Gosh, where do you even begin when you’re trying to write an article about tips for visiting the largest collection of art in the United States? The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is synonymous with grandeur, hosting one of the most fashionable charity galas every year, and is easily the most impressive building on the upper east side of New York. Can you digest this place all at once? Absolutely not. While it’s not quite as big as The Louvre in Paris, this is still a massive place that is best appreciated in small doses.

The Met is truly massive, and to save time, I would recommend purchasing your tickets in advance. Tickets are $30 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $17 for students – a total bargain considering the vast amount of art here. When you walk in, there is a large information desk, and I’m happy to report that they still provide paper maps, which is awesome. If you are planning on spending an entire day here, there are five restaurants and cafes you can visit to grab a bite. We did not eat here on this visit, as we had lunch at Cafe Sabarsky just north of the museum, but there are plenty of options. Just try to plan your lunch either early or late, as the cafes do get crowded.

We came to the Met in early October with the primary goal of seeing a couple of Caravaggios, and to work on content and education for the Baroque Art Accessibility Consortium. We spent about three hours here in just one, relatively small section of the museum, enjoying tons of baroque art, as well as European Impressionists.

When we arrived, we headed straight up the grand staircase to European art from 1400-1800, and we were excited to revisit a Caravaggio painting that we had already seen at the Toledo Museum of Art – “The Musicians”, and it was nice to say hello to this incredible piece again. I really enjoyed “The Denial of St. Peter” as well as the disputed “Holy Family with St. John the Baptist.” While The Met doesn’t categorize the painting as disputed, there are some scholars who do not believe it is an autograph Caravaggio. We were taken by the piece, though, and are convinced that it’s legitimate, although the debate rages on!

I also really enjoyed the Spanish art room, which included some awesome pieces from one of my favorites – El Greco. They also included several works by Picasso and Dali in order to show how they were influenced by some of the earlier masters, which I thought was pretty cool. Brian will be publishing a Baroque Art Itinerary for The Met soon, so I would urge you to head to www.baroqueart.org to find more detailed information on some of our favorite paintings.

Of course, I also had to get my fix of impressionists, and The Met has no shortage. The impressionist rooms are like a maze, and I would recommend just wandering around and getting lost in the galleries. These galleries were far more crowded than the earlier European painting galleries, so be prepared for lots of people, and waiting to see some of the more famous works.

Weirdly, though, there were several rooms (!!!) of Degas paintings and sculptures, and they were completely free of other people! They are a bit off to the side from the main, larger impressionist rooms, but I highly recommend seeking out these galleries. There are a ton of gorgeous paintings and sculptures here, and I wish I had a little more time to really take my time to enjoy these rooms. I’ll definitely be paying the Degas rooms another visit the next time I come back!

Seriously, this is everything that we did in three hours! Yes, we spent a lot of time with Caravaggio, El Greco, and some of our other baroque faves like Vermeer and Poussin, but it just goes to show how huge this place is. You cannot possibly imagine trying to see everything even in one full day, and I would recommend against trying. Simply pick what types of art are your favorites and focus on those few sections. Take lots of breaks, and enjoy some slow art gazing.