| While shopping and Broadway may be the inspiration | | | | Museum, the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum of |
| of many trips to New York City, few people visit | | | | Design, and Goethe House German Culture Center. If |
| without taking in a museum or two. No trip to the Big | | | | your trip happens to coincide with the second Tuesday |
| Apple would be complete without a tour of at least the | | | | of June, you're in for a treat on Museum Mile as the |
| more famous museums but a few museums are | | | | annual Museum Mile Festival gets underway. Fifth |
| equally worth the trip, even if they are not some of the | | | | Avenue is closed to traffic, the museums along the |
| most popular tourist spots. There's a great deal to see | | | | mile are open to the public, and the streets fill with |
| and to do in New York but many of the museums in | | | | entertainers. |
| New York City are reason enough to visit. | | | | A visit to Carnegie Hall and Rose Museum will unveil |
| One of the most famous attractions in New York City | | | | over a century of musical history and includes signed |
| is the Natural History Museum. Entering from Central | | | | photographs, letters, and interesting memorabilia. |
| Park West, museum visitors are greeted by towering | | | | Cataloguing hundreds of items reminiscent of |
| columns and the infamous statue of President | | | | legendary concerts and events held at Carnegie by |
| Roosevelt on horseback. Though much of the | | | | artists such as the Beatles, Toscanini, and Benny |
| museum is nearly medieval looking, Rose Center is the | | | | Goodman, this museum experience is enlightening for |
| epitome of modern. The museum's gallery space | | | | anyone with a musical interest. |
| spans four floors and the building itself is spread out | | | | For a taste of true American history, a stop at the Ellis |
| over several city blocks. There are over 40 | | | | Island Immigration Museum is revealing. Nearly half of |
| permanent exhibits and any number of special exhibits | | | | the United States population has descended from the |
| on display. Plan to spend several hours, if not an entire | | | | approximately 17 million immigrants who passed |
| day, visiting the Natural History Museum. | | | | through Ellis Island starting in the late 1800s. A 27-acre |
| If you love art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the | | | | island accessible by ferry from Battery Park in lower |
| Museum of Modern Art, and the Guggenheim are | | | | Manhattan, Ellis Island Museum is a three-story tribute |
| must-sees. The Met is a gargantuan museum on Fifth | | | | to those who came here carrying little more than the |
| Avenue with a palace-like atmosphere that could | | | | original American dream. |
| conceivably take two days to see in its entirety. With | | | | Less of a museum but a necessary endeavor in |
| works spanning every period, from the stone age to | | | | conservation, the Central Park Zoo is nonetheless a |
| the 20th century, the Met is a worthwhile experience, | | | | must-see while in New York City. Though not nearly |
| even if you get lost inside. Make sure to stop at the | | | | as expansive as the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo's |
| Met Store which is an exceptional place to buy gifts | | | | five acres are designated with outdoor and indoor |
| and memorabilia. | | | | animal exhibits ranging from sea lions, monkeys, and |
| Visiting New York City without visiting the Guggenheim | | | | otters to polar bears and of course, penguins. If zoo life |
| could be likened to visiting Paris and not seeing the | | | | is your cup of tea and you're visiting New York with |
| Louvre. Named for Solomon R. Guggehneim and | | | | children, go on across 65th street to the Tisch |
| designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim | | | | Children's Zoo, where farm animals await a kibble |
| Museum is a modern-day New York City landmark. | | | | handout and a scratch behind the ear. |
| The Guggenheim is also located on Fifth Avenue, in a | | | | It would be impossible to visit every worthwhile |
| stretch coined the "Museum Mile" and features works | | | | museum in New York City during a short stay but a |
| from Chagall, Picasso, Kandinsky, and Van Gogh. Plan | | | | trip to New York definitely warrants a visit to at least |
| to spend at least a good part of one day at the | | | | one of the city's many fine museums. Plan your visit |
| Guggenheim and ask for a guided audio tour to get | | | | ahead of time and inquire about day passes to |
| the most out of the experience. | | | | partnered museums. Visiting any museum during the |
| Other museums along the Museum Mile include | | | | week, rather than on weekends, also ensures less of |
| Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish | | | | a crowd. |