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The Met Cloisters

A destination museum in a park setting, best for people who like medieval art and architecture, and worth planning around its Wednesday closure.

99 Margaret Corbin DriveFort Tryon Park, near Margaret Corbin Circle

The Romanesque-style tower and stone walls of The Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park, framed by bare branches against a blue sky.
GK tramrunner RU (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
Entrance to the Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park
Ron Cogswell from Arlington, Virginia, USA (opens in a new tab)CC BY 2.0 (opens in a new tab)
The Cloisters tower seen from a distance above the trees of Fort Tryon Park
GK tramrunner RU (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
A carved stone corbel set into a wall at the Met Cloisters
Polka0505 (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
Bare trees and the Hudson River seen through a window of the Cloisters' Pontaut Chapter House
EgorovaSvetlana (opens in a new tab)CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
The Unicorn in Captivity, a late medieval tapestry in the Cloisters collection
Unknown author (opens in a new tab)Public domain

What it is

The Met Cloisters is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s branch for medieval art, inside Fort Tryon Park. NYC Parks says it houses nearly 5,000 medieval works in a building made up of several structures from Europe. Wikipedia notes that Rockefeller reserved four acres in the center of the park for the museum, and that its collection includes the Unicorn tapestries.

Who it’s for

Visitors interested in medieval art, architecture, and gardens, and anyone pairing a museum visit with a walk through Fort Tryon Park. It is not on the Met’s main Fifth Avenue campus, so plan to arrive by the M4 bus or a walk through the park.

Standout details

The Met’s visit information lists admission as pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents with a one-cent minimum (online purchase needs a New York billing address; bring proof of residency), and says the ticket includes same-day entry to both Met locations. It lists hours of 10am to 5pm Sunday through Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday, closed on Wednesday.

Honest verdict

A memorable museum in a setting that is part of the pleasure, but it keeps limited hours and is closed on Wednesdays, Confirm hours, admission rules, and current exhibitions on the Met’s site before going.