The best museums in Manhattan in 2026 are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA and the American Museum of Natural History, followed by the Guggenheim, the Whitney and the newly renovated Frick Collection. The Morgan Library, the Neue Galerie, the Museum of the City of New York, the Tenement Museum, the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Intrepid round out the island's best.
One of the world's greatest encyclopedic museums.
The Met's collection spans 5,000 years — Egyptian temples, European masters, the American Wing, armor and more.
Good to know: Don't miss the Temple of Dendur and the summer roof garden.
1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
The great collection of modern art.
MoMA holds Van Gogh's 'The Starry Night', Picasso, Warhol and much more, with a sculpture garden.
Good to know: Go at opening for the quietest galleries.
11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
Dinosaurs, the blue whale and the planetarium.
The Natural History Museum's dinosaur halls, ocean life hall and Gilder Center make it a family favorite.
Good to know: Book timed tickets online.
200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
Frank Lloyd Wright's spiral masterpiece.
The Guggenheim's spiraling rotunda is as famous as the modern art inside it.
Good to know: Take the elevator up and walk down the ramp.
1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128
American art with Hudson River terraces.
The Whitney's Renzo Piano building at the foot of the High Line shows 20th- and 21st-century American art, with outdoor terraces.
Good to know: Visit the terraces for High Line and river views.
99 Gansevoort St, New York, NY 10014
Old Masters in a Gilded Age mansion, newly renovated.
The Frick reopened in its Fifth Avenue mansion after a major renovation, showing Vermeer, Rembrandt and other masters in intimate rooms.
Good to know: Book timed tickets in advance.
1 E 70th St, New York, NY 10021
J.P. Morgan's spectacular library.
The Morgan's historic library rooms hold rare books and manuscripts, with excellent changing exhibitions.
Good to know: Lunch in the glass-roofed atrium café.
225 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
German and Austrian art, including Klimt's 'Woman in Gold'.
The Neue Galerie, in a Fifth Avenue mansion, displays early 20th-century German and Austrian art, including Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, with the Viennese Café Sabarsky.
Good to know: Have Sachertorte at Café Sabarsky.
1048 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
The story of New York itself.
The Museum of the City of New York tells the city's history through photographs, objects and its film 'Timescapes'.
Good to know: Great for first-time visitors who want context.
1220 5th Ave, New York, NY 10029
Art by artists of African descent, in a new building.
The Studio Museum in Harlem, in its new home on 125th Street, champions artists of African descent through exhibitions and its renowned artist-in-residence program.
Good to know: Combine with the Apollo Theater nearby.
144 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027
Immigrant history told through real apartments.
The Tenement Museum's guided tours explore restored apartments and the families who lived in them.
Good to know: Book tours in advance.
103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002
An aircraft carrier and the space shuttle Enterprise.
The Intrepid Museum, aboard a historic aircraft carrier, displays jets, a submarine and the space shuttle Enterprise.
Good to know: Kids love the submarine tour.
Pier 86, W 46th St & 12th Ave, New York, NY 10036
The Met and the American Museum of Natural History are pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents and New York, New Jersey and Connecticut students; many other museums have free evenings — check each museum's website.
Museum Mile is the stretch of Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th Streets with the Met, the Neue Galerie, the Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum, Cooper Hewitt, the Museum of the City of New York and El Museo del Barrio.