Visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or The Met, for short) in New York should be on the must-see list for any first time visit to the Big Apple. If you’re not an avid art lover and need a little more convincing, how about this: the works housed at The Met span an incredible 5,000 years.

For a bit of context, The Met’s ‘Ancient Near Eastern Collection’ includes more than 7,000 works, with some dated as early as 8000 B.C. Its Modern and Contemporary Art Collection comprises more than 12,000 works of art, ranging in age from 1900 to present.

The Met has in its possession the Mastaba Tomb of Perneb (ca. 2381–2323 B.C.), the whole thing, complete with ornate art on the walls. It also exhibits an Yves Saint Laurent piece titled ‘Evening Dress’, from the fall/winter collection 1969–70, made from silk and bird-of-paradise feathers. That’s worth the price of admission alone, right?
 

A Short History of The Met

The Met itself is not actually a singular building but spread across three different iconic New York sites: The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer and The Met Cloisters.

The Met Breuer is the Museum's newest space, dedicated to modern and contemporary art. The Met Cloisters specializes in European medieval architecture, sculpture and decorative arts. And The Met Fifth Avenue (the one most of us are familiar with) is the largest art museum in the United States.

Founded in 1840, The Met was designed to create an unrivalled library of fine art within New York City to bring art and art education to the people of America. From those early beginnings, The Met has since grown into the vast museum that it is today. It’s now one of the most visited art museums in the world.

And if you’re still unsure whether to spending precious hours of your limited NYC time at The Met, here is just one more reason why you should…

The View

After a few hours of exploring the 2 million square feet of world-class museum, you’re going to need some relaxation time. Enter the Cantor Roof Garden at The Met. Serving up refreshing beverages (yes, that includes cocktails), bar snacks and sporting an incredible view of the New York City skyline, you really can’t go wrong winding down way up above New York’s most revered art museum.

The Most Famous Pieces at The Met

• Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze

• Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat by Vincent van Gogh

• Bridge over a Point of Water Lilies by Claude Monet

• The Dance Class by Edgar Degas

• Aristotle with a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt van Rijn

• Autumn Rhythm: Number 30 by Jackson Pollock

• The Attitudes of Animals in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge

• Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints by Raphael

• Bullfight in a Divided Ring by Francisco Goya