern and contemporary art. There is also a smaller museum called MoMA PS1 in Long Island City which presents more thought-proving and experimental works of art. MoMA is great to combine with a visit to Top of the Rock as it’s about 10 minutes away.

  • MoMA ticket prices: £24 for adults
  • Location: Midtown West
Buy your MoMA Museum of Modern Art tickets here

 

Top New York Museums - MoMa Museum

Brooklyn Museum in New York

The Brooklyn Museum in New York is one of the largest and oldest museums in the United States. The museum is known for its diverse collection of one and a half million works of art. Here you can find works of art from all kinds of ages and places from around the world. Works by Picasso, Van Gogh, and Judy Chicago, among others, are exhibited in the museum. The diversity of the Brooklyn Museum offers something for everyone, which I really like. The museum is easy to reach because the subway station is in front of the door.

  • Brooklyn Museum ticket prices: £16 for adults
  • Location: Brooklyn

Top New York Museums - Brooklyn Museum

Eric’s Tip: “The Tenement Museum New York is located in the Lower East Side and it’s on my list as a bonus museum. I think it’s a great museum to visit if you are looking to learn more about how immigrants to the city lived in the 19th and 20th centuries.”

Hey there, I'm Eric!

I'm a true New York fan with over 20 years of experience visiting and living in NYC. Here on my website, I share all my tips and valuable information to help you make the most of your trip. I personally test and regularly re-test everything on my site to ensure that what I write is useful, honest, and always up-to-date.

If you have questions, are unsure about something, or want me to check your itinerary, please email me at eric@newyork.co.uk. You can also follow me on Facebook or Instagram to get daily updates from New York.

New York Museum Pass

If you plan on visiting a lot of museums and are looking for something like a museum pass for New York, then I recommend getting a discount pass. There are a lot of different options, like the Go New York Explorer Pass or the New York Pass, which include the entrance to the best museums in New York. Tickets to most museums are around £20 so it’s worth looking into which option is best for you. Some museums offer an option to ‘pay what you wish’ but this is mainly intended for locals. There are also days when entrance is free to a few NYC museums but I avoid these days: they will be very crowded.

Are you just looking for fun museums in NYC? If you are travelling with children or teenagers then I highly recommend the Spyscape Museum. It’s the place to visit if you want to work undercover as Agent 007 or Jason Bourne for a few hours. Is it raining in New York? Then head to Madame Tussauds to meet some celebrities in wax.

List of Museums in New York

There are a lot more great museums in New York, here are a few others that are worth visiting:

Was this article helpful? Recommend it by giving me a rating:

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies and the Privacy Policy. Find out more here.

Subscribe to my newsletter

Search tickets