Our visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was amazing. We were welcome by Robert, who is a student of our college “The New York City College of Technology”. He helped us to get complimentary tickets. Because he is the Manager of the Dining Restaurant, he was able to show us the restaurant as well as the Roof bar and give us a little overview explaining how now they are adapting their service to serve not only members, but any guest.
The Dinning Room and the Rooftop
After that, we joined the highlight tour for over one hour and was really interesting. The guide Susan Jordan, indicated us how the Museum had over 5,000 years of art which was also mentioned on their website. She gave us an overview of the Greek and Roman Art, the art of Oceania as well as the room filled with a mural painting by Thomas Hart Benton showing America’s life. On the second floor, we saw the European Paining section were we saw some art from Van Gogh and finalized with a painting of Diego Velazquez. The guide was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and I made us feel very welcome and asked questions to make us feel part of the tour. I believe she was a very good guide.
Some pictures of what we saw during out Highlights tour
The museum itself is quite big and I believe even an entire day might not be enough to see it all. For tourists that planned only 1 day to visit the museum, I would emphasize to have an idea of which section they want to go as it might be impossible to see it all in one day, In this way, by planning ahead, depending on people’s interesting it might be helpful to check their website as well. On their website, they have tips, maps and regular information about the museum and the collections they have.
Like the New York City Official guide states on their website, this museum has over 5 million visitors, for which is not a surprise because their collection it’s extensive and anyone can find something they might like. If is not sculptures, maybe paints, objects, or seasonal collections they always have. For example, when we were visiting the museum they had the “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and Catholic Imagination” which is about fashion in relation with religion. Moreover, this museum is visited for people from all over the world as we could hear people talking in different languages and observe people from different nationalities. Even though the museum offer maps in different languages and have signs all over the museum, due to the size people find themselves lost and need guidance from what I could perceive. For this reason, the museum have information desks not only in the entrance, but throughout the museum and I found interesting the security people was also assisting the tourists to find their way.
Information desks
Transportation to the museum was not bad at all. I wish there was a train closer rather than taking the train and then the bus, which might be more difficult during the winter. However, as the museum is located by the Central Park it make it very convenient for tourists to visit this museum. The museum also has accessibility for people with disabilities which I found out very important to note. Overall, I felt really confortable and enjoyed our visit to the museum and fter the tour I actually had to go back again to the rooftop because the view was stunning. I believe this is one of the best museums I even being. I can easily spend days on it and will look forward to come back.
Pictures I took when I went back to the Rooftop
References:
NYCgo.com Staff. (2015, August 23). These are the 5 Most-Visited Museums in NYC. Retrieved June 20, 2018 from https://www.nycgo.com/articles/the-big-5-most-visited-museums-in-nyc
The Met Fifth Avenue. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2018 from https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/met-fifth-avenue
