You’ve got a few precious vacation days in New York, and both The Met and MoMA made your list. I don’t blame you. I lived in NYC for 13 years, and after visiting both countless times, I can tell you this: you really can’t go wrong with either museum.
The trouble is squeezing everything in, especially on your first trip to NYC. If your itinerary only has room for one, you need to know how they’re actually different before you decide. Let me break down the Met vs. MoMA debate, so you can choose the one that fits your trip instead of guessing.
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Met or MoMA?
Since there is so much to see when you visit NYC, you might not have time to visit more than one art museum. It can be hard to choose which one to prioritize when there are several world-class options to chose from.
In this post, let’s focus on picking between MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Permanent Collection
The permanent collections of these two NYC art museums overlap a bit, but the Met’s is much bigger and diverse. We’re talking about 1.5 million works at the Met, compared to roughly 200,000 at MoMA.
At MoMA, modern and contemporary art take center stage, and let me tell you, they excel at it! Since the building has less than half the square footage of The Met, seeing all the art galleries inside MoMA in one visit is doable, but you will probably need at least four hours.
It’s hard to say what the best Met art section is because there are so many great ones. The Met art galleries have such a broad range of pieces from ancient Egypt, to Medieval Art, to European Art, Modern Art, and more. I don’t think it is possible to see everything at the Met in one visit, probably not even in two. I keep finding new areas that I hadn’t seen on previous visits.
If you want to cover as much of the Met collection as you can in one visit consider taking a tour. Maybe something light-hearted but informative, like the Twisted Metropolitan Museum of Art Tour: Scandals & Secrets of the Masterpieces.
Based on the variety and size of the collection, the Met wins here hands down.
Winner: Met
Building
The difference between MoMA and the Met is symbolized by their buildings. As you would expect, MoMA is in a newer building that opened in 2004 which is fitting for a modern art museum. The building blends in with other buildings in midtown and if it weren’t for the large sign outside you might not even expect that there is a museum inside.
The Met, however, is housed in an iconic building that opened to the public in 1880! It has now expanded to cover more than 2 million square feet. Like I learned on my When Harry Met Seinfeld tour, the famous steps outside have been part of many TV shows and movies like Gossip Girl, Hitch, and Ocean’s 8. The Met is also home to the Met Gala, also known as the Superbowl of Fashion, which is held on the first Monday of May each year.
Winner: Met
Modern Art
My favorite type of art is modern so I prefer to go to museums with that focus. Obviously, MoMA focuses on modern art, the whole building is filled with just modern art.
When you go to MoMA, you will see their impressive collection including works by Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh and Warhol to name a few. I also enjoy the contemporary art at MoMA.
Before I visited the Met, I thought the focus was more on Egyptian and classical pieces, but I should say I was also impressed with the collection of modern art at the Met. They also have pieces by Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh, plus they have a nice collection from my favorite artist, Rodin, and more.
Note: If you want to see some contemporary photography, consider checking out Fotografiska, it opened in 2019.
Winner: MoMA
Special Exhibits
Both museums have excellent special exhibits, that are constantly changing. Probably the most well-known special exhibit was the Rain Room at MoMA. Unfortunately, I never got to see the exhibit because the lines were always so long!
I have fond memories of several of the special exhibits I went to. I enjoyed the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA, it was an interesting insight into his thinking and his life. At the Met, I enjoyed the China Through the Looking Glass Exhibit, which showed some of the Asian influence in fashion.
Winner: MoMA
Outdoor Space
In Manhattan, outdoor space is precious and both museums have it, or at least did until recently.
MoMA’s sculpture garden is open year around. One summer I attended the MoMA party in the garden, and it was a lot of fun. It’s also a great spot for photos when the weather is nice.
The Met’s rooftop, once open from May through late fall with views of Central Park and the midtown skyline, closed on October 19, 2025 for a major renovation. The Met is building a new wing for modern and contemporary art, and the rooftop garden will return as part of it, relocated and expanded to 10,000 square feet, but not until 2030.
Until then, MoMA wins this one by default.
Winner: MoMA (for now)
Museum Dining Options
You can find some great food options at either MoMA or the Met.
MoMA features several dining options including The Modern, a contemporary American fine-dining restaurant that holds two Michelin stars, and museum cafés, Cafe 2 and the Terrace Cafe on Floor 6. You can dine outside at the Terrace Cafe weather permitting.
The museum cafes are for museum guests only and do not accept reservations. You do not need to be a museum guest to go to the Modern, it is pricey though. The Modern does take reservations.
I have eaten at the MoMA cafe on the 2nd floor a few times and always enjoyed it. I think next time I go if the weather is nice, I will have to try the Terrace Cafe.
Given the museum’s location in Midtown, there are also several cafes near MoMA that you could go to for lunch. I like La Bonne Soupe and PizzaArte on 55th St between 5th and 6th Avenues.
The Met has several dining options too. The Dining Room at the Met is the fine dining option, but it is closed permanently as the museum overhauls its entire food and beverage program. Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, the chefs behind West Village favorite Via Carota, are reimagining dining across the museum, with new concepts expected to start debuting in 2027.
Casual dining options at the Met include the American Wing Café for sandwiches and coffee, and The Petrie Court Café, though it’s temporarily closed for renovations and set to reopen October 1, 2026. The Balcony Lounge is worth knowing about too, but it’s reserved for museum members now.
Winner: MoMA
Gift Shops
If you enjoy browsing museum shops, you might also want to know how the gift shops at the two museums compare.
MoMA is the clear winner here. The MoMA Design Store is much more than a place to pick up a souvenir. You’ll find homeware, furniture-inspired pieces, jewelry, books, and clever design objects that feel like things you’d genuinely want to use rather than leave sitting on a shelf. I could easily spend an hour browsing in there, and I often pop into the MoMA Design Store even when I haven’t been to the museum.
The Met’s shops are more closely tied to the museum’s collection. You’ll find art books, prints, jewelry inspired by specific artworks, reproductions, and museum-branded gifts. They’re a good choice if you want a keepsake connected to something you saw during your visit, but I don’t find them quite as fun to browse as MoMA’s.
Winner: MoMA
Kid-Friendly
If you are bringing kids along with you, you may wonder which museum is best for kids.
Luckily, both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and MoMA have special programs for young visitors to keep them interested. I think kids would be most excited about the Egyptian section of the Met. Walking through the Temple of Dendur will make them feel like they have been transported to ancient Egypt!
Winner: The Met
Museum App
Both the Met and MoMA now use Bloomberg Connects, a free app supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, for their in-museum guides. You’ll get audio commentary, self-guided tours, interactive maps, and highlights, covering both the main building and the Cloisters on the Met’s side.
Winner: Tie
Museum Opening Hours
NYC MoMA is open seven days a week from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, with hours extended to 9:30 pm on Fridays.
The Met is open 10 am – 5 pm Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and 10 am – 9 pm on Friday and Saturday. It’s closed on Wednesdays.
So if you’re visiting on a Friday, both museums stay open late. On Saturday only the Met does.
Both museums are popular so the best time to go will be during the week in the mornings. Since MoMA is a smaller museum, it will feel more crowded than the Met. That said, popular areas of the Met, like the Egyptian art galleries and the Temple of Dendur, can get just as crowded, though the sheer size of the building means you can usually find a quiet gallery to retreat to. When the weather is bad, the crowds will be bigger at both museums.
Winner: Tie
Price
Prices for the two museums have changed a lot in recent years. Adult admission used to be noticeably cheaper at MoMA. Now, regular admission is essentially the same price at both museums, so price alone isn’t much of a factor in your decision anymore.
That said, there are still a couple of differences that matter. Kids get in free at both museums, but MoMA’s cutoff is more generous, 16 and under, versus 12 and under at the Met. Also, the Met offers a pay-as-you-wish option, but only for New York State residents and students from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, everyone else pays full price. Whatever you pay, your ticket covers both the Met Fifth Avenue and the Met Cloisters on the same day, and the Cloisters is open six days a week, closed Wednesdays just like the main building.
MoMA’s price is fixed, no pay-as-you-wish option. I’d recommend booking your timed-entry tickets ahead of time here, so you can skip the line and get straight to the galleries at no extra cost.
If you’re a New York State resident, MoMA is also free some Friday evenings through Uniqlo Friday Nights, just check their current schedule and reserve your spot in advance. New York State residents eligible for pay-as-you-wish can buy tickets online, but NJ and CT students need to buy theirs in person with a student ID.
MoMA also has combination passes with other attractions that can save you money. The RockMOMA ticket, which bundles MoMA admission with the Top of the Rock Observation Deck, is still paused, so for now your main options are the Go City New York passes and New York CityPASS, both of which include MoMA.
If you’re trying to figure out whether one of these passes is actually worth it for your trip, we explain the current NY pass options in detail here. The Met is no longer included in any of these NYC attraction passes, but they can still be a great way to save money sightseeing in New York City!
Unfortunately, there’s no dedicated combo ticket that covers both the Met and MoMA together.
Winner: It depends! MoMA if you have an attractions pass or the Met if you qualify for pay-as-you-wish tickets
Location
Both museums are located in Manhattan.
The MoMA Museum New York is conveniently located at 11 West 53rd Street in Midtown, only a block from the 53rd street stop on the E and M subway line. Alternatively, Times Square or Grand Central to MoMA is about a 15 minute walk.
The Met is located at 1000 5th Avenue on the Upper East Side at the edge of Central Park. You will most likely need to take the 4,5, or 6 subway to 86th Street and walk 15 minutes or take the bus. If you want to also visit the Met Cloisters, it is located in Fort Tryon Park which is in the very northern part of Manhattan. It takes about 40 minutes to travel between these two museums using the subway.
Winner: MoMA
Can You Visit Both Museums in One Day?
The Met and MoMA are about 1.5 miles apart, roughly a 30-minute walk, or a quick subway ride if you’d rather save your energy for the galleries.
Technically, yes, you can visit both in a single day. I just wouldn’t recommend trying to see both museums fully in one day. There’s a lot to take in at each, and spending an entire day moving through two huge museums is a lot, even if you’re a serious art lover.
The good news is that you don’t need a full day for either museum. You can spend a few hours at one, then have plenty of time left for other New York attractions. That’s a much better way to fit a museum into a busy NYC itinerary.
If your trip is longer than a day, visiting them on separate days is the sweet spot. You get to enjoy each one properly instead of feeling rushed or museum-fatigued by the end.
If you only have one day to choose between the two, I’d pick the museum that best matches your interests and give yourself a few hours to explore it without trying to rush through everything.
Overall: MoMA vs Met?
For me it’s a hard choice, I love MoMA because my favorite type of art is modern, but the MET has so much to offer. Either one is a fabulous place to spend a day, especially in the winter in NYC when it is freezing.
It doesn’t matter if this is your first trip to New York or your fifth, the factors below will help you choose either way.
- Visiting on a Wednesday? The Met is closed, MoMA isn’t.
- Already have an attractions pass? MoMA is included, the Met currently isn’t.
- Traveling with a young teen? MoMA’s free-admission cutoff is 16 and under, versus 12 and under at the Met.
- Tight on time? MoMA is doable in about 4 hours, the Met can take multiple visits to see properly.
- Want outdoor space? MoMA’s sculpture garden is open year-round, the Met’s rooftop is closed until 2030.
- Staying in Midtown? MoMA is more convenient, the Met is a longer trip from most hotels.
Ideally, you would visit both MoMA and the Met, but I know squeezing both into one trip isn’t always realistic. The good news is New York City is always worth a return visit, so if you only get to one this time, the other can be next time’s excuse to come back. I want to hear your thoughts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art or MoMA, which one would you choose?
Frequently Asked Questions about MoMA and the Met
Here are a few quick questions that come up often when people are deciding between visiting the Met and MoMA.
Both are very well-known, but the Met is more famous overall. It’s the most-visited art museum in the US, drawing close to 6 million visitors a year, more than double MoMA’s roughly 2.8 million. Its steps and galleries show up constantly on screen too, you’ve probably spotted them in Gossip Girl, or watched the cast steal jewels at the Met Gala in Ocean’s 8, which actually filmed real scenes inside the museum, including the Temple of Dendur. MoMA has its own kind of fame in the art world though, home to some of the most recognizable modern paintings anywhere, including Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.
Not that I’ve found. No dedicated ticket bundles these two museums together.
Yes, I’d recommond booking ahead for both, but it matters more for MoMA. They only sell a limited number of tickets at the door on a first-come, first-served basis, so booking online is the safer bet if you want to guarantee entry. The Met doesn’t require advance tickets, walk-up admission is available, but booking online still means skipping the line.
Not quite free, but close. New York State residents and students from New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut can use pay-as-you-wish admission at the Met, though the museum requires a minimum of one cent per ticket, so it’s not technically $0. MoMA isn’t pay-as-you-wish, but New York State residents can get in free some Friday evenings through Uniqlo Friday Nights.
MoMA. It’s included in passes like Go City New York and New York CityPASS. The Met currently isn’t part of any of these bundles.
-Anisa
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Last Updated on August 30, 2026
I’ve been to neither as I’ve never been to NYC, but I’d love to go to both. Will definitely use this guide when I finally get the chance.
Thanks David. You will love New York. So much to do and so many great museums.
Just had a look at both websites and had some recommendations. Add those to your write up I would say do both and if you are pressed for time flip a coin. We’re doing MoMA because my partner says so… She’s an artist !
Yes, both are amazing museums. I think you will enjoy MOMA.