ESPAÑOL

Although we usually refer to the main building, it is a set of 3 museums, the first being one of the most popular in the city and one of the most important in the world. It’s a regular stop when visiting New York, even for those little museum lovers. In the same style as the Museum Island in Berlin or the Louvre in Paris, it houses works from classical antiquity, although the Met also has some modern art that could perfectly be in another of the specific museums in Manhattan. The remaining two are Met Cloisters and Met Breuer.

HOW TO GET THERE

It is a large building with neoclassical aspect inaugurated in 1880, located on 5th Avenue, between 80th and 84th streets, with based on Central Park. The nearest metro stops are the green lines, which stop at stations 77St (6) and 84 (4, 5 and 6).

SCHEDULES

• Met 5th Avenue: open daily from 10 am to 5:30 pm (Friday and Saturday until 9 pm).
• Met Breuer: closes on Mondays. Rest of days equal to 5ªAv.
• Met Cloisters: open daily. From March to October from 10 am to 5:15 pm and November to February from 10 am to 4:45 pm.

PRICES

MET usted to be, like other museums ni New York City, free, but that doesn’t happen any more:

• Adult admission is $ 25, giving access to the three museums in 3 consecutive days; It is also included in the discouraged passes for many combined attractions.
• Before, if we waited the queue and went directly to the window, we could have seen that the price of the ticket was a “suggested donation” meaning we could have payed want we wanted, from a cent to hundreds of dollars, and included special exhibitions. Only allowed access for the same day for the other two museums, but that was nonsense, because if you were interested, you could have gone any another day to another museum and donate a penny once more. I’ve gone twice to 5th Avenue and once to the Cloisters.

THE VISIT

In the basement are:

• The lower part of Robert Lehman Collection, donated after his death. Since it was a private collection, there is a bit of everything.
• And the main cafeteria. Prices are expensive, Cesar salad costs $ 14 or a sandwich $ 15.

Our itinerary starts at the main entrance, on the first floor. We have three possibilities:

• At the center: medieval exhibition, with a room dedicated to weapons and armor, and surrounded by rooms of European Sculpture. The furthest west is the upper part of Robert Lehman Collection that started in the basement.

• To the left (towards south), there are rooms devoted to art of ancient Greece and Rome. We will be forced to continue to arts of Africa, Oceania and The Americas. Then we can continue straight ahead, towards the area of Modern and Contemporary art, or turn right, connecting with European Sculpture.

• On the right: Egyptian art, including the whole of the small temple of Dendur, donated by Egypt as thanks to the United States for collaborating in the rescue of heritage (the main one, the Temple of Abu Simbel) that would have been flooded when Aswan dam was built. It is similar to those that were donated for the same reason to Italy, the Netherlands and Spain (Temple of Debod in Madrid). From here, we are forced to continue towards the American Wing, which connects with European Sculpture and the armor room.

• There are two small cafés, with similar prices.

On the second floor:

• Above the Greek-Roman rooms we’ll find Middle East Art.

• Over Africa-Oceania we’ll find european Sculpture and Painting from 18th and 19th centuries.

• Over contemporary art there’s more contemporary art.
• Over European sculpture we’ll find European Painting.

• Over Egyptian is Asian Art.

• And on the American Wing there is more American wing.
• There is also the Great Balcony Café and Bar. Prices similar to the basement cafeteria, but better views.

On the third floor there are hardly any small rooms.

On the fourth floor is the restaurant, above the area of ​Contamporary Art. Spectacular views of Central Park, but very expensive; to get an idea, a dish is usually around $ 25-30 (although there are up to $ 47), lunch menu with two dishes costs $ 38 (no tip or drink other than tap water included) and brunch costs 55 $. Usually needs reservation.

And on the 5th floor is the Cantor Roof Garden, open from May to October, one of the best rooftops in Manhattan, also for its views of Central Park and the surrounding buildings. It is accessed only by elevator. It’s expensive, but the views deserve at least the cheapest on the menu, a softdrink at $ 4.25.

MET CLOISTERS

A medieval European convent made with pieces of 5 medieval French convents. It may be curious to visit, less for Europeans. It seems of being very far away; you have to take the metro line blue A until 190St and walk through Fort Tryon Park 5 minutes, or get off at the next station (Dickman St). Hopefully it will take us more than half an hour to get from Midtown.

Since it reproduces a convent, it is much smaller than the 5th Av. It has a very pleasant patio for lunch, with a cafeteria at prices similar to those of the previous building.

MET BREUER

Dedicated to contemporary art to compete with MoMA. I have never visited it. It has 5 floors, but they are very small, being all ground floor the cafeteria. It is located at 945 Madison Avenue, just 10 minutes walk from the 5th Avenue building.

MORE MUSEUMS IN NEW YORK CITY:

<MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

 MUSEUMS OF MODERN ART: MoMA AND GUGGENHEIM>

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