New York City Museums and Galleries

New York is a cultural galaxy in its own right, and impressively, arts institutions are soldiering on and adapting to COVID restrictions. We have it on good authority that the Artechouse Light Show beneath the Chelsea Market is worth visiting. Banked as the most technologically advanced art platform globally, the intention is to provide an immersive space to experience cutting-edge digital art.

The International Center of Photography's new Bowery museum is a beautiful dedication to photography and visual culture. With state-of-the-art galleries (its white walls are populated with framed works, tablets, and electronic screens alike), 90-feet of glass frontage, and abundant metal, the space is altogether much more inviting than it sounds—optional tours encourage discussion, and the main space is meant to simulate the feel of a village square. Conveniently, it's across the street from The New Museum.

This interactive museum touches on everything from the science of sleep to jazz. During warmer months, there’s also an outside water park, where kids can sail boats and study erosion through sand. With 38,000 square feet, there’s plenty to keep little ones occupied.

The Whitney—a long-time doyenne on the UES—shut its doors and moved to the Meatpacking District, where it sits in a Renzo Piano–designed building at the southern end of the High Line. The Whitney decamped because of space constrictions uptown, a situation that's now eased by its 200,000 square feet. (The Metropolitan Museum of Art has taken over the Whitney's previous Marcel Breuer–designed home at Madison and 75th.) Bonus: It's open until 10 p.m. on the weekends.

Since the '80s Pace/MacGill has been showing some of the best artists in modern and contemporary photography. As part of The Pace Gallery family, the standards for work and placement here are as high as they come.

There's always something pushing the boundaries here, plus it's wonderfully well-located downtown making it ideal for a pre- or post-lunch activity.

Walking into this Upper East Side townhouse is a quick time warp into the golden age of Vienna, before the First World War. The permanent collection, displayed almost as if it were in an elegant home, includes works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele and many design pieces from Josef Hoffman, Koloman Moser, and Werner Werkstatte. We never tire of visiting the galleries and then heading downstairs for a tea and Linzer torte at the perfectly achieved turn-of-the-century-style Cafe Sabarsky, where you dine surrounded by Adolf Loos furniture.

Despite its popularity, which translates into lines around the block on any given day, MoMA is still one of our favorite places in the city. Whenever we come to visit, whether to walk the permanent collection or to check out a new, contemporary exhibition, we always spend some time in the white marble-clad sculpture garden, a rare respite in the middle of bustling midtown. The MoMA has plans to expand into what was previously the Folk Art Museum next door: Headed up by architectural practice Diller Scofidio + Renfro, it will certainly be as artfully conceived as the famous 2002-2004 revamp.

This beloved institution—reigning supreme on NYC’s Upper East Side—has been shepherding millions through its halls since 1880. You’ll find some of the art world’s most iconic pieces, as well as important artifacts from ancient to modern times. It’s also home to the Egyptian Temple of Dendur, which dates back to 15 BC.

With a stable of some of our favorite contemporary artists and photographers—Luigi Ghiri, Nan Goldin and Terry Winters—gallerist Matthew Marks has made a name for himself for his offbeat, yet totally on-point exhibitions. There are three outposts in Chelsea.