Museum of Modern Art

Founded in 1929, MoMA is one of NYC’s most popular museums, home to more than 100,000 pieces of modern artwork, most by heavy hitters – Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne, Rothko, Pollock and many others. It’s dedicated to showcasing artwork based on the emerging creative ideas of the late 19th century through to those that dominate today. It’s easy to get lost in the vast collection for an entire day; if you want to maximize your time and create a plan of attack ahead of time, download the museum’s floor plan and visitor guide (available in several languages) from the website beforehand. Recent special exhibitions inside the high-ceilinged galleries have included ‘Monet’s Water Lilies’ and ‘The Erotic Object: Surrealist Sculpture from the Collection.’ Also, the museum’s cinema hosts a rich film program, with rotating screenings from its collection of more than 19,000 films, including the works of the Maysles Brothers and every Pixar animation film ever produced.

Since its grand reopening in 2004 following the most extensive renovation project in its 75-year history, the Museum of Modern Art has been widely hailed for its physical design, with a central, five-story atrium housing peaceful, airy galleries with works in areas such as painting, sculpture, architecture and design, drawings, prints, illustrated books, and film and media. The reconstruction, by architect Yoshio Taniguchi, doubled the museum’s capacity and restored the museum’s tranquil sculpture garden to the original, larger vision of Philip Johnson’s 1950s design. You can look over this area as you dine in high style at the Modern, a much-lauded foodie paradise of French-American cuisine courtesy of head chef Gabriel Kreuther (though you’ll find more affordable cafes onsite, too).

An even bigger project, though, is underway as controversial plans for an 82-story tower designed by architect Jean Nouvel – to include a hotel, residential apartments and additional exhibition space for the museum – were approved by the city in late 2009.