5 Of The Best: Small Museums in New York City (& where to eat nearby)
Culture & carbs: a recipe for the perfect afternoon in New York City
This post is an excerpt from my guide to 12 of the Best Museums & Galleries in New York City, which you can find in full on The Wanderbug.
I adore a small museum which can be experienced in full, in 90 minutes or less. New York City is home to several of these, which are perfect for an inspiring afternoon in the city.
These small museums are some of New York City’s greatest treasures, and can be enjoyed in a single visit, and you’ll be done before your feet feel like they’re going to fall off.
I’ve also included suggestions of the best places to eat near each one, because I have never left a museum or gallery and not been ravenous.
Morgan Library & Museum
The Morgan Library & Museum is home to one of New York City’s most beautiful libraries. The library is the former home office & library of banking tycoon JP Morgan himself, and has to be seen to be believed! This is a great museum if you’re looking to be dazzled in less than thirty minutes, and want to avoid huge crowds – it generally flies under the radar.
Where to eat:
Koreatown - From the Morgan, you’re just a couple of blocks from Koreatown, which is such a vibe. A few blocks of some of the best Korean food in the city, it’s hard to go wrong.
Keen’s Steakhouse - For a more formal affair, and a strong vibes match for the Morgan, make a reservation at Keen’s Steakhouse. It’s one of the oldest in New York City, and it is a little like stepping back in time.
Neue Galerie
The Neue Galerie is home to one of the most mesmerising, and highly contested pieces of art in New York City. The museum is a tightly curated twentieth-century German and Austrian art, housed in one of the precious few remaining Gilded Age mansions on Fifth Avenue.
The piece de resistance is Portrait of Adele Bloch-Baeur I by Gustav Klimt. Bloch-Baeur was a member of Viennese high society, married to the wealthy industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, who commissioned the painting in 1903. In 1938, it was seized from the Bloch-Bauer family home by the Nazis. In 2005, Adele & Ferdinand’s niece, Maria Altmann, won a lengthy legal battle with the Austrian government, for ownership of the painting. The legal drama surrounding the painting was made into the 2015 film Woman in Gold starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.
Where to eat:
Cafe Sabarsky - The primary on-site cafe and restaurant at Neue Galerie is like stepping into an fin-de-siecle Viennese coffee house. It’s popular, so make a reservation in advance.
Frick Collection
At the corner of Fifth Avenue and 71st St, on Manhattan’s former Millionaire Mile, The Frick offers an escape into New York’s Gilded Age. Henry Clay Frick was a wealthy Pittsburgh industrialist but at heart he was a passionate art collector. He designed his Fifth Avenue mansion facing the park, Henry Clay Frick House, not only to live in but also to best display his burgeoning collection of European masterpieces. He died in 1919 and 20 years later, the house opened as The Frick Collection.
Because Frick was collecting art to be enjoyed as his home, rather than the more academic setting of a traditional museum, all of the work is, to be blunt: prettier. No dystopian futures, morose religious warnings or fatalistic celebrations of the glory of war – or if there were, I didn’t see them because they were outnumbered by dreamy landscapes, pretty portraits and cherub-like children getting into all sorts of mischief.
Where to eat:
Laduree - There is an outpost of the Parisian patisserie on the same block as the Frick Collection, which is aesthetically a good match for the Frick, but not particularly “New York”.
The Palm Court at The Plaza - You’ll need to hop on the subway, but in ten minutes you can make it to The Plaza for high tea, a fitting encore to the Frick.
The Tenement Museum
The Tenement Museum is one of the most unique museums in New York City, and one of genuine favourites. The musuem inhabits a few tenement buildings on the Lower East Side, which have been meticulously restored to recreate how each apartment would have looked throughout history. You visit the museum by booking guided apartment tours.
Where to eat:
Yonnah Schimmel’s Knish Bakery - This is the PERFECT match for a visit to the tenement museum, because it is one of the oldest, and last remaining knishery bakeries in New York City, that still makes knishes onsite. Knishes are a traditional Jewish food, which can be savour (mashed potato wrapped in dough) or sweet, filled with cream cheese and blueberries. Knishes are heavy, hearty, cheap and delicious!
Russ & Daughters - Founded in 1904 by Jewish immigrants from Poland, Russ & Daughters is the first store in America to use “& Daughters” in its name, rather than “& Sons.” They make some of the best bagels in New York City.
Katz Delicatessen - an obvious suggestion, and it’s just across the street.
New York Historical Society
The New York Historical Society is the oldest museum in New York, and is dedicated to exploring the political, cultural and social history of New York City, the state of New York and the country.
On my first visit, I was delighted to discover an exhibition dedicated to legendary caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, and left feeling extremely inspired. It’s the perfect museum for discovering a slice of history and culture which will change the way you see the world. Check out their upcoming exhibitions before your visit.
Where to eat:
Levain - Line up for New York City’s most famous choc chip cookies, at their original Upper West Side location.
Gray’s Papaya - One of New York City’s most famous and longstanding hot dog chains, and fierce rival to Papaya King. It’s an iconic NYC eat, and a step up from a street hot dog.
