Best Museums in NYC

New York City boasts some of the top museums in the world, encompassing a range of subjects from art to marine life and the natural world.

The city is home to well over eighty institutions, with a wide variety of temporary exhibitions and permanent exhibits to choose from. Whether you are a lover of natural history, modern art, science, or maritime history, you are sure to find something worth visiting in the Big Apple.

Keep reading to discover some of the best museums in New York City, and some honorable mentions you might enjoy, too!

Best New York City Museums

Museum of Ice Cream

558 Broadway, New York, NY 10012, United States

Located in SoHo, this small pink museum invites visitors into a world of candy, cakes, sprinkles, and cones. Guests can enjoy signature treats and new ice cream flavors served on a floating table or take a trip with the “Celestial Subway”.

There is also a massive Sprinkle Pool where visitors can dive in. If you’d like to take a private splash away from crowds, be sure to book a private tour.

Admission starts at around forty-four USD, and children under two years old can enter for free. Be sure to reserve a ticket at least two or three weeks in advance, as they sell out fast.

Opening Hours
Monday 10 AM to 7:30 PM
Wednesday and Thursday 10 AM to 7:30 PM
Friday to Saturday 10 AM to 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Sunday 10 AM to 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM to 7 PM

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128, United States

Often referred to simply as the Guggenheim, this museum first opened on the Upper East Side. It offers a wide range of exhibits, including a permanent collection and rotating works. In 1959 it moved to its current location, and the building has become a local and national landmark. The museum is also a great example of 20th Century architecture and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Even if you’re not fond of any of its exhibits, the design of the building itself is awe-inspiring and well worth seeing. The building also has a truly unique interior, which is ideal for selfies and photographs.

If this is your first time visiting the museum, most frequent visitors recommend starting at the top of the building and working your way down. Doing this will also give you a chance to peer down at the crowds from the top of the rotunda – a true sight to behold.

Adults pay twenty-five USD for admission to the museum. The elderly, students and visitors with disabilities pay eighteen USD. Members and children under the age of twelve may enter for free. On Saturdays between six and eight PM, the museum hosts pay-what-you-wish admission.

Opening Hours

Monday 11 AM to 6 PM
Wednesday to Friday 11 AM to 6 PM
Saturday 11 AM to 8 PM
Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM

The Morbid Anatomy Library and Gift Shop

220, 421 36th St Building 2 Unit, Brooklyn, NY 11232, United States

Originally started by Joanna Ebenstein to support an exhibition, the museum began its life as a blog. It has since expanded to include books, films, exhibitions, and The Morbid Anatomy Library – with Ebenstein as its creative director.

What makes the museum so unique is that its main focus is on death, a subject not typically associated with museums. The museum is small and home to two rooms that house its exhibits. There are various strange and macabre collections, from a dead kitten wedding to two-headed calves. It also includes a full skeleton, framed locks of hair, and various pieces of taxidermy.

There is also a gift shop where visitors can browse through souvenirs like human teeth, specimens preserved in formaldehyde, and mammal skulls. And if you’re looking for some great coffee, this is the place to be.

This is a great museum for anyone who enjoys dark themes and fascinating, albeit weird, exhibits. Adults pay eight USD for admission, and students and seniors can enter for six USD. Children of twelve years or younger may enter for free.

Opening Hours

Saturday 12 PM to 5 PM

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art

26 Wooster St, New York, NY 10013, United States

The Leslie-Lohman Museum can be found in Lower Manhattan, in SoHo, and has been open since the late 1960s. It focuses on preserving the work of artists in the LGBTQIA+ community. In the 1980s, it rescued countless artworks by artists suffering from and losing their lives to AIDS, while their families wanted to destroy the works out of ignorance and shame.

While the museum is on the smaller side, it makes great use of its available space and offers stunning exhibits. Some of the most popular exhibitions include “Uncanny Effects”, which showcases connections between cultural producers and the LGBTQIA+ community in the late 1900s, and “Working Definitions”, a piece that contains several objects that address how complex identity is and looks at it through an intersectional lens.

Entrance is free, but a donation of ten USD or more is highly encouraged.

Opening Hours

Wednesday 12 PM to 5 PM
Thursday to Sunday 12 PM to 6 PM
Saturday 1 PM to 6 PM

National Museum of Mathematics

11 E 26th St, New York, NY 10010, United States

If you’re traveling as a family and you have a few little mathematicians to entertain, be sure to stop at the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath). The museum is located near Madison Square Garden and makes for a great way to spend an afternoon in the city.

The museum offers interactive exhibits and hands-on experiences that teach children about shapes, kinetics, fractals, hyperboloids, parabolas, and pi. There are also many fun things to see, like the Twisted Thruway virtual ride, a square-wheeled tricycle, and Hoop Curves! (a robotic basketball shooter).

Admission to the museum is free for members, twenty-five USD for adults, and twenty USD for children over two, students, and seniors.

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM

The Met Cloisters

99 Margaret Corbin Dr, New York, NY 10040, United States

The Met Cloisters form a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Located in Fort Tryon Park, this beautiful and peaceful garden features sculpture, decorative arts, and medieval European architecture. It gives visitors a chance to step back in time and catch a glimpse of Europe in the early 1900s.

The museum boasts nearly two thousand artworks and is an excellent place to wander in the sun. If you’d like to visit when the lush greenery and flowers are at their best, be sure to visit between late spring and early fall.

If you have visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, admission to the Met Cloisters is pay-what-you-wish. You can also purchase tickets online, at twenty-five USD per adult, seventeen USD per senior citizen, and twelve USD per student.

Opening Hours

Monday to Tuesday 10 AM to 5:15 PM
Thursday to Sunday 10 AM to 5:15 PM

Mmuseumm

4 Cortlandt Alley, New York, NY 10013, United States

Often considered a hidden gem in New York City, this little museum is located on Cortlandt Street and can be missed easily while walking by. It makes up only about sixty square feet and can be found in a rusty elevator shaft. The museum is home to a wide selection of artifacts about current events and modern humanity, and the exhibits are ever-changing and rotating.

The museum is also known for showcasing unusual items, like Gluten-Free Holy Communion Wafers, ISIS Currency, Homemade Gas Masks, and Personal Objects of Immigration.

Visitors can enjoy the museum from April to November, and entry is free. However, donations of five USD or more are highly encouraged. There is also the option of booking a private tour, which lasts anything from half an hour to an hour.

Opening Hours

Friday to Saturday 11 AM to 6 PM

The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum

4881 Broadway @, W 204th St, New York, NY 10034, United States

If you’re looking for a break from the skyscrapers and bustling city streets, you can stop by the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum for some fresh air and a charming rural atmosphere. The house has survived in the same location since the post-Revolutionary war and was built in the late 1700s, in a typical Dutch colonial style.

It is home to a small but stunning garden and towering trees. If you go up to the third floor of the house, you can see 204th Street and Broadway. However, all three floors have something to offer, including the basement’s Winter kitchen. If you take your time and explore every corner of the house, you are sure to find some unique gems well worth seeing.

Keep in mind that the house has low beams, so be careful if you’re tall.

Admission to the garden is free, but donations are welcome and encouraged. If you’re planning on a group tour, you can expect to pay a small fee.

Opening Hours

Wednesday to Friday 12 PM to 4 PM
Saturday 10 AM to 4 PM

American Museum of Natural History

200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, United States

The American Museum of Natural History (or simply the Natural History Museum) can be found on the corner of Central Park West and 79th Street. It offers amazing exhibitions on the universe, nature, and human culture. There is something for every kind of visitor, including things like wildlife and ecology, dinosaurs, or the history of Native Americans.

The museum is split into seven wings, with each wing focusing on a different component of the universe and nature. For example, visitors can stop by the wildlife exhibitions to see things like the Mammoth Skeleton or a model of a Blue Whale. There are also other exhibits on human nature, such as Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Great Canoe, and Origami Holiday Tree.

For an additional fee, guests will have access to special displays like the indoor rain forest called The Butterfly Conservatory. Here, visitors can walk along a magical path, surrounded by over five hundred stunning butterflies.

Admission typically costs fifteen USD for adults, seven USD for children, and twelve USD for seniors and students. If you reserve tickets online, you can get a one USD discount. And, if you visit on the first Tuesday of the month (apart from July and August), or every Tuesday in the month of September, you will get free admission to the museum.

Opening Hours

Wednesday to Sunday 10 AM to 5:30 PM

The American Folk Art Museum

2 Lincoln Square, New York, NY 10023, United States

If you were born in the 90s, you may have nostalgic memories of colorful knitted blankets and dinnerware with vintage patterns. These handcrafted items, and more, can be found at the American Folk Art Museum. The museum is focused on celebrating self-taught artists and honoring creative expression.

There are more than eight thousand artworks to be explored, from almost every continent and some dating over four centuries. There are stunning quilts and fascinating portraits among the many mediums found in the museum.

At this institution, folk art is more than just a documentation of the past and expands to include live artists that are still working today.

Another major draw to the museum is that it has free admission for everyone.

Opening Hours

Wednesday to Sunday 11:30 AM to 6 PM

The Morgan Library and Museum

225 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016, United States

This museum was the private home of the investment banker and American Wall Street financier John P. Morgan in the late 1800s. It is considered one of the greatest treasures in the world and is home to a stunning collection of drawings, manuscripts, and early print books. It is a particularly great museum for culture and history buffs.

Visitors can browse through a selection of exhibitions on everything from music and literature to the fine arts. Sometimes the museum hosts live concerts or film screenings. There is also a gift shop where guests can buy souvenirs.

Admission is twenty-two USD for adults, thirteen USD for students or disabled visitors, and fourteen USD for seniors.

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Thursday 10:30 AM to 5 PM
Friday 10:30 AM to 7 PM
Saturday to Sunday 10:30 AM to 5 PM

The Noguchi Museum

9-01 33rd Rd, Queens, NY 11106, United States

This museum is designed to preserve the artwork of one of the most important and critically acclaimed Japanese-American sculptors of the 2Oth century, Isamu Noguchi. Located in Long Island City, this two-story building contains simple, bold, and beautiful sculptural pieces made of stone or marble, with organic forms.

And, if you’re fond of sculpture, you can combine your trip to the Noguchi museum with a visit to Socrates Sculpture Park, just a block away. There, visitors will find a wide range of art exhibits to explore.

Admission to the Noguchi Museum is ten USD for adults and five USD for students and seniors. And, if you visit on the first Friday of each month, admission is free.

Opening Hours

Wednesday to Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, United States

Often simply referred to as “The Met”, the Metropolitan Museum of Art is the world’s largest art museum. It consists of three different locations scattered throughout New York City and includes seven curatorial departments with over two million artworks. Because of its size, visitors are bound to see something new upon each visit and often spend a few days exploring everything the Met has to offer.

There is a wide range of collections and exhibits to be explored here, including a stunning example of classic Roman architecture called the Temple of Dendur. In America, the Met is the only museum dedicated to art and architecture from the middle ages, which makes visiting it a truly unique experience.

Admission for adults is twenty-five USD. Seniors pay seventeen USD and students pay twelve USD. Children of twelve years or younger, patrons, and members may enter for free. The tickets will remain valid for three days, provided that they are consecutive.

Opening Hours

Monday to Tuesday 10 AM to 5 PM
Thursday 10 AM to 5 PM
Friday to Saturday 10 AM to 9 PM
Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM

Wave Hill Public Garden and Cultural Centre

4900 Independence Ave, The Bronx, NY 10471, United States

If you don’t mind traveling to the Bronx, be sure to stop by Wave Hill. It takes about an hour and a half to get to this outdoor museum from Times Square, but the trip is well worth it.

The museum stretches over twenty-eight acres and overlooks the Hudson River. It includes a pergola, which offers stunning views of the water, and the 1843 English country building called Wave Hill House. Inside the house, visitors can stop for lunch at the café or visit the souvenir shop. It sells gift items like jewelry, handmade soaps, glass items, and ceramics.

The Wave Hill park forms part of the Museum of Modern Art and has great resting spots, like the Wave Hill Chairs.

Admission is ten USD for adults, six USD for seniors and students, and four USD for children of six years and older. Members and children younger than six may visit for free.

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Sunday 10 AM to 5:30 PM

New York City Fire Museum

278 Spring St, New York, NY 10013, United States

Located in SoHo, this two-story museum is built inside a former firehouse. It is home to an extensive collection of historic memorabilia related to firefighting, some of which date back to the 1600s. The collection includes items such as a horse-drawn ladder wagon, vintage FDNY uniforms, an American La France engine from 1921, and ornate hand pumpers.

If you have some extra time, you can also combine your visit to the Fire Museum with a trip to the 343 FDNY memorial and pay respects to those who lost their lives during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Admission costs eight USD for adults and five USD for seniors, students, and children over the age of two.

Opening Hours

Wednesday to Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM

New York Transit Museum

99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, United States

If you’ve visited the city during the holidays, you may know that there is a “Holiday Nostalgia” train that runs through New York at Christmas time. And, if you’re fond of that, you will be equally delighted by the New York Transit Museum.

The museum is located inside a real Downtown Brooklyn subway station and includes a large collection of vintage 1930s train cars. Visitors can walk in, and around, famous vintage subway cars used in films like “Elementary” and “Person of Interest” or take a look at old advertisements from the 1940s.

The New York Transit Museum is also home to other fascinating historic objects, like photographs, vintage train tokens, and interactive exhibits.

Adults are charged ten USD for admission. Seniors and children between two and twelve are charged five USD.

Opening Hours

Thursday to Sunday 10 AM to 4 PM

The Jewish Museum

1109 5th Ave &, E 92nd St, New York, 10128

Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Jewish Museum contains cultural artifacts, modern and contemporary art, and multi-media installations. Outside of Israel, it contains the world’s largest collection of Jewish culture and art, making it a truly unique institution.

Admission to the museum typically costs around eighteen USD, but if free every Thursday between four PM and eight PM. The museum is also free to enter for members and select Jewish holidays.

Opening Hours

Monday 11 AM to 6 PM
Thursday 11 AM to 8 PM
Friday 11 AM to 4 PM
Saturday to Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Pier 86, W 46th St, New York, NY 10036, United States

If you’re a history lover, you’ll be delighted by the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. Home to a vast collection of groundbreaking technology, including vessels and aircraft, the museum is an interactive way to learn about American history, bravery, and innovation.

Some of the most popular exhibits include the space shuttle Enterprise, some of the fastest jets in the world, and Intrepid – the legendary aircraft carrier.

Adults pay thirty-three USD for admission. Admission for seniors is thirty-one USD and children between the ages of five and twelve pay twenty-four USD.

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM

Whitney Museum of American Art

99 Gansevoort St, New York, NY 10014, United States

Founded in the 1930s by the prominent art patron and wealthy socialite, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the Whitney Museum of American Art is a dedicated contemporary art museum that focuses on works from the 20th and 21st centuries. It is one of the most popular museums in the state.

It houses a permanent collection that consists of over twenty-five thousand artifacts, videos, films, drawings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and old master paintings from over three thousand five hundred contemporary artists.

If you are a lover of art history or contemporary American art, be sure to visit the Whitney Museum on your next visit to New York City.

Adults pay twenty-five USD for admission, and students and seniors pay eighteen USD. Admission is free for anyone under the age of eighteen.

Opening Hours

Monday 10 AM to 6 PM
Wednesday to Thursday 10 AM to 6 PM
Friday 10:30 AM to 10 PM
Saturday to Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM

Tenement Museum

103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, United States

Located on the Lower East Side, the Tenement Museum consists of two historic buildings. These buildings have housed around fifteen thousand people from more than twenty nations since the late 1800s and are an excellent example of New York’s diverse culture.

Today, the buildings are home to exhibits depicting the lives of immigrants, including film documentaries and costumed tours. One of the latest exhibitions, entitled “Under One Roof”, explores the lives of families from China, Puerto Rico, and Germany.

Admission to the museum is based on different activities and can range between twenty-seven and forty-five USD.

If you’re a history lover or simply want to learn more about the history of immigrants in America, you can also stop by the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration (often referred to simply as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum).

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM

Brooklyn Museum

200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238, United States

Brooklyn Museum is one of the largest museums in the country and includes a wide variety of cultural exhibits. The museum consists of around one and a half million objects and stretches over five hundred and sixty thousand square feet.

Some of the highlights include exhibits like “Death to The Living”, a striking look at marine pollution and devastation, and “Couturissime”, a retrospective that explores the edgy and fascinating world of French designer Thierry Mugler.

Adults can expect to pay sixteen USD for admission. Students, seniors, and visitors with disabilities can expect to pay ten USD for admission. Admission is free for anyone younger than nineteen. Entry is also free on the first Saturday of every month, from February to August and in October.

Opening Hours

Wednesday to Sunday 10 AM to 6 PM

Honorable Mentions

The New York Historical Society

170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, United States

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Thursday 11 AM to 5 PM
Friday 11 AM to 8 PM
Saturday to Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM

New Museum of Contemporary Art

235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002, United States

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Wednesday 11 AM to 6 PM
Thursday 11 AM to 9 PM
Friday to Sunday 11 AM to 6 PM

The Frick Collection

1 E 70th St, New York, NY 10021, United States

Opening Hours

First Friday of every month 6 PM to 9 PM
Closed in January and September

Rubin Museum of Art

150 W 17th St, New York, NY 10011, United States

Opening Hours

Thursday 11 AM to 5 PM
Friday 11 AM to 10 PM
Saturday to Sunday 11 AM to 5 PM