Visitor Guidelines

Entrance into the Museum’s galleries requires a ticket or Membership card.

New York State residents and New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut students, the amount you pay for tickets is up to you. 

• If you wish to pay less than the general admission ticket prices, you may purchase your ticket at a Met ticket desk with a valid ID. Accepted forms of residency verification include New York State driver’s license, New York State identification card, IDNYC, current bill or statement with a New York State address, student ID, and New York library card. 
• We suggest the following general admission ticket prices: $30 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $17 for students, but you may pay what you wish. 
• Admission is free for Members, Patrons, and children under 12. 

General Admission

For visitors who are not New York State residents or NY, NJ, or CT students:

• General admission is $30 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $17 for students
• Admission is free for Members, Patrons, and children under 12
• Admission is free for a caregiver accompanying a visitor with a disability.
• Please click here for more information on complimentary admission eligibility and passes.

General admission tickets are also available for purchase at the Museum at a kiosk or ticket desk.

Members

When you enter the Museum, have your Membership card ready. We'll scan your card and you can head right into the galleries without a ticket. 

Groups

Advance reservations are required for all groups of 10 or more, and for any third-party guided tours, regardless of size.

To request an in-person guided tour, reserve admission and lead your own group, or request a live virtual tour led by a Museum guide, see Group Visits.

The Met Fifth Avenue hours are as follows:

Sunday–Tuesday, and Thursday: 10 am–5 pm Friday and Saturday: 10 am–9 pm Closed Wednesday

Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, January 1, and the first Monday in May.

The Met Cloisters hours are as follows:

Thursday–Tuesday: 10 am–5 pm
Closed Wednesday

Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1.

• Limited public parking is available in our garage for a fee. The garage entrance is located at Fifth Avenue and 80th Street.
• Members receive a 10% discount with a validated parking voucher.
• Bicycle racks are provided inside the Museum parking garage, located at Fifth Avenue and 80th Street, during regular Museum hours for free.

Entering the Building

• All visitors and Members must pass through a security check. Please anticipate lines at the entrances.
• Anyone requiring a step-free entrance can use the ground-level entrance at 81st Street and Fifth Avenue.
• New York State residents can purchase pay-as-you-wish tickets at the admission desk. Advance ticket holders can proceed directly to the galleries once inside.
• Strollers, with the exception of oversized and jogging strollers, are permitted in most galleries. Strollers are not permitted in Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. Stroller parking is available adjacent to the exhibition. Front-facing baby carriers are welcome.
• A limited number of wheelchairs are available for use.
• Visitors may bring small backpacks into the galleries if they are worn on your front or side.
• Bags larger than 11 x 17 x 5 in (28 x 43 x 13 cm) are all backpacks are not permitted in Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
• Visitors may bring water in plastic and secure bottles into the Museum. Liquids are not permitted in Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
• Smoking, including electronic cigarettes, is not allowed in the Museum or near the entrances.
• The Museum operates closed-circuit video monitoring for the safety of the art and the public. Please note that visitors to The Met may be photographed, videotaped, or otherwise recorded. By visiting, visitors grant the Museum permission to use photographs and/or audiovisual recordings in which visitors appear for archival, documentary, publicity, advertising, or other purposes.
• Please retain your ticket. You may be asked to re-validate your ticket when exiting and re-entering the galleries. Entry is not guaranteed for dates not printed on your ticket.

The Museum reserves the right to refuse entry to any visitor carrying the following prohibited items:

• Large bags, luggage, and musical instruments
• Glass containers, jars, aerosol cans, and liquids other than water. Liquids are not permitted in Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
• Any large objects, such as flags, banners, frames, artwork, shopping carts, sporting goods, and recreational equipment
• Dogs or others pets (Service animals are welcome.)
• Plants and flowers
• Costumes including masks that cover the full face
• Weapons and hazardous materials
• Wagons are not permitted

We are committed to offering the best possible environment for our visitors. In order to achieve this, we require your cooperation with the following:

• We invite you to join us in our dining venues. Outside food and drink (other than water) is not permitted.
• Children twelve and under must be accompanied by an adult at all times.
• Stream select audio content in the galleries on your mobile device for free.
• The art is here for you to study, admire, and explore.
• Please do not touch the artwork, frames, platforms, labels, display cases, or anything used to protect the art.
• Only pencils are allowed for sketching or note taking in the galleries. If you are interested in our copyist program, see the information here.
• Unless otherwise indicated, you may take photographs for personal use.
• For health and safety reasons, shirts and shoes are required.

Please note some galleries may be closed at the time of your visit

• The Met’s galleries for sub-Saharan African art, Ancient American art and Oceanic art in The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing are closed temporarily in preparation for the exciting new renovation project which will reenvision these collections for a new generation of visitors.
• View Gallery Closures

Our galleries are for discovering something new and sharing an experience with family or friends. We ask that visitors refrain from disorderly or disruptive conduct that interferes with or distracts from other visitors’ enjoyment of the Museum

• Keep voices low and be mindful of others.
• Cellphones should be set on vibrate or silent.
• Keep doorways and hallways accessible to other visitors.

The Museum prohibits the following:

• Conduct that poses any risk to other visitors or to the Museum’s staff or collections.
• Running, rough play, and disruptive behavior.
• The unauthorized playing of music and video, unauthorized theater performances, and sound amplification and noisemakers (except for assistive-listening devices).
• Charitable solicitations, leafleting, signature gathering, picketing, and press conferences by visitors.
• Solicitation of business and unauthorized for-profit activity.
• Refund, resale, exchange, or transferal of Museum tickets or Membership benefits

The Met permits photography and video for private, non-commercial use only at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters.

Hand-Held Cameras and video on personal cellular devices may be used, without a flash, to photograph and film the galleries unless otherwise designated.

Photographs and video cannot be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited in any manner whatsoever.

What Is Not Allowed

The Museum does not permit the following at either location:

• Photography and video of specific works of art designated as no-photography
• Photography and video in galleries designated as no-photography
• Use of flash
• Selfie sticks, tripods, monopods, drones, and professional video equipment, unless previously arranged and approved by the Communications Department (see below).

The Museum is not able to store large camera equipment in our coat check. Please do not bring them to the Museum during your visit or you will not be able to enter the Museum.

Commercial and Press Photography and Video Requests

Digital Department - Rights and Permissions
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Email: image.licensing@metmuseum.org

For photography of Museum objects and galleries for press use, or filming and videotaping projects, please inquire in writing to:

Communications Department
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10028
Email: communications@metmuseum.org

The Museum reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to withhold and/or withdraw permission to photograph on its premises or to reproduce photographs of objects in its collections.

• See here for more information on access to the Museum for visitors with disabilities.