Taking in High Culture at New York Museums

In addition to the numerous landmarks throughout the city, New York is home to quite a few museums, each housing hundreds of exhibits for the culture-minded crowd. If you're thinking about visiting one of New York's fine museums, reserve a whole day. Many of the museums house massive collections that could take weeks to view properly. So if you're interested, plan your time accordingly.

Museum Mile and "The Met"

If you're short on time and want to see a lot in one place, visit the Museum Mile. Located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Museum Mile is a stretch of Fifth Avenue crowded with various museums and cultural institutions. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly referred to as "the Met" is probably the most famous museum found on Museum Mile.
 
The Met is an immense museum. The Met's collection contains artwork from every part of the world and during every epoch of recorded time. The Egyptian Art gallery even has a temple on display. With over three million individual objects in its collection, there's no end to the interesting things you'll see in this gem among New York museums.

The Guggenheim

Also found in the Museum Mile, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum was founded to showcase avant-garde artwork. While the museum houses a significant amount of artwork, many consider the building itself the most interesting work of art. Designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim looks very much like white ribbon spiraled into a cylinder.
 
You're going to need a least half a day at the Guggenheim. Besides enjoying the artwork, be sure to walk up and down the spiraling ramp. Don't know what I'm talking about? Don't worry, you won't miss it.

MoMA

No, it's not "momma" misspelled. The Museum of Modern Art is considered by many to have one of the best collections of modern art with over 100,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photos. The collection has recently been on display in Astoria while the museum was undergoing renovations. The MoMA in Manhattan reopened November 2004 and the collection is back home.

American Museum of Natural History

With four stories of exhibits and spread out over several city blocks, the American Museum of Natural History is huge, housing exhibits on topics spanning from the beginning of time to the present. If you had a life-size model of a blue whale, you'd need all that space too!

This museum has something for everyone, from the hands-on dinosaur exhibits to the Hall of Minerals and Gems. Ladies, you can feast your eyes on the Star of India, a 563 carat sapphire, the largest in the world. Just think of the ring that gem could make!

Currently, the museum boasts a collection of over 30 million artifacts and exhibits. That's pretty impressive, considering the museum started with nothing but the tooth of a mastodon and a few thousand beetles.