Must See Museums, Art & History in New York

Updated on Aug 21, 2024 | Online US Visa

A city with more than eighty museums, with some dating as far back as the 19th century, a look of these wonderful masterpieces in the cultural capital of the United States, both from their exterior appeal as well as the diverse showcase of art from the inside, are those places that would make you love New York even more.

From the history of human civilization to visually enthralling modern art by the artists of today, this city by all means could be called as one of the best cities for museums of every kind. And if at the sight of one of these fascinating places of art, the word amazing is all you are left with, it would clearly by all means be a sheer understatement.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art aka "the Met"

With a collection of more than two million artworks going as far back as the history of human culture, this museum is one of the largest art museums in the world. Located on two sites, The Met on the Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters, the museum spans thousands of years of history of human civilization.

Spread over 17 curatorial departments, this is by far the largest museum of New York City. Apparently, The Met Cloisters, which is a subsidiary of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, situated in Fort Tryon Park, is the only museum in America dedicated to European art from the medieval era. Even if you are not a museum fan, a family trip to ‘The Met’ Fifth Avenue would be worth the time on a visit to New York.

The Museum of Modern Art

One of the largest modern art museums of the world, The Museum of Modern Art has extraordinary contemporary art collections ranging from artworks in the field of to films, sculptures to multi media art collections. The Starry Night by Van Gogh, which is one of most recognised paintings of modern art, is only one among many hundreds of thousands of artworks featured in the museum. If you were never an art fan, maybe witnessing one of Picasso's works up close might change your mind!

The Guggenheim Museum

Built by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the museum’s architecture is often referred to as a picture of modernism. The museum is known for its striking exterior as well as rare interior artwork by many legendary artists of contemporary art.

Located on the world’s most expensive streets, in the Upper East Side neighbourhood of Manhattan, the visual appeal of this architectural wonder would make it impossible to miss this attraction anyways. Even if nobody told you about this place in New York, you might still end up getting amazed by its visually captivating exterior.

American Museum of Natural History

 American Museum of Natural History contain over 34 million specimens

A museum of its own kind, American Museum of Natural History is a place loaded with natural wonders, outer space, dinosaurs and what not, with the museum's foundation lying on discoveries of Darwin and other contemporaries of the time. Probably the only place in the world with the most important scientific discoveries about vertebrate evolution, greeting its visitors with the tallest standing dinosaur exhibit in the world, this museum can never be one of those places to be skipped on a visit to New York.

With more than forty exhibition halls ranging from mammal halls, fossil halls and environmental halls, visit to this museum becomes an even better of an experience with its frequently held special exhibitions, making it for great family time.

Whitney Museum of American Art

 The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney"

The Whitney is a museum specifically focused on American art from the 20th century with greater attention to works of living artists. The Whitney museum showcases works by iconic American artists, with the institution being fully devoted to artists of the United States.

It is definitely one of the unique places to observe works by the artists of our time. The museum’s flagship exhibition, The Whitney Biennial, has been the hallmark event of the institution since the 1930’s, and is also known to be the longest running festival curating artworks from America.

9/11 Memorial & Museum

911 Memorial 911 memorial built to commemorate the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center

A museum built to commemorate the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, this is one place totally worth a visit on a trip to New York. The museum is concerned with exploring the 9 11 attacks, the impact which the attacks made and its continuous effect observed in society today.

The place’s simple but brilliant architecture, given the central spot of a giant pool, with water cascading down from black granite, creates a soothing sound of water masking the noise from the surrounding city.

Located at the World Trade Center, the exhibitions take visitors on narratives of the attacks through media, artifacts and many personal stories of hope. A visit to the 9/11 Museum is one emotional and memorable experience, something surely recommended on a visit to the city.

Although the count of art galleries and museums in New York does not end here, with many more belonging to various cultural backgrounds, this is a list of some of the places that you definitely would not want to miss on a short trip to New York.

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The Fotografiska gallery in Stockholm, Sweden's New York branch resides in the heart of the Flatiron District. It features three floors of exhibition space as well as Verōnika, a dining room and bar. The gallery itself mounts temporary exhibits featuring photos from “grand masters and emerging talent” that range from “easily accessible to hardcore conceptual.”


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