MoMA or MET museum
 

Hello,
We are visiting either one of the museum MoMA or MET on 23rd Dec. I want to spend some 3 hrs in the musuem with my hubby and then do general touristy things. So please tell me which one will take a long time in queue, which tickets are available on line? And which one is better to do that day? I just have 2-3 days, so can only think of one of the musuems to do justice.
Thanks-Preeya

The one criteria that you didn't mention would be the one that I'd view as the most relevant - which artistic style appeals to you most?

If you are more interested in Modern Art, than certainly the MoMa.

If you are more interested in seeing well known Impressionist paintings and a broad collection the encompasses art as diverse as American art from the early part of the 20th Century, Egyptian, Roma-Greek sculpture, to name but a few - than consider the Met.

In terms of tickets, lines, crowds, etc. it would be hard to tell.

BTW, I can spell. I just can't type.

Another consideration is time. I spent 4 hours at the MET and I don't think I saw 10% of the collection. Unless you are concentrating on a couple of particular exhibits, 3 hours just won't cover much ground unfortunately. If you are going to see very specific things then 3 hours may be enough time, but just keep in mind that the museum and it's collection are enormous.

If you don't buy timed tickets in advance at MOMA, you'll probably have to wait in a long line.
Both museums are gems, and I'd be hard pressed to recommend one over the other these days....unless, as a previous poster wrote, you are a huge fan of modern art. Then, of course, it would be MOMA.
It's like having someone ask: Do you want to go to Paris or Rome?
Whatever you decide, I strongly urge you to get there early in the morning. The Met opens at 9:30 and MOMA at 10:30.

The new MoMa has just re-opened and therefore has crowds and long admissions lines, whereas the Met rarely has. So I would recommend the Met, just prepare for your brief visit by selecting a few galleries of your favorite location, style or period in advance.

I would agree with you Anonymous if we were talking about a non-gridlock time of year. However, I have gone to the Met during the Christmas break, and I waited in a very long line - so it's hard to tell. Your best bet is to go early but one thing is for certain, you will never see everything in either museum in 3 hours. But that's okay, you'll just have to come and visit again :)

Well worth the visit is the Christmas Tree at the Met. It is decorated with beautiful artifacts and is shown each year.

You might want to try the Met website for info on special exhibits.

Have a great time while you are here.

Just heard on the weather that we are expecting a BIG snow storm next week, ummmmm....a white Christmas maybe????

Although I love the new MOMA unless you are big fans of modern art you may be disappointed. (When we were there we overheard some folks from out of town who apparently didn;t understand the "Modern" in MOMA - and thought they would be seeing old masters, impressionists etc.)

Suggest you have a look at each of the websites to see some of the collection - to see what you will enjoy more. (For the Met - if you decide that way - suggest you pick 3 or 4 departments that you want to do - paintings [and what type], furniture, arms and armor, costumes, egyptian etc - I, for one can do without the middle eastern pot department - but chacun a son gout!)

Thankyou all for your responses. I think we will get the online tickets for MoMA and visit them as its newly opened. And maybe come back again for MET with giving it one whole day just for covering the whole MET.
Preeya

You can't "cover the whole Met" in one day.

Preeya, have you had a chance to look at the MoMA website? There's lots of great information here: http://www.moma.org/about_moma/manhattan/index.html

Have a wonmderful time!

Not to throw a wrench in your plans, but if you only want to spend a couple of hours, I'd suggest you either pick a particular part of the Metropolitan to visit (like Egyptian art or painting and sculpture or a special exhibit) or try a smaller museum, like the Frick. The Frick can be done in a couple of hours, is usually less crowded and the art is displayed in a home-like setting, as it would have been by its collector.

I went to the MoMa at 12:00 this past Sunday (12/12/04). Stood in line about 5 minutes. The galleries were very crowded, though. We allowed ourselves 2 hours. It was enough time to do the top 2 floors (painting) thoroughly and to make a quick run through the drawings and architecture/design and outdoor sculpture garden. We didn't have time to see any of the special exhibits.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an encyclopedic museum spanning 5,000 years and the largest museum in the western hemisphere.

MoMA is a museum dedicated to modern art.

To give you an analogy, think of the human body. The Metropolitan would be the whole body while MoMA would be one hair on your head.

preeya,
Prior to going to MOMA across the street is St. Patrick's and decorated for Christmas. You would be closer to the bustle of the season and nearer to the wonderful windows of the holiday. Next to the skaters at
Rockefeller center and the City's tree you might want to have a sit down lunch and choices are numerous in that area. Meryy Chrismukkah!

Thanks for your tips! From Litespeedchick I get inspired to cover the MoMA in 3 hrs. And ofcourse Gotravel, I understand how big MET must be, thats why I didnt want to do that in a a hurry, cannot do justice with few hrs. Johnthedorf, Any suggestions for quick/ cheap lunch around MoMA/Rockefeller to sitdown, and eat? We are veggies, so please suggest.
Thanks-Preeya

MOMA is on 53 b/w 5th=6th. La Bonne Soupe is on 55th st b/w 5th-6th. They have a good deal for soup,salad, bread and wine. They also have crepes, omelettes etc. There are also a few Indian places were you could do vegetarian. Some have great buffet lunches but may not be veggie on the buffet. There's an Indian on the same street as La Bonne Soupe and another (Bay Leaf) on 56 st b/w 5th-6th with a buffet lunch. On the very same street (55th st) is Michael's a fancy, expensive rest. that serves California cuisine. They have veggie offerings. You'd need a reservation there.

Looks like you already made your decision, and I have to say I agree with it. I have gone to the Met and spent half a day there and saw a lot. I have also gone to the Met and spent about 2 1/2 hours and felt very rushed (and that was a second visit in the same year as the first). Unless you can make yourself focus on a couple of sections you will feel very rushed with three hours. One thing you can do to save time with the Met though is avoid the shop. It is huge and can eat up lots of time. There is also a nice Met shop at Rockefeller Center and a very small one at Macy's.

I do not understand the approach of choosing a museum on the basis of being able to see it all in a specific amount of time. Wouldn't it make more sense to say, "I have 3 hours to spend in an art museum, how/where would I enjoy it the most?" As others have pointed out, if you're not into modern art, then 3 hours spent on a chosen portion of the Met, or at the Frick, is going to be more rewarding than a visit to MoMa.

Some people are simply unaware of the enormity of the MET and will be taken by surprise if they expect to walk in and cover the entire museum in a few hours. That was the basis for my comment. It is simply part of being a well informed traveller.

For a short period of time, the Frick if you aren't particulary into modernism. Of course Water Lilies almost makes the trip to MoMA worth it for that one painting.

Please tell me what are the specific paintings and other things, that I should not miss at MoMA.
Also, thanks mclaurie for your suggestions :)

What to see at MOMA? Where does one begin? Not knowing your taste in art, it's hard to say what you MUST see. There is an abundant of riches--paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Warhols, Pollock, Miro, Modrian for starters.
Where do your tastes lie?

Preeya, You may want to walk up towards the Park and ask at Whole Foods in the Time Warner building. Sorry, I'm not of that persuasion.

preeya found this website which has a brief video and some reviews. You can rent an audio tour of the museum that lasts about 2.5 hrs.

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/...ideo.realvideo

Preeya, here's a little more specific information on what to see at MOMA. The most popular collection is on the fifth floor--highlighted by a magnificent group of Picassos and Matisses. I would recommend starting there.
Incidentally, a convenient spot for lunch is the cafe on the second floor...a wide choice of items and reasonable prices (especially for a musuem in NYC!). We were there today, and despite the big crowds, we have a very short wait to get into the cafe.
This was our second trip there...and we still haven't seen everything.

Preeya,

I hope you have a wonderful time at the MoMA. I was NYC for my brother's wedding last weekend and had a few hours before my flight on Sun the 12th (I probably passed by you chick) and was glad to have spent it at the MoMA. My cousins had warned me about the wait time but I went at noon and never waited. I did see the ticketmaster option when I was inside and think that is a good choice too.

I am a Monet freak so I headed to see the Waterlilies first and then did as Howard mentioned, started at the top floor and worked my way down. Please make use of the staff there. One gentleman was very helpful and offered to take my pic in front of the car display. I just wanted him to help me take the car out of the place but anyways...

One interesting thing was that Leo DiCaprio was there as well. I was so impressed that the people did not mob him. He was very nice and took some pics with little kids and signed autographs but at the same time, he seemed pretty content with touring around. Some guy said to me, no way is that Leo but I told him and I believe this, that people are different in NYC - less mobs for celebrities than say LA. I am ready for someone to dispute me but just my experience. My brother met Lindsey Lohan the day before at Ray's Pizza and said how she was very cool as well as the people around - no mob scene.

So sorry for the tangent there but enjoy the MoMa. It was such a nice leisurely afternoon touring it and I hope you enjoy!

New Yorkers pride themselves on ignoring celebreties - as long as they are local and going about their normal lives. If the celebrety is "working" - ie attending a premiere or other event - or leaving a theater at which they are perfoming - they are fair game. But if it's their real life (shopping etc) you really should leave them alone.

If you go the Frick Museum you'll have more time for shopping. You can get into the MOMA gift shop without standing in line.

Thanks everyone!! I visited the MoMA and was there for 3 and 1/2 hr and still could not get enough time, felt rushed, but was happy that I was there! I loved the waterlilies and the fact that I could glance at them from every level. Also, other paintings on upper levels are very beautiful as well. Will go again sometime when i visit NYC for sure!!

Preeya, I'm delighted that you, too, found joy in New York's latest treasure.