New York City, or NYC in short, is always a fascinating city to explore. Numerous iconic landmarks like Times Square, Central Park, and The Statue of Liberty are calling tourists from all around the world to pay a visit and take a lot of pictures. Not to mention that the city has plenty of world-class museums to explore, making it mandatory for you to know what are the best museums in NYC for you to visit.

From arts, cultures, history, to nature and biology, you can find all of that information from the best museums in New York. So, have you planned your holiday in NYC? Plan it with Traveloka and learn what best museums in NYC should be added to your itinerary.

Don’t skip these best museums in NYC when you’re in the city:

Location: 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019, United States
Opening Hours: 10.30 AM - 5.30 PM (Close at 7 PM every Saturday)
Entrance Fee: Starts from AU$ 21,50

New York is indeed the place for art enthusiasts. If you are one of them, the first museum in NYC that you should visit is The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Here, you will enjoy the modern and contemporary masterpieces from popular artists like Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh.

Some notable artworks that you can admire in MOMA are The Starry Night by Vincet van Gogh, Water Lilies by Claude Monet, The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali, and The Dance (I) by Henri Matisse.

Location: World Trade Center, 180 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10007, United States
Opening Hours: 9 AM - 7 PM (Closed every Tuesday)
Entrance Fee: Starts from AU$ 32,24

Learn everything about the tragic tragedy of the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and the bombing of the World Trade Center back in 1993. This memorial and museum is dedicated especially for the people that died during the tragedy. Photographs and mementos are available, given by the family, so visitors can also feel what they feel after losing someone they love over the attack.

There are also artifacts exhibitions, including the personal items and other pieces of things that were destroyed by the attack, the videos and photographs, also the testimony, that can make you know more about the tragedy.

Location: Central Park, 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, United States
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 5 PM (Close at 9 PM every Friday and Saturday, Closed full day every Wednesday)
Entrance Fee: AU$ 46,07 for adults, free for children

The next best museum in NYC to visit is The Mets or The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It has so many diverse artworks, from European, American, Byzantine, to Islamic arts. Popular artists are featured, like Van Gogh, Rembrandt, and Vermeer in the European Painting section. Special exhibitions and programs or workshops are frequently available, making The Mets as the influencing art place not only in America, but globally!

As part of The Mets is The Met Cloisters, which specialized in Medieval art collections, including paintings, sculptures, manuscripts, tapestries, stained glass, and more. The most iconic artwork in The Met Cloisters is The Unicorn Tapestries that tells the story of the hunt of mythical unicorns.

Location: Theodore Roosevelt Park, 200 Central Park W, New York, NY 10024, United States
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 5.30 PM
Entrance Fee: AU$ 38,23

The American Museum of Natural History commits to educate people about nature, from life inside the deep sea to the far reaches of space. Hence, when you’re in New York, you better get educated here. Witness yourself the iconic giant blue whale model in the Milstein Hall of the Ocean Live. Hanging from the upper ceiling, you’ll realize how magnificent the blue whale is!

Another iconic part of this museum is the fossil of the T-Rex located at the Fossil Halls. All the features and uniqueness plus the complete information inside the museum makes it the best museum in NYC for families!

Location: 103 Orchard St, New York, NY 10002, United States
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 5 PM (Closed at 6 PM every Friday - Sunday)
Entrance Fee: Starts from AU$ 45,88

If you’re walking around the Lower East Side of New York, don’t forget to visit the Tenement Museum. This unique museum is placed in a tenement building at Orchard Street, in which it was a gateway for immigrants arriving in the United States. Inside, you will see the restored apartments that represent the immigrant story, and it still features authentic things and ambience. Entering the Tenement Museum will be like visiting a different era, and for some of us, a different life.

It’s interesting to find all the stories from the immigrants that were actually Irish, Italians, and Germans. If you’re looking for a place that has strong social and cultural history, visiting the Tenement Museum is just right.

Location: 233 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016, United States
Opening Hours: 1 PM - 10 PM (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday), 1 PM - 12 AM (Friday), 12 PM - 12 AM (Saturday), 12 PM - 10 PM (Sunday), Closed every Wednesday
Entrance Fee: Starts at AU$ 55,28 (for basic ticket)

If you’re 18 and over, you can visit the Museum of Sex (MoSex). Have the unique experience where you can learn and get entertained at the same time by this sex-themed museum. It will explain the sexuality of humans, including the biology, cultural, and historical part of it. Believe it or not, human sexuality behavior is an interesting subject to learn. After visiting this museum, you’ll know how sexuality is expressed and perceived by people in different cultures.

We're sure you’re already intrigued with all of those best museums in NYC. So, plan your journey to NYC immediately and experience by yourself a life as a New Yorker! Book your flight, browse attraction tickets, and book your hotel room only with us, Traveloka, your lifestyle super app!