Five must-see New York museums

1. Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met)

It would take a lifetime to see all of The Met’s more than two million works of art, so make sure you do some research before you go and really nail down how to make the most of your time. The Met — New York’s Louvre—is famed for its special costume collection exhibitions, which are launched annually with a now-infamous red carpet gala. If you’re not going to get there any time soon, you can still get a taste of the beauty of The Met — track down the documentary The First Monday in May for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to get the museum’s special exhibitions and star-studded galas ready for launch. metmuseum.org

2. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Worth a visit for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building alone, the Guggenheim’s permanent collection features Impressionist, Post Impressionist, modern and contemporary art, including a large collection of the work of American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. First established in 1939, the museum has been in its current spiral-shaped building since 1959 and its unusual layout makes for a museum experience like no other. guggenheim.org

3. National September 11 Memorial & Museum

Dedicated to those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center attacks, this exhibition is as much about New York’s resilience as it is about the tragic events that unfolded on September 11, 2001. Visiting the museum is a sobering experience, however, and you should be prepared for myriad emotions as you make your way around the 10,000 artefacts, 23,000 still images and 500 hours of film and video that tell the story of the victims, survivors and their families. 911memorial.org/museum

4 American Museum of Natural History

Founded in 1869, New York’s Natural History Museum on the western edge of Central Park boasts 45 permanent exhibit halls with more than 33 million specimens, plus additional galleries for temporary exhibitions. A 37m dinosaur skeleton cast was last year added to the already mind-blowing collection of fossils, reptiles, mammals and birds. There is also a space centre, a planetarium, an interactive kids’ zone and a butterfly conservatory, and a current exhibition highlight is Dark Universe, a space show narrated by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. amnh.org

5 Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

MoMA houses works by Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Frida Kahlo and an array of the world’s best contemporary artists. Founded in 1929 as the first museum dedicated entirely to contemporary art, the museum now sees more than three million visitors through its doors every year. You can visit for free on Friday evenings between 4pm and 6pm — the perfect start to a date night in the city that never sleeps. moma.org

Stephanie Holmes is NZ Herald’s Deputy Travel Editor, you can find her work here: www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/