Top 10 museums in New York (free and fee-paying)

This guide to the best museums in New York will help you get to know an important part of the cultural offerings of this impressive city.
With numerous museums of all kinds of themes, this city has many of the most important museums in the world such as the Metropolitan, the MoMA and the Museum of Natural History, among many others.
In addition, in order to make culture accessible to everyone, several museums are free although a suggested price is shown, which given the quality of the collections they house and which is used for their maintenance, is quite reasonable and which we always recommend respecting so that this suggested price continues to be maintained and does not become fixed prices.

Based on the two times we visited the city of skyscrapers, the first time on an 11-day trip to New York and the second time living in a flat for a month and a half, during which we wrote this guide to New York travel tips and this complete guide to New York, we have compiled this list of the 10 must-see museums in New York. Let's get started!

1. Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History, located across the street from Central Park, is one of the best museums in New York and one of the most important science museums in the world.
Suitable for children and adults alike, the museum is housed in 27 interconnected buildings with 46 rooms displaying a small part of the 35 million items in its collection, considered the most extensive in the world.
Highlights include the mineral and meteorite room, with several unique specimens, the dinosaur room and the 29-metre-long blue whale.
Although you used to be able to enter this museum for free, you now have to buy a ticket.

Visiting hours: daily from 10am to 5.45pm.

Museum of Natural History, one of the best museums in New York.

2. Metropolitan Museum of Art

Entering the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MET, located on Fifth Avenue and with one of the most important art collections in the world, is another of the best things to do in New York.
This museum, one of the top 10 most visited in the world, has masterpieces by Picasso, Velázquez, Raphael, Monet, Van Gogh, as well as valuable treasures from antiquity, especially from the Ancient Roman Empire and Ancient Egypt, such as the Temple of Dendur.
In addition to completing a tour of the most important rooms, which will take you about 2-3 hours, we recommend going up to the terrace with a beautiful view of Central Park.
The $25 entrance fee is included, as in many other New York museums, if you have one of the most recommended tourist cards to save money and time in the queues, such as the New York Explorer Pass, the CityPass and the New York Pass.
If you don't have any of these cards, you can buy this skip-the-line ticket in advance.
Visiting hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays until 9pm.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

3. 9/11 Museum

The 9/11 Museum pays tribute to the more than 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks that took place on 11 September 2001.
Before entering the museum, we recommend you visit the 9/11 Memorial, located on the site of the two Twin Towers, where you will find two large fountains with the names of the 2,753 dead inscribed on them.
A visit to the museum is very moving as you watch videos of survivors' testimonies, memorabilia and artefacts of the victims and material recovered from the towers.
The $26 entrance fee is included if you have the New York Explorer Pass, the New York CityPASS and the New York Pass.
If you don't have a pass, you can save yourself the longest queue by booking this ticket in advance.
For more information you can check this post on how to visit the 9/11 Museum in New York.
Visiting hours: Sunday to Thursday from 9am to 6pm, Friday and Saturday closes at 9pm.

9/11 Museum

4. MoMA, one of New York's must-see museums

The MoMA is the most famous modern art museum in the world and another of New York's must-see museums.
Considered a temple of impressionism and surrealism, it has some masterpieces by world-famous artists such as Pollock, Andy Warhol, Van Gogh, Picasso, Frida Kahlo and Dalí, as well as an extensive exhibition of graphic design, film and photography.
Among the works not to be missed are Van Gogh's "Starry Night", Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", Dalí's "The Persistence of Memory", Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans", Pollock's "Number 31" and Joan Miró's "Dutch Interior I".
On Fridays from 4pm to 8pm you don't have to pay admission, making it one of the best free things to do in New York.
The $25 entrance fee is also included in the New York Pass and if you don't have the card, you can buy it here in advance.
Visiting hours: Saturday to Thursday from 10:30am to 5:30pm, Fridays until 8pm.

MoMA, another of New York's best museums.

Our recommended hotel in New York

Our recommended accommodation in the city is the Holiday Inn Times Square, located just a few minutes' walk from Times Square. And if you stay in one of the top-floor rooms, you'll have an incredible view of the Empire State Building from your bed.
Other well located hotels with excellent value for money are the Arlo Midtown, the Pestana CR7 Times Square, La Quinta by Wyndham Time Square and the MOXY NYC Times Square.
For more information you can check out this post about the best neighbourhoods and hotels to stay in New York.

5. Intrepid Museum

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, located on the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid at Pier 86 on the Hudson River, is another of our favourite museums in New York.
On top of this huge ship, which was involved in World War II and the Vietnam War, you'll find some of the best fighter planes in history, the Blackbird spy plane and several combat helicopters.
You can also complete your visit by seeing the British Airways Concorde, the only commercial airliner to break the sound barrier, the Space Shuttle Enterprise and by entering the Growler Submarine.
The $33 entrance fee can be saved with the New York Explorer Pass, New York CityPASS and New York Pass. If you don't have a pass you can book your ticket from this page.
Visiting hours: daily from April to November from 10am to 5pm, closed on Mondays.

Intrepid Museum

6. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

One of the New York museums we liked the most during our last trip was the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, both for its architecture and for some of its works.
This cylindrical building designed by the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and located on Fifth Avenue, has an important collection of impressionist, modern and contemporary art with works by Van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Picasso and Kandinsky.
To go up a floor there is an incredible spiral ramp, which also functions as a gallery with several works on display and will take you to the top where there is a dome with a skylight.
Admission is $25 and is included in the New York Explorer Pass and New York Pass. If you don't have a tourist card, you can buy your ticket from
. On Saturdays from 5 p.m. onwards, admission is free or you can pay the amount you want.

Visiting hours: Friday to Wednesday from 10am to 5.45pm, closing time on Saturdays at 7.45pm.

Guggenheim Museum

7. Madame Tussauds, the funniest museum in New York

Another of the funniest places to visit in New York is Madame Tussauds, located a few metres from Times Square and with more than 200 wax figures of famous people.
Almost exact reproductions of movie stars like Woody Allen or Johnny Depp, singers like Frank Sinatra or Justin Bieber, personalities like the Dalai Lama or Albert Einstein and US presidents will leave you speechless and confuse more than one person.
If you want to get your adrenaline pumping, you can cross the "Scream" corridor , where wax figures mingle with real actors.
The $37 entrance fee can be saved with the New York Explorer Pass and the New York Pass.
If you don't have a tourist card, you can book this ticket in advance.
Visiting hours: Sunday to Thursday from 10am to 8pm, closed at 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Madame Tussauds, one of the best museums in New York.

Recommended travel cards

Remember that to avoid paying commissions and to always have the current exchange rate, we recommend you use the Revolut card and the N26 card, which are the ones we use, are free and will save you a lot of money.
You can find more information in this article on the best cards for commission-free travel.

8. Whitney Museum of American Art

The Whitney Museum, founded in 1930 by millionaire Gertrude Vandelbilt Whitney, has the most important collection of 20th century American art.
On its seven floors you will find an excellent display of more than 18,000 works of art, such as those by the American painter Edward Hopper and Jackson Pollock, among other artists.
It's also worth going to the rooftop terrace for great views of the Hudson River and the Meatpacking District.
If you don't have a New York Explorer Pass or New York Pass, you can pay less than the $25 entrance fee on Fridays from 7pm to 10pm.
Visiting hours: Wednesday to Monday from 10:30am to 6pm, Fridays and Saturdays closed at 10pm.

Whitney Museum of New York

9. Immigration Museum

After visiting the famous Statue of Liberty, we recommend a stop at Ellis Island to learn about the history of millions of immigrants.
Since 1892 and for 35 years, more than 8 million people who wanted to start a new life in the land of opportunity and freedom passed through this checkpoint.
It is estimated that 2% failed to enter and were deported for health and other reasons, which is why it became known as the Isle of Tears.
Today the island is a museum of immigration, which invites reflection thanks to the documentation, photographs and objects from that period.
To visit this interesting New York museum you can book this Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island tour in advance, which departs from the pier near Battery Park. The ferry is also included in the New York Explorer Pass and New York Pass.
Visiting hours: daily from 9am to 5.15pm.

Immigration Museum, one of New York's most interesting museums.

10. The Frick Collection

One of the most interesting small New York museums is The Frick Collection, which has one of the most important art collections in the country.
In the 18 rooms of the luxurious mansion of steel magnate Henry Clay Frick, you will find works by Goya, Rembrandt, El Greco and Velázquez, among many others.
Visiting hours: Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm and Sundays from 11am to 5pm.

All these museums are on the usual tourist routes, which you can organise by following these optimised guides, depending on the days you have available:

• New York in one day

• New York in 2 days

• New York in 3 days

• New York in 4 days

• New York in 5 days

• New York in 6 days

• New York in 7 days

• New York in 8 days