The Met Cloisters – Tickets, Prices, Collection, Hours, Etc

The Met Cloisters is another branch of the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Met.

Contrary to The Met Fifth Avenue, which is dedicated to modern art, the Met Cloisters is your time machine back to the good old days of the Middle Ages.

The Met Cloisters houses several beautiful and stunning pieces of art that offer a sneak peek into the Middle Ages.  

The Cloisters was opened in 1938 and has gone beyond displaying and preserving the museum’s components since then.

Let us learn more about The Met Cloisters to help you plan a hassle-free and exciting trip to the Museum.

A Quick Glance at the Met Cloisters

What to Expect at The Met Cloisters

The Met Cloisters is very different from the original Met Fifth Avenue Museum.

This is the country’s first and only museum dedicated exclusively to curating, conserving, and promoting art dating to the Middle Ages.

The picturesque museum is situated overlooking the beautiful Hudson River in Fort Tyron Park in the Northern Manhattan region.

Naturally, visitors can expect to see a range of collections dating to the Middle Ages.

The museum’s exclusive collection contains some of the finest royal pieces, such as a tiny prayer book previously owned by a French Queen.

Apart from the significant and vital collection, the museum has beautiful gardens that make for a picture-perfect spot for all your Instagram posts.

The Met Cloisters NYC’s bespoke gardens, namely, the Judy Black Garden at Cuxa Cloister and the lush green gardens in Bonnefont and Trie Cloisters, are worth seeing.

The beautiful gardens, with the rustic structure in the backdrop, set the tone for the Met Cloisters NYC’s theme and dedication to the Middle Ages.

Where to Buy The Met Cloisters Ticket

The Met Cloisters tickets are available online and offline, but we recommend you purchase them online.

Getting the ticket online has several benefits, including the fact that online tickets are usually cheaper than offline tickets.

Visitors are also saved from the hassle of standing in long queues. 

The Met General Admission tickets also include access to the Met Cloisters, so visitors do not need to purchase separate tickets.

You can also get upgrades on their admission tickets and add-ons like private tours, small group tours, etc.

Since the Met tickets sell out very fast, booking your tickets in advance is better to avoid any last-minute disappointments. 

How do The Met Cloisters Online Tickets Work

The tickets are instantly delivered to your smartphone, and guests can show the smartphone tickets to gain access to the museum quickly.

The Met Cloisters Entry ticket also includes access to The Met Fifth Avenue.

MET Cloisters Entry Ticket

The Met Cloisters skip-the-line tickets give you access to the museum without waiting in long queues at the venue.

Visitors can also upgrade their tickets and choose private, small group, or self-guided tours to make the best of their trip.

The ticket includes:

• The Met and the Met Cloisters entry ticket
• Skip-the-line access to the museums (through group entrance if you choose the group tour option while booking)
• The Met and the Met Cloisters’ guided tour with a licensed guide (if you choose the guided tour option while booking)

The Met Cloisters Ticket Prices

The Met Cloisters ticket prices are $63 for adults over 12 years and $60 for kids between the ages of 2 and 11.

The Met Cloisters ticket private tour upgrade costs $160 for adults and children.

The minor group tour update costs $126 for adults over 12 years old and $100 for kids between 2 and 11 years old.

Tickets	Prices
Self-Guided Tour Adult Ticket (12+ years)	$63
Self-Guided Tour Child Ticket (2 to 11 years)	$60
Private Tour Adult Ticket (12+ years)	$160
Private Tour Child Ticket (2 to 11 years)	$160
Small Group Tour Adult Ticket (12+ years)	$126
Small Group Tour Child Ticket (2 to 11 years)	$100

Met Pay As You Wish

The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters have standard ticket prices for adults and children, but there is an exception for residents and students in certain areas.

The Met Cloisters offers a Pay As You Wish option to all New York State residents and New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey students.

The Pay As You Wish is implemented to make the museums and collections of modern art affordable and accessible to all.

Under this scheme, eligible visitors can pay whatever they wish to and enter and explore the museums.

Visitors must note that entry is not free for eligible visitors, and they are expected to pay at least $1. 

Met Cloisters Audio Guide

The Met Cloisters Audio guide is your digital guide to important, interesting information and facts about the Museum and its components.

Visitors can download the audio guide app on their smartphone by visiting the official website.

You must scan the QR code on the website and download the application on your smartphone or tablet to access the guide’s content from home or anywhere else.

Bloomberg Connects, or the Met Cloisters app, are free arts and culture apps you can use to connect audio guides. 

The audio guide app helps you access the artworks at all the Met Museums- The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters.

The Met Cloisters audio guide features:

• The Met Cloisters collection highlights tours in two languages – English and Spanish
• The Kids and Families tour 
• The Art and Music tour

Top Masterpieces at The Met Cloisters

Several worthy art pieces at The Met Cloisters are worth your time and money.

Here is a list of the top masterpieces at The Met Cloisters:

• Cloisters Ivory Cross
  
  The Cloisters Ivory Cross is a beautiful piece of Romanesque art example, carved out of Walrus Ivory.
  
  The altar cross contains 92 miniature figures and 98 inscriptions and includes Hebrew prophets, too.
  
  Another notable feature of this cross is that it contained four evangelists’ symbols and was used in the abbey at Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.
  
  
• The hours of Jeanne d’Evreux
  
  The Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux is a small and tiny prayer book, and what makes it unique is that Jeanne d’Exreux, a former French Queen, once owned it.
  
  The prayer book, as understandable, is named after its royal owner and is a stunning illuminated manuscript completed by 1328.
  
  The book features intricate illustrations and also contains religious texts.
  
  
• Rober Campin’s AnnunciationTriptych, also known as the Merode Altarpiece
  
  The Flemish painter Robert Campin’s Masterpiece is housed at The Met Cloisters NYC and is considered among the Museum’s top masterpieces.
  
  The masterpiece shows Gabriel, the angel, greeting Mary at the center while St Joseph is on the right and two benefactors on the left.
  
  It also features a vase of lilies that symbolize Mary’s purity.
  
  
• The Belles Heures, or The Beautiful Hours
  
  The Belles Heures, or The Beautiful Hours, was completed in 1409 by John, the Duke of Berry.
  
  It is an illuminated manuscript and is famous worldwide for its stunning illustrations and features seven picture cycles.
  
  The said picture cycles are devoted to prominent Christian figures.
  
  
• Bust of the Virgin
  
  The Bust of Virgin at The Met Cloisters originally dates back to the 1390s and is a medieval Bohemian sculpture.
  
  The Bust of Virgin is a sculpture of the bust of the crowned Virgin and not her complete body. It shows her in a sorrowful expression with a crown on her head.

How to Reach The Met Cloisters

The Met Cloisters is easily accessible for visitors using different modes of transportation such as buses, the subway, and by car.

Here is how you can easily reach The Met Cloisters NYC:

By Bus

Take the M4 bus without stopping between the last stop from Madison Avenue/83rd Street.

By Subway

 Take the A train to 190th Street; exit the subway station using the elevator.

Now you must walk north along Margater Corbin and drive for nearly 10 minutes.

Alternatively, you may transfer to the M4 bus and ride north one stop.

By Car

Take the Henry Hudson Parkway northbound and take the first exit after the George Washington Bridge.

Keep in mind that this exit is exclusively accessible from the northbound lane. 

When coming from the north, you must take the Henry Hudson Parkway southbound, exit at 14 and 15, and make a U-turn now.

After that, ride approximately one mile north and take the exit marked Fort Tyron Park & The Cloisters.

Met Cloister Opening Hours

The Met Cloister remains open from 10 am to 5 pm on all days of the week, except on Wednesdays.

The Met Cloisters remain closed on Wednesdays.

Besides Wednesdays, The Met Cloisters NYC remains closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas (25 December), and New Year (1 January).

Best Time to Visit The Met Cloisters

The most ideal time of the day to visit The Met Cloisters is at 10 am when the Museum opens.

Visiting early lets you stay ahead before the crowd gets there, allowing you to explore some collections peacefully.

The Met Cloisters remain more crowded during the weekends, so visiting The Met Cloisters during weekdays is a great idea if you wish to avoid the crowds.

The Met Cloisters NYC attracts more tourists during the winter months, especially around the holiday season, as it is the peak tourist season in New York around Christmas and New Year.

Spring and Fall are the ideal months to visit The Met Cloisters.

How Long Does It Take at The Met Cloisters

The time taken at any attraction or tourist destination depends on the kind of tourist you are, and the same goes for The Met Cloisters NYC.

Exploring The Met Cloisters takes significantly less time than The Met Fifth Avenue, which takes anywhere from six to seven hours if explored thoroughly.

Exploring The Met Cloisters with justice takes around three to four hours if the Museum is not too crowded.

It might take more than three to four hours on jam-packed days, but the general advice is to keep around three hours if you want to explore The Met Cloisters.

If you want to explore the cafes and stores, it can take around four hours to explore The Met Cloisters NYC.

FAQs related to The Met Cloisters

Featured Image: Wikipedia.org