Jackie

Thinking of staying on 48th Street between 8th Ave. and Broadway. How close is the subway station? Is it for local or express--or both? We want to go up to The Cloisters when they open and then go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. How would we do that on the subway? We want to attend the 11:00 service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Sunday. Any suggestions for good places for lunch afterward?

nyer

You can see the subway rout maops online at
http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm
Nearest stop is 1/9 Broadway local (50th st ) but if you want an express, walk 6 blocks down to Times Square for 2/3 (express) and many other trains.

At one time The Met ran shuttle busses) (for a few dollars) between the museum and the Cloisters. Check
www.metmuseum.org or call them to see if they still do.

I haven't gone to the Cloisters by subway in a while, but I think you need to take the A train from Times square to 190th street (I'm sure others can give you more details, or check the Museum website for confirmation)
There's no easy way to get from there to the Met by subway--the best I can see is take the A train back down the westside
to 125th street, transfer to the b or c to 86th or 81, then take a crosstown bus at either 81 st street(marked M79) or 86(m86) to the eastide (the Met is right across Central Park), one stop, 5 minute ride .
By the way, it is VERY ambitious to do both the Met and The cloisters in one day.

Jackie

nyer-

Thank you for the information.
What we are planning is to go as soon as The Cloisters opens on Friday morning and spend about half a day there. Then we thought we would go to the Met for another half a day. I don't expect to finish at the Met on Friday, so will probably go back Sat. Will it be too crowded on either of those days?

Caitlin

Jackie, you should be okay at the Met on a Friday, because it is open until 9 pm on Fri (and Sat). Especially after 5 or so on Fri, it becomes much less crowded. Regardless of whether you go one day or two, you'll have to pick and choose; it would take at least a week to "finish" the Met. Save the little metal clip they give you at the Cloisters that indicates you've paid to enter, as your single payment entitles you to enter both museums on the same day; just show it when you enter the Met later in the day.

rqf

To get to Cloisters. Go to subway entrance at 50th and 8th Avenue. This is a local stop. Make sure you go to the UPTOWN station. Take C train and Go one stop to 59th Street and change to the A train (express train) to 190th St. Go into Fort Tryon and walk to the Cloisters (an uphill walk). From Cloisters to Met. Go back to subway and take A train DOWNTOWN to 125th Street. Change to C train (local) and get off at 81st St. At 81st and Central Park WEst take the M79 crosstown bus to 5th Avenue. . If you have a Metro card transfer from train to bus is free. Or you could walk across Central Park to 5th Ave.
To St John - go to subway station at 50th and Broadway. Take UPTOWN local, #1 or #9 to 110th Street and Broadway. Walk one block east to Amsterdam Avenue and church. Once on train trip will take less than 15 minutes.

emmas mom

If you have the time, the M4 bus operates to and from Fort Tryon Park. I would still follow everyone above's advice and take the subway there, but if you have an hour or two to spare when leaving, you can take the M4 out of the Cloisters and it eventually will go down Fifth Avenue where you can get off at 82nd St for the Met. Now, I love taking the bus when I've got the time, just looking out the window as various neighborhoods pass by, but my husband detests it because it's too slow for him. We have several subway/bus "discussions", usually solved by taking a cab. And as for lunch after St. John's - there's good ol' V&T across the street. It's just a pizzeria but it is a legend. If you want something more like a real restaurant, go west where, on Broadway, I like Le Monde, a sort-of French bistro on 112th St, and if it's a nice day there's outdoor seating. Next door is Nacho Mama's where I've never eaten but the menu looks good. Across Broadway is a nouveau diner (whose name I forgot right now), which is OK but no great shakes. As you go further down Broadway there's Caffe Pertutti (a friend's long-time favorite - Italian) and Tomo Sushi on the east side of Broadway and Caffe Taci, Fish Restaurant, Indian Cafe and 107 West on the west side - most with the usual Sunday brunches available at that time, except for the sushi & Indian places. Oh, and I almost forgot one of my faves - Miss Mamie's Spoonbread on 110th St. & Columbus Ave. It's a soul food/Southern/old-fashioned kind of place. The last time I went for lunch I felt like I walked into another time and place which is one of the things I love about New York. To get there turn left on Amsterdam when you leave St. John's, go down to 110th Street and cross 110th then turn left (east) and it will be on the next block (366 W. 110th St).