With a new season comes new ways to explore your city, especially one filled with some of the best art on display in the world. We’ve rounded up amazing museums in NYC you can visit this season and beyond. With exclusive theme nights, must-see exhibitions, and beautiful architecture. Did someone say outdoor gardens? Also included are exhibits currently on view and what you can look forward to in the coming months. Don’t miss Culture Pass and IDNYC entry options at the end as well!
We definitely recommend experiencing a few as a fun solo date or family or friend outing! Also to note, that the first week/weekend is popular for free admission days and theme nights. Which will you be checking out?
Be sure to click the links to secure your time slot! As always, BOOKMARK this GUIDE and check back for additions and updates.
Day/Month Specific
Museum of the Moving Image
📍 36-01 35 Avenue, Queens
📅 Every Thursday, 2-6pm *No registration required
Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is the only museum in the U.S. that explores the central technology of the present moment. With exhibitions and screenings on the art, history, technique, and science of the moving image. 🎨 See What’s on View
Dumbo Galleries
📍 Dumbo, Brooklyn
📅 Every First Thursday, 6-8pm *No registration required
DUMBO’s galleries stay open late for a night of art, gallery openings, artist talks, and live performance. Visitors enjoy incredible views of the East River and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges as they walk along the waterfront from one gallery to the next and can enjoy local drink specials at DUMBO stalwart Superfine. 🎨 See What’s on View
International Center of Photography
📍 79 Essex Street
📅 Every Third Thursday, 6-9pm *RSVP Required
The International Center of Photography is the world’s leading institution dedicated to photography and visual culture. Through its exhibitions, education programs, community outreach, and public programs, ICP offers an open forum for dialogue about the power of the image. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Morgan Library & Museum
📍 225 Madison Avenue
📅 Every Friday, 5-7pm *RSVP required
The Morgan Library & Museum began as the personal library of financier, collector, and cultural benefactor Pierpont Morgan. As early as 1890 Morgan had begun to assemble a collection of illuminated, literary, and historical manuscripts, early printed books, and old master drawings and prints. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Rubin Museum of Art
📍 150 West 17th Street
📅 Every Friday, 6-10pm *RSVP Required
Enjoy cocktails, art, music, special programs, and more during K2 Friday Nights! Explore all the galleries for free, join a 7:15pm exhibition tour, and hang out in Café Serai, which transforms into the K2 Lounge with a special drink menu and DJ set. Admission tickets provide access to the galleries, café, and public tours. 🎨 See What’s on View
Poster House
📍 119 West 23rd Street
📅 Every Friday, 10am -9pm (all day) *No RSVP Required
As the first poster museum in the United States, Poster House is dedicated to presenting the impact, culture, and design of posters, both as historical documents and methods of contemporary visual communication. Through temporary exhibitions, a growing permanent collection, and educational events, Poster House explores the enormous impact of posters on society and culture, and how they have been adapted to contemporary use. 🎨 See What’s on View
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
📍 11 West 53rd Street
📅 Every First Friday, 4-8pm *RSVP Required
The rich and varied collection of The Museum of Modern Art constitutes one of the most comprehensive and panoramic views into modern art. From an initial gift of eight prints and one drawing, The Museum of Modern Art’s collection has grown to approximately 200,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, media and performance art works, architectural models and drawings, design objects, and films. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Noguchi Museum
📍 9-01 33rd Road, Queens
📅 Every First Friday, 11am-6pm (all day) *RSVP Recommended
The Noguchi Museum was the first museum in the United States to be established, designed, and installed by a living artist to show their own work. Holding the world’s largest collection of Isamu Noguchi’s works, it features open-air and indoor galleries in a repurposed 1920s industrial building and a serene outdoor sculpture garden. 🎨 See What’s on View
Neue Galerie
📍 1048 Fifth Avenue
📅 Every First Friday, 5-8pm *No RSVP Required
Neue Galerie New York is a museum devoted to early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design, displayed on two exhibition floors. Special temporary exhibitions rotate in the third-floor galleries throughout the year. 🎨 See What’s on View
Whitney Museum of American Art
📍 99 Gansevoort Street
📅 Every Friday, 7-10pm AND Second Sundays, 10:30am-6pm (all day) *RSVP Required
The Whitney Museum of American Art presents the full range of twentieth-century and contemporary American art, with a special focus on works by living artists. The Whitney is dedicated to collecting, preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting American art, and its collection. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Jewish Museum
📍 1109 5th Avenue
📅 Every Saturday, 11am-6pm (all day) *RSVP Recommended
The Jewish Museum is an art museum committed to illuminating the complexity and vibrancy of Jewish culture for a global audience. Through distinctive exhibitions and programs that present the work of diverse artists and thinkers. 🎨 See What’s on View
Brooklyn Museum
📍 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
📅 First Saturdays (February–August and October), 5-11pm *RSVP Required *Also, Pay What You Wish other days of the week
First Saturdays at Brooklyn Museum are monthly evenings of free programming welcoming visitors from central Brooklyn and beyond. Featuring music, art, talks, workshops, and more with a different theme each month. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
📍 1000 Fifth Avenue
📅 Every Friday & Saturday, 5-9pm *Pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents and NY, NJ, and CT students with valid ID
Every Friday and Saturday night, it’s Date Night at The Met! Enjoy a solo evening of live music, drinks, special programming, and 5,000 years of art. Experience live music and enjoy drink specials and an assortment of light fare in the American Wing Cafe and the Petrie Court Cafe. The Cantor Roof Garden Bar will also reopen this spring, Fridays & Saturdays.🎨 See What’s on View
Always Free
The Bronx Museum
📍 1040 Grand Concourse, The Bronx
⏰ Hours: Monday – Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday – Sunday: 11am-6pm *No RSVP Required
The Bronx Museum of the Arts is a contemporary art museum that connects diverse audiences to the urban experience through its permanent collection, special exhibitions, and education programs that strive to reflect the borough’s dynamic communities. 🎨 See What’s on View
MoMA PS1
📍 22-25 Jackson Avenue, Queens
⏰ Hours: Sunday, Monday, Thursday, Friday: 12–6pm, Saturday: 12–8pm, Tuesday and Wednesday: Closed *RSVP Required (New York City and New York State residents)
Artist-centered and community-driven, MoMA PS1 embraces boundary-breaking ideas and experimental practices. A place where audiences can encounter and engage with new art and perspectives, the institution has offered insight into artists’ worldviews for nearly 50 years. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Africa Center
📍 1280 Fifth Avenue
⏰ Hours: The Center is open for select public programs, more here. *Except for ticketed exhibitions, programs and events
The Africa Center is transforming the world’s understanding of Africa, its Diaspora, and the role of people of African descent in the world. Serving as the hub for the exchange of ideas related to the continent, and in the spirit of collaboration with individuals and institutions who share the same values. Featuring a series of inaugural performances, installations, talks, readings, book signings, and film screenings. Teranga, a fast-casual restaurant located within the Center highlights food from the continent and hosts tastings and cooking demonstrations. 🎨 See What’s on View
National Museum of the American Indian
📍 Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, One Bowling Green
⏰ Hours: Daily, 10am-5pm *No RSVP Required
The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego. 🎨 See What’s on View
Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
📍 227 West 27th Street
⏰ Hours: Wednesday – Friday: 12 – 8pm, Saturday – Sunday: 10am – 5pm *NO RSVP Required
The Museum at FIT promotes creative thinking and lifelong learning among diverse audiences through innovative exhibitions, public programs, and other initiatives that advance knowledge of fashion. 🎨 See What’s on View
Pay What You Wish
Queens Museum
📍New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens
⏰ Hours: Monday- Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday- Friday: 12 – 5pm, Saturday- Sunday: 11am – 5pm *RVSP Required
The Queens Museum is dedicated to presenting high-quality arts and educational programming for the people of New York, particularly the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse ethnic, cultural, and international community. The Museum’s work honors the history of its site and the diversity of our communities through a wide-ranging and integrated program of exhibitions, educational initiatives, and public events. 🎨 See What’s on View
Cooper Hewitt
📍 2 East 91st Street
⏰ Hours: 10am-6pm, daily (Pay what you wish: 5-6pm, daily)
Cooper Hewitt is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to historical and contemporary design, and is the steward of one of the most diverse and comprehensive design collections in existence—more than 215,000 design objects spanning 30 centuries, from ancient textiles and works on paper to icons of modern design and cutting-edge technologies. 🎨 See What’s on View
American Museum of Natural History
📍 200 Central Park West
⏰ Hours: 10am-5:30pm, daily *RSVP Required (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents (with ID) Ticketed exhibitions (Davis Family Butterfly Vivarium, Invisible Worlds immersive experience, Hayden Planetarium Space Show, giant-screen film, and The Secret World of Elephants) are NOT included)
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world’s preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. The Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret, and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world, and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education, and exhibition. 🎨 See What’s on View
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)
📍 1000 Fifth Avenue
⏰ Hours: Sunday-Tuesday and Thursday: 10am-5pm, Extended Hours: Friday & Saturday: 10am-9pm, Wednesday: Closed *RSVP Recommended (New York State residents and NY, NJ, and CT students with valid ID)
The Cloisters (part of The Met)
📍 99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park
⏰ Hours: Tuesday- Thursday: 10am-5pm, Wednesday: Closed *RSVP Recommended (New York State residents and NY, NJ, and CT students with valid ID)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures. 🎨 See What’s on View
El Museo del Barrio
📍 1230 5th Avenue
⏰ Hours: Thursday -Sunday: 11am-5pm, Monday-Wednesday: Closed *RSVP Required
The mission of El Museo del Barrio is to present and preserve the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin Americans in the United States. Through its extensive collections, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events, El Museo educates its diverse public in the richness of Caribbean and Latin American arts and cultural history. 🎨 See What’s on View
Brooklyn Museum
📍 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
📅 Hours: Monday–Tuesday: Closed, Wednesday–Sunday: 11 am–6 pm, First Saturdays: 5–11 pm *RSVP Recommended (General Admission, not applicable to ticketed exhibitions)
Brooklyn Museum seeks to expand and challenge the traditional art historical canon by including multiple perspectives and creating opportunities for transformative engagement with its collections through inspirational exhibitions, programs, and educational offerings.🎨 See What’s on View
The Museum of the City of New York
📍 1220 Fifth Avenue
⏰ Hours: Saturday & Sunday: 10am–6pm, Monday, Thursday, & Friday: 10am–5pm *RSVP Required
The Museum of the City of New York fosters understanding of the distinctive nature of urban life in the world’s most influential metropolis by celebrating, documenting, and interpreting the city’s past, present, and future. 🎨 See What’s on View
Staten Island Museum
📍Staten Island Museum at Snug Harbor, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Building A
⏰ Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 11am – 5pm *No RSVP Required
The Staten Island Museum engages visitors with interdisciplinary exhibitions, public programs, and educational activities for all ages. Sparking curiosity and generating meaningful shared experiences through natural science, art, and history to deepen the understanding of our environment, ourselves, and each other. 🎨 See What’s on View
New-York Historical Society Museum & Library
170 Central Park West
Hours: Monday: Closed, Tuesday – Thursday and Saturday-Sunday: 11am-5pm, Friday: 11 am – 8 pm (Pay What You Wish on Fridays, 6-8pm) *RSVP Required
Experience 400 years of history through groundbreaking exhibitions, outstanding collections, immersive films, and thought-provoking conversations among renowned historians and public figures at the New-York Historical Society, New York’s first museum. 🎨 See What’s on View
Guggenheim
📍 1071 Fifth Avenue
⏰ Hours: 10:30am–5:30pm, daily (Pay What You Wish on Mondays and Saturdays, 4–5:30pm) *RSVP Required
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation collects, preserves, and interprets modern and contemporary art, and explores ideas across cultures through dynamic curatorial and educational initiatives and collaborations. With its constellation of architecturally and culturally distinct museums, exhibitions, publications, and digital platforms. 🎨 See What’s on View
Other
Fotografiska New York
📍 281 Park Ave South
🎟️Reduced admission of $10 every Second Sunday, 10:30am-9pm (all day)
With a deep knowledge of photography, its history, and a vision of its evolution, Fotografiska creates powerful and unparalleled exhibitions, spanning various photographic genres. 🎨 See What’s on View
Culture Pass and IDNYC
You can also take part in the free admission perks offered with a Culture Pass via the city’s public libraries (Queens Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and The New York Public Library) or IDNYC for all NYC Residents, both also free to apply for!
