Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on January 16, 2025.
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (aptly called The Met for short) is one of the world’s best museums.
Featuring art and artifacts from the earliest days of human history through to modern times, sourced from all over the world, to say this one has a little bit of everything may be a bit of an understatement. Naturally, it means the museum is huge and, if we’re being honest, impossibly hard to see everything on a single visit.
As such, you really need to have a plan for visiting this museum so as to ensure you are getting most out of your ticket price. In this one, we thought it’d be fun to look at different ways to plan a visit to the museum in lieu of sharing great exhibits outright because, again, there are just too many!
Way #1 – Wander Aimlessly
The first way to tackle visiting The Met, and one of our favorites, is simply by wandering aimlessly.
This approach is a lot of fun because you simply see what you see over a fixed amount of time. Pick a hall to start in, wander into a room that catches your eye, move on to the next, and repeat in various floors and wings based on how much time you have.
Will you see everything? Absolutely not. Will you discover some great new finds because you visit what kind of art draws you over in the moment? Absolutely.
If you are the kind of person who doesn’t need to see everything in one go and, perhaps more importantly, will return to the museum in future visits, wandering aimlessly in the museum can be quite fun for those who may be limited on time. If you do this approach on multiple visits, the odds are good you’ll always see something new!
How Much Time Needed: As much as you have available. 1.5 hours minimum recommended.
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Way #2- Strategic Stops
A second option for those with limited time is to be strategic about what you see. Perhaps you love one form of art, say, ancient Egypt, Renaissance, or portraits from the masters. Pick a hall (or three) that you must see and be strategic on checking out the art that speaks to you most.
This is always a good option for those who are limited on time who want to see something very specific. Spend as much time as you can focusing on one era or wing in the museum, see every bit you can, and leave the rest for your next visit. I did this on my most recent visit and spent a fair bit of time in the Egyptian wing, the Japan and East Asia section (as I had just returned from Japan), and seeing art from Rembrandt to name a few, while strolling through the rest to see what else caught my eye.
How Much Time Needed: As much as you have available. 1.5 to 3 hours recommended.
Way #3 – Take a Tour
For those who want to see highlights of The Met, but perhaps don’t want to rely on your own selection, or if you want to rely on the knowledge of an expert, there are a number of official Met Tours (many of which are free with paid admission) and 3rd party tours (paid) of the museum that are worth checking out.
The sky is really the limit on the number of tours out there (varying by day and time, of course), including focused dives into a specific wing, general museum tours, live performances, and so much more. General tours may be great for first-timers looking to get an organized look at the museum, and some of the more focused tours may be a wonderful option for those on their 3rd, 4th, or 5th+ visit to the museum looking to experience the world-class art from a different angle.
How Much Time Needed: 1 to 3 hours for the tour typical, plus additional time for exploring the museum on your own- plan for 3 to 5 hours on average.
Way #4 – See Everything
The final approach to experiencing The Met is to try and see it all. This is a truly impressive feat considering the museum is home to about 500,000 pieces of art. But since many of these are clustered into categories, it becomes just a bit more manageable- although we’re being very generous in use of the term.
The simple truth of the matter is that to try and visit every exhibit at The Met, and give each even just a quick glance, would require an entire day visiting the museum. Some may be able to accomplish this task in about 4 to 5 hours, but really you would need to fully allocate your entire day to exploring the museum in this instance just to be safe.
When we say this one is large, we really mean it.
How Much Time Needed: An entire day recommended, if not more.
While the only wrong way to enjoy The Met is to not go at all, those who are visiting really need to take a moment and decide what camp you are in when visiting. Only in doing so will you feel like you are getting the most out of your ticket, even if many of these likely require several visits to truly see it all.
Do you have a favorite way to enjoy The Met in NYC? Comment below to share!
About Jeremy
About the Author: Jeremy is a full-time travel writer based in Pittsburgh and primary author of this site. He has been to 70+ countries on five continents and seeks out new food, adventure activities, and off-the-beaten-path experiences wherever he travels.