Showing posts with label New York Museums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York Museums. Show all posts

My NEW YORK Itinerary with Kids (Day 4: Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Plaza Hotel, Central Park)

January 4, 2014


My NEW YORK Itinerary with Kids
(Day 4: Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Plaza Hotel, Central Park)


DAY 1. MONDAY: 
ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK




DAY 2. TUESDAY: 
MIDTOWN MANHATTAN TOUR by FREE TOURS BY FOOT
TIFFANY'S STORE FEATURED IN "BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S"
FIFTH AVENUE

DAY 3. WEDNESDAY: 
STATUE OF LIBERTY, LIBERTY ISLAND, ELLIS ISLAND 
911 MEMORIAL 
BROADWAY SHOW: LION KING


DAY 4. THURSDAY: 
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MOMA)
METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
PLAZA HOTEL
CENTRAL PARK


The map below shows our itinerary for the day:


View New York City in a larger map


11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Since we had a very late night at Times Square the day before, we started late today.

Go to 34th St - Penn Station. Board   E   going towards Jamaica Center, get off at 5Av/53 St. Walk to the Museum of Modern Art at 53rd Street


12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Museum of Modern Art
Finally saw Van Gogh's "Starry Night" at the Museum of Modern Art



2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

From the Museum of Modern Art, walk to Madison Av/East 52-53 St. Board M2 bus going towards Washington Heights Broadway -168st via Madison. Get off at Madison Ave/83rd St. Walk towards 5th avenue to the entrance of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.



3:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Metropolitan Museum of Art
Arrival at the Met


Before going in, we had a 15 minute hotdog sandwich lunch at the steps of the Met.
Hotdog stand in front of the entrance of the MET

My tip: DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF PAYING FOR ADMISSION TICKETS AT THE MET. 

Contrary to what people think, tickets at the Met are FREE!!! The entry desk indicates that adult tickets are $25 but it's also stated below that they are only recommended, which means it's optional. New Yorkers know this but visitors are misled by the signs.

Check out these two articles:
Don't Pay the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 'Recommended' $25 Fee
Seeking Clarity on Fees at the Metropolitan Museum

  3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Metropolitan Museum of Art
The collection of the Met is so vast that it's not possible to see them all. 

My tip: The best way to be satisfied with your visit to the Met is to know beforehand what particular collection you want to see and go see it. This means you must read about the Met before your visit to know where to go. In our case, even if we knew what we wanted to see, because of the sheer size of the museum, it took a while to find it. I wanted to see the works of my favorite painter Johannes Vermeer, but I couldn't find it on my own. I had to ask for assistance of one of the museum employees stationed in the area to find it.

On the other hand, one of  my daughters wanted to see the Egyptian collection where all the sarcophagus and other artifacts were, another wanted to see the sculpture section, but all of them unanimously enjoy looking at the work of Impressionists: Monet, Renois, Cezanne, Latour. 


Self-portrait in a Straw Hat by Vincent Van Gogh


Bouquet of Sunflowers by Claude Monet


Marguerite-Therese (Margot) Berard by August Renoir

 


Young Woman with a Water Pitcher by Johannes Vermeer

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

Walk to 5th Av/East 80th St. Board the M@ bus going to East Village 8th st via 5th ave. Get off at 5av/West 60-59th St. Walk to the Plaza Hotel

6:00 PM - 6:30 PM 


The Plaza Hotel



WHY THE KIDS WANTED TO SEE THE PLAZA:

Because my kids watched the 2003 Disney TV movie "Eloise at the Plaza". The film was based on the famous Eloise series of children's books.


Eloise at the Plaza (2003) Poster
Photo taken from IMDB

In front of the Plaza Hotel



Inside the Plaza Hotel


6:30 PM - 7:30 PM 


Central Park


At the Pond


My kids pretending they're at the movie "Enchanted"





7:30 PM - 8:00 PM
From Columbus Circle, walk to 59th st - Columbus Circle. Board   to Gar Rockaway Mott Ave. Get off at 34th St - Penn Station



DAY 5. FRIDAY: 
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

What to See at the MoMA if you only have TWO HOURS: Must See Paintings at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York

October 27, 2012

What to See at the MoMA if you only have TWO HOURS: 
Must-See Paintings at the Museum of Modern Art  (MoMA) New York 

My tip on MoMA entrance fees:
Be sure to check out the following links to see if you qualify for free entrance or discounts:  Free Admission at the MoMA and Corporate Membership benefits at the MoMA. In my case, I paid only $10 entrance free for all 6 of us to be admitted to the MoMA. This is broken down as follows:
My husband = FREE (his employer is a corporate member of MoMA so employees are free upon presentation of corporate ID)
Myself =  $5 (my husband is entitled to bring 5 guests at $5 each as part of his corporate membership benefits)
My 18 year old daughter =  $5 ( same reason as myself)
My three kids 16 years old and below = FREE  (MoMA admission ticket rules) 
Tickets for the discounts mentioned above can only be claimed at the counter. You don't really need to purchase online because lines are not long at the ticket counter. The advantages of purchasing tickets at the ticket counter are as follows:

1. You can claim discounts if you qualify for discounts not reflected in the online purchase form.

2. You are not limited by the date on the ticket purchased online. You can just drop by the MoMA when convenient with your schedule and get your ticket. 

My tip on the MoMA highlights handbook:
If you only have 2 hours, you don't need to purchase the MoMA highlights handbook worth $20. You don't have time to see everything shown in the MoMA highlights handbook. The best thing to do is choose the most important paintings of the museum and spend time viewing it. If you need information while viewing the painting, bring a wifi enabled device and log on to the free wifi of the museum and browse the information on your device.


What to See at the MoMA if you only have TWO HOURS
My kids love paintings so it's not really a problem bringing them to a museum that features a lot of paintings. But if you have limited time, these four paintings are the ones you shouldn't miss. It's so famous that my kids are even familiar with it or at least have encountered it in one of their classes in school.
These paintings are all located on the 5th floor of the MoMa.


VINCENT VAN GOGH'S STARRY NIGHT









SALVADOR DALI'S PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY




We almost missed seeing this painting because it's so small.
It's almost as big as a long bond paper at 9.5in x 13in.
Make sure to ask the guard or any museum personnnel where it is.
One clue may be that a lot of people than usual gather around this painting.
Note: As of this writing, the Persistence of Memory is not currently on view. It will return September 2013. 


CLAUDE MONET'S WATER LILIES












Location of the MoMa

11 West 53rd Street  New York, NY 10019, United States

(212) 708-9400

Hours and Admissions

CLOSED: Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day

Open  Sat-Mon, Wed-Thurs (10:30 AM to 5:30 PM); Fri (10:30 AM to 8:00 PM)