What subway stop is closest to the Metropolitan Museum of Art?

86 St on the 4, 5 and 6 trains at Lexington Avenue. From there it is a walk of around ten to fifteen minutes west to Fifth Avenue and south to the entrance at 82nd Street.

Is the Met pay what you wish?

Pay what you wish applies to New York State residents and to students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with valid ID. Other visitors pay a set admission price, so check metmuseum.org for current prices.

Does a Met ticket include The Met Cloisters?

A Met ticket has included same-day entry to The Met Cloisters. Confirm the current terms on the official website.

How long does it take to see the Met?

Around three hours is enough for a first visit focused on a few departments. The full museum is too large to see in one day.

When is the Met least crowded?

Weekday mornings and late opening evenings are usually the calmest times. Weekends and holiday periods are the busiest.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Subway, Tickets and Tips

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, usually called the Met, is the largest art museum in the United States, with a collection that spans around 5,000 years and nearly every part of the world. Its building on Fifth Avenue fills a long stretch of the edge of Central Park, and it is easy to underestimate how much walking is involved. Here is how to get there by subway, how admission works, when to go and how to plan a visit.

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met was founded in 1870 by a group of New York businessmen, artists and civic leaders and moved to its current site in Central Park in 1880. The building has grown in stages since then, from the original red-brick Gothic Revival structure, still visible inside, to the Beaux-Arts facade on Fifth Avenue and the later glass wings toward the park.

The museum also runs The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park in northern Manhattan, devoted to medieval European art and architecture.

Getting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by subway

The closest station is 86 St on the 4, 5 and 6 trains, at Lexington Avenue. From there, walk west three long blocks across Park Avenue and Madison Avenue to Fifth Avenue, then a few blocks south to the main entrance at 82nd Street. The walk takes around ten to fifteen minutes. The 6 is a local train, while the 4 and 5 are express trains that also stop at 86 St, which makes it quick to reach from Midtown, Grand Central and Lower Manhattan.

If you are coming from the West Side, a walk across Central Park from the 81 St–Museum of Natural History station on the B and C lines is a pleasant alternative. Several buses also run along Fifth and Madison Avenues.

Browse more places along the Upper East Side on our New York subway guide.

Met tickets and admission

Admission is sold on the official website (metmuseum.org) and at the museum. For most visitors there is a set admission price, while New York State residents and students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut can pay what they wish with valid ID. Children under a certain age enter free. A Met ticket has also included same-day entry to The Met Cloisters.

The museum is closed on certain days each week and on some holidays, and it stays open later on some evenings. Check the official site for current prices, hours and closures before your visit. Buying online ahead of time can save time at the entrance on busy days.

There is a bag check at entry, and large bags and luggage are restricted.

Best time to visit the Met

Weekday mornings are generally the calmest. The museum gets busy on weekends, during holiday periods and around major exhibitions. Late opening evenings can be pleasant, with fewer families and school groups.

A first visit focused on a few departments takes around three hours. The museum is far too large to see in one day, so choose two or three areas and save the rest for another trip.

What to see at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ancient art

The Temple of Dendur, an ancient Egyptian temple given by Egypt to the United States in the 1960s and rebuilt in a glass-walled gallery beside a reflecting pool.
The wider Egyptian Art galleries, with tombs, statues, jewellery and the small blue faience hippo nicknamed William.
The Greek and Roman galleries, centred on a large sculpture court.

Paintings

The European Paintings galleries, with works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Velázquez and El Greco.
Nineteenth-century and Impressionist rooms with Monet, Degas, Cézanne and Van Gogh.
In the American Wing, Emanuel Leutze's huge Washington Crossing the Delaware.

More highlights

Arms and Armor, with mounted knights in full armour.
The Astor Court, a Chinese scholar's garden courtyard in the Asian Art galleries.
The Costume Institute exhibitions, which change regularly.
The roof garden, open in the warmer months, with a rotating art installation and views over Central Park.

The free floor plan and the museum's online map are worth checking, as galleries sometimes close for renovation.

Nearby on the same subway stop

The Met is the anchor of Museum Mile on Fifth Avenue:

The Neue Galerie, focused on German and Austrian art, at 86th Street and Fifth Avenue.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, in Frank Lloyd Wright's spiral building, a few blocks north.
Central Park, right behind the museum, including Cedar Hill, the Great Lawn and the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir.
Carl Schurz Park by the East River, east of the station.
Cafés and restaurants along Lexington and Madison Avenues.

For places to eat and other sights near the museum, open The Met page on Around the Metro.