It could take days, even weeks, to cover the Met’s 2 million square feet of exhibition space, so it’s best to be selective. Besides the enthralling temporary exhibits, there are excellent collections of African, Oceanic and Islamic art, along with more than 3,000 European paintings from the medieval through the fin-de-siècle periods, including major works by Titian, Brueghel, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Goya, Manet and Degas. Egyptology fans should head straight for the glass-walled atrium housing the Temple of Dendur. The Greek and Roman halls have received a graceful face-lift, and the incomparable collection of medieval armor was recently enriched by new gifts of European, North American, Japanese and Islamic arms. The Met has also made significant additions to its galleries of modern art, including major works by American artist Eric Fischl and Chilean Surrealist Matta. Contemporary sculptures are displayed each year in the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden (May–Oct), the perfect place to grab a sandwich and a cool drink while surveying the skyscrapers soaring above Central Park. The upgraded Petrie Court Cafe now offers waiter service and a better quality of food (albeit rather pricey for cafeteria-style fare). The Met recently started a Holiday Mondays program, opening museum doors on certain holidays, including Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day and the Monday between Christmas and New Year’s. A large, round desk in the museum’s Great Hall (staffed by volunteers who speak multiple languages) is the hub of the museum’s excellent Visitors’ Services resources, and the best place to begin planning your visit. (Foreign-language tours are also available; call 212-570-3711.) Once you’ve had a solid dose of the sort of work that interests you most—from Greek kouroi to colorful Kandinskys—you might enjoy a spot of relative privacy and calm. Surprisingly enough, the Met is dotted with them—you just have to know where to look. The Englehard Court, bordering on Central Park, has benches and a trickling fountain, with trees, ivy and stunning examples of Tiffany stained glass. The Astor Court on the second floor is a garden modeled on a Ming-dynasty scholar’s courtyard, with wooden paths bordering a naturally lit atriumlike area paved with gravel and stones. The nearby East Asian Galleries (some 64,000 square feet of space) are full of superb examples of archaic bronzes, ceramics and rare wooden Buddhist images. On the western end of the museum, take a rest on the benches in the Robert Lehman Wing, then go commune with Botticelli’s Annunciation.
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