Metropolitan Museum of Art: What to Expect

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City is like an art museum on steroids. It reminds me of The Louvre in Paris, in that you’ll easily get lost while trying to explore the museum. Art from around the world, and throughout time, is on display. There’s colonial furniture in the American Wing and wooden totem poles in the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas exhibit.

In fact, there’s so much to see, you could easily get lost wandering its halls. But if you’re looking for a taste of what The Met has to offer, here’s a rundown of what you can expect during your visit.

Getting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met is located on 82nd Street and 5th Avenue, on the outskirts of Central Park. If you’re taking the metro, the 4, 5 or 6 line work – you’ll want to get off at the 86th street stop and walk three blocks west. There’s also buses that run up 5th avenue, so you can hop on one of those.

The museum stands out, with a magnificent-looking entrance. Once inside the Great Hall, purchase your tickets and start your loop through the museum. You can purchase tickets to The Met online in advance of your visit as well.

The sections below have you starting on the north end (turn right when you first enter the great hall) with Egyptian Art.

Egyptian Art and The Tempe of Dendur

As you enter, you’ll walk past numerous artifacts, including a mummy tomb in a glass case. Continue down the long hall and get a taste of how massive The Met really is – 5,000 years of art.

If you’ve seen the movie Ocean’s 8, you’ll likely recall the large room and the Temple of Dendur. There’s a large pool with the Temple on a center platform. It sort of reminds me of a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.

After checking that out, continue to the American Wing of The Met.

The American Wing, Armor and Medieval Arts

The American Wing captures centuries of artifacts from early American history. You can look at pieces of furniture, rooms from the colonial period and other pieces of art. There are two floors of artifacts from this time period, so don’t hesitate to wander up some stairs.

On the first floor, you can go back to the time of King Arthur and see knights and armor. It’s interested to see all the types of weapons they used in jousting and other battles.

Before wandering too far into other areas of the museum, make a stop in the Medieval Art area.

European Sculptures, Decorative Arts and Paintings

As you continue through the museum, still on the first floor, check out the European sculptures. I had to chuckle when I saw the one I photographed above. It reminds me of Jimmy Fallon’s character that’s famous for saying “Ew!” In European style, many of the sculptures are of the human figure, and range from just faces to full body.

Find a staircase to the second floor to see European paintings. The art ranges from about 1250 AD to the 1800s.

You can remain on the second floor and wander through the photographs, drawing and prints area as you make your way to 19th and 20th Century European paintings and sculptures. Then it’s down to the first floor.

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

I love seeing the intricate designs carved into wood in the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas rooms. There are pieces small enough to fit in your hand and large enough to stretch the length of a large room.

There are boats carved from wood, as well as totem poles. I dare say this is one of my favorite sections of The Met.

Greek and Roman Art

My son would’ve loved this last section of The Met. He’s a huge fan of Roman and Greek mythology. The sculptures adorning this section include tall marble columns, faces and full body figures. There are even little fountains, similar to what you’d see in an intricate backyard garden.

As you make your way through the large room of statues, you’ll arrive at the Great Hall and your tour of The Met will be complete. But even then, you likely only saw a small portion of all the artifacts and art in the museum.

Your admission allows you to wander through the museum again, if you want, in order to see things you may have missed. You’re ticket is actually good for three consecutive days, so don’t lose it.

Also, don’t worry about getting lost in the museum… you can likely find a docent and get directions.

If you need to pick up a souvenir or a work of art for your own home, stop in at one of the multiple gift shops for a keychain, tie, notebook or something to show off to friends.

The Details

Address: 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028

Cost: $25 for adults; $17 for seniors and $12 for students. Children under 12 are free. General admission tickets are valid for three consecutive days at three different museums: The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer (on Madison Avenue), and The Met Cloisters (at Fort Tryon Park).

Hours: Sunday–Thursday, 10 am–5:30 pm; Friday and Saturday, 10 am–9 pm. The museum is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and January 1, as well as the first Monday in May.

Website: https://www.metmuseum.org/

Phone: (212) 535-7710

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