A weekend in New York can be daunting. So much to do and so little time. If you don’t have much time, skip the ticket line. Buy The New York Pass and go directly to the entrance inside the museum lobby.  The New York Pass booklets are good for The Guggenheim, The Met and the Cloisters, MoMa and PS1 as well as The Empire State Building, The American Museum of Natural History and the Statue of Liberty and many other popular NYC attractions.

A major reason to visit New York  is the galleries. You’ll see art here you won’t see anywhere else.

Galleries 

Pace Gallery in Chelsea has 50 years of iconic images from master fashion photographer Irving Penn.

Also in Chelsea, Francois Xavier Lalanne transformed an old gas station at 10th Ave and 24th Street into his amusing installation, The Sheep Station.

Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi is the first artist to paint directly onto the roof of the Met, and visitors walk on it as they view it. The installation’s title, “And How Many Rains Must Fall Before the Stains Are Washed Clean,” is from a poem by the Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

A must see in Brooklyn, MoMA PS1  has dedicated all 3 floors of the gallery to the career of West Coast artist Mike Kelley, who committed suicide in 2012 at age 57. A CityPASS booklet includes a visit to MoMA PS1 within 30 days of visiting MoMA.

Where to Eat

For lunch, try The Lobster Place at the Chelsea Market. Order the monkfish sandwich on challa bread with the scallop and bacon chowder. The sushi and lobster are also great. Don’t forget to ask for a free bib. Get take out and walk up to the Highline or nearby Hudson River Park.

For a fun, informal dinner, try Eataly, both a store and a restaurant for those who love all things Italian. Located steps away from the Flatiron bldg on 5th Avenue, the restaurant area is sectioned by food group – Fish, Pizza and Pasta, Meat and Vegetarian.  Weather permitting, you can also dine under the stars on the rooftop patio, but the pub-style menu doesn’t have the variety of the main floor. If they’re on the menu, order the tuna and swordfish meatballs in tomato sauce. Fantastico!

Music

Intimate with good acoustics ,the legendary Blue Note in Greenwich Village is the club to see well-known jazz artists like Stanley Clarke. Before leaving home, reserve tickets online and The Blue Note will hold your seat. A five-minute wait on a Sunday night and we were seated just 3 feet away from the stage.

Try a few of our favorite suggestions on your next trip to the Big Apple.  Don’t worry if you don’t see everything – you’ll be back.

Travel Planner

• Pace Gallery 32 E 57th St, New York, NY 10022
• MoMA  11 West 53rd St. New York, NY 10019
• MoMA PS1  22-25 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, NY
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
• The Cloisters Museum & Gardens  99 Margaret Corbin Dr, New York, NY 10040
• The Blue Note 131 W 3rd St, New York, NY 10012
• Eataly  200 5th Avenue New York, NY 10010
• Chelsea Market 75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011