New York City is famous for its world-class museums that house some of the most famous artworks and artifacts in the world. It's also home to plenty of lesser-known museums that offer an in-depth look at a particular field or subject. There's a tiny museum, a sex museum, and even a spy museum!
There are over 170 museums in NYC, each with its own unique focus and character. But with so many options for interesting sites, it can be difficult to know where to begin. In this guide, we'll explore all the top museums in NYC, offering everything from modern art to science and mathematics so you can absorb the culture at your own pace.
The Best Art Museums in NYC
From the museum mile to the galleries of Tribeca and SoHo, New York City is home to some of the most famous and frequently visited art museums in the world. Here are a few of the best museums to see in NYC.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most famous museums in NYC and hosts a vast collection of works from cultures all across the globe. Located on 5th Avenue in the Upper East Side, the Met is the largest museum in North America and the fourth largest in the world. Its permanent collection has over 2 million items and artifacts representing everything from ancient cultures to modern day.
The Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) on 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan showcases a collection of over 200,000 works spanning the late 1800s to the modern day. When it opened in 1929, it was the first-ever museum dedicated to the present era, and it's still one of the most popular modern art museums in the world.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Guggenheim is an art museum on the Upper East Side that is famous for its spiral-shaped building, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Founded by the wealthy businessman and art collector Solomon R. Guggenheim, the museum hosts an impressive collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, modern, and contemporary works and rotating exhibits.
The Frick Collection
The Frick is an art museum in Manhattan founded to preserve the collection of industrialist Henry Clay Frick, which consists of 14th through 19th Century European paintings inside a Beaux Arts-style mansion. It's currently closed for renovation but will reopen to the public in late 2024.
The Whitney Museum of Art
Located in the West Village/Meatpacking District, the Whitney Museum of Art is focused on showcasing the works of 20th and 21st-century American artists and houses over 25,000 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other works.
The Best History Museums in NYC
History buffs are also in luck because there are many awesome museums in NYC dedicated to preserving the traditions of the past. Here are a few of the most notable.
American Museum of Natural History
Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, directly across from Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History is a massive complex containing 20 interconnected buildings and 45 permanent exhibit halls (as well as a planetarium and library). It documents over 32 million species of plants, animals, fungi, and all kinds of other living organisms.
The New York Historical Society
The New York Historical Society is a history museum and library located on the Upper West Side. It has a large collection of artifacts, art, and other documents preserving the history of New York and the country, with exhibits on everything from the founding of the Constitution to the Civil War.
The New York Transit Museum
If you're searching for interesting museums in NYC, the New York Transit Museum is a fun attraction in Downtown Brooklyn. It displays artifacts from the development of the NYC subway, bus, and commuter rail system.
The Best Math and Science Museums in NYC
For those who are more left-brained, here is a list of museums in NYC dedicated to math and science.
The National Museum of Mathematics
The National Museum of Mathematics is the best museum in New York if you love numbers. Located on 5th Avenue just north of Madison Square Park, it became the first museum in the US dedicated to mathematics and features over 30 interactive exhibits on patterns and structures.
The New York Hall of Science
New York's Hall of Science is one of the best interactive museums in NYC. Nestled inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, the museum offers visitors the opportunity to explore scientific principles like motion, balance, sound, and sight and learn about subjects like biology, chemistry, and physics.
Intrepid Museum
The Intrepid Museum is a military and maritime history museum located inside a WWII-era warship docked along the Hudson River near Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. It's a fun museum in NYC for adults and kids alike and features exhibits on sea, air and space exploration.
The Best Museums on NYC Culture and History
If you're looking for good museums in NYC to learn about the history and culture of the city itself, here are a few options.
The Museum of The City of New York
The Museum of New York City is a history and art museum located on 5th Avenue and 103rd Street at the very northern tip of Museum Mile. It is dedicated to preserving the history of NYC and its residents and has over 1.5 million items, including drawings, prints, costumes, furniture, and antique toys.
The 9/11 Memorial and Museum
The National September 11th Memorial and Museum is a part of the World Trade Center complex in the financial district, which is dedicated to remembering the victims of both the 2001 attacks as well as the 1993 bombing.
The Tenement Museum
The Tenement Museum is a non-profit cultural institution and historic site inside two preserved tenement buildings on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side that showcases what life was like for the 150,000 immigrants who lived in the buildings from 1863 to 2011.
The Best Museums in the Outer Boroughs
Those in search of a fun museum in New York that's outside of the traditional tourist areas will find plenty of great options in the outer boroughs. Here are a few of the best options.
The Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is a 560,000-square-foot art museum with a collection of over 500,000 objects. It’s located next to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and is known for its large collection of Egyptian antiques and works by notable American painters.
The Museum of Moving Image
The Museum of Moving Image is a cool museum in NYC if you're into the art and history of filmmaking. Situated in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, it's a media museum located inside the former Astoria Studios that's dedicated to the art, technology, and cultural impact of film and television.
Bronx Museum of the Arts
If you're looking for free museums in NYC, the Bronx Museums of the Arts is a good choice. It's located in the Concourse neighborhood of the Bronx and specializes in contemporary works by African American, Latino, and Asian artists.
Best Interactive Museums in NYC
Anyone looking for a slightly more engaging experience with attractions and exhibits that come to life, there are plenty of cool interactive museums that are fun for the whole family. Here are a few of the top choices.
Spyscape
Spyscape is an immersive museum and problem-solving game where visitors can test their skills as spies by working their way through 7 major gallery zones and completing challenges designed to test their empathy, personality, brain power, and risk tolerance.
INTER_IAM
INTER_IAM is a mind-boggling multi-media art exhibit and gallery in Soho that invites visitors to detach from everyday reality and embrace a different way of viewing the world with tech-enabled art exhibits and other innovative features.
The Museum of Illusions
The Museum of Illusions is a museum full of mesmerizing attractions, including kaleidoscopes, holograms, and tilted/reversed rooms, that deceive the eye and create an unforgettable experience for visitors.
Whether you’re planning on moving to New York City or just in town for a visit, you’ll find no shortage of fun museums on every subject under the sun. If you’re thinking about moving to the Big Apple, join our NewBuildClubTM. We will gladly show you all the best homes currently on the market. We use cutting-edge marketing techniques and best-in-class systems to find only the top new construction homes from trusted developers. Reach out to our team today at hello@undividedre.com for more information.
