New York’s best art and history museums in 3 days

Enjoy immersive and fun exhibits showcasing science, technology, math, engineering and history through artifacts from the first space shuttle to the fastest commercial airliner. Find all this and more on display in and around the historic aircraft carrier, Intrepid. Intrepid is a celebrated WWII vessel, famous for having survived five kamikaze attacks and a torpedo strike, it later served in the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and as a NASA recovery vessel.Explore the museum’s collection of historical artifacts and exhibitions spanning over 150,000 square feet. Get an up-close look at the space shuttle Enterprise and 28 aircraft, including the world’s fastest military jet. Enter Growler, the only guided missile submarine open to the public. Climb into a real Bell 47 helicopter and land a space shuttle in the Exploreum.

You’ll learn all about the nine-month recovery after the events of 9/11 and the people involved through insightful exhibits and images.At this unique workshop, you’ll also be able to handle some of the artifacts from the recovery operation.Take a 90-minute BOSE audio tour around the exhibits for an in-depth explanation of everything you see, plus a short introductory video and walk through of artifacts with your tour guide. Audio guides are available in French, Italian, English, and Spanish. Images and artifacts on display include the largest piece of surviving WTC window glass in existence and rare images taken by official Ground Zero Photographer Gary Suson. You’ll see firefighters in action, the K-9 recovery dog and the Ground Zero cross. As you explore, you’ll also hear detailed BOSE audio stories and sound effects from 9/11 plus rare footage of the recovery operation. This exhibit holds the attention of even the youngest of children. The collection is also non-graphic. 

At this multi-sensory museum, you'll experience a day in the life of a spy and discover what kind of undercover role you'd be perfect for – agent, analyst, handler, hacker, and everything in between.Learn all of the essential spy skills and take part in special ops missions to measure your agility. Crack impossible codes, take a crash course in how to spot a liar, and duck and twist through a room full of laser beams. As well as measuring your own secret agent skills, you'll get the chance to see authentic spy artifacts and real intelligence organization devices.Learn all about some of the most notorious criminals in the world and hear plenty of espionage stories – there's the one-legged spy who fled the Nazis over the Pyrenees, the teenager who hacked the CIA, and more.

Carnegie Hall is one of New York City's most famous venues, known for its incredible performances and rich musical history.A guided tour gives you an insider's view as you dive into over 130 years of history. Friendly and knowledgeable guides share fun stories of famous performances and reveal the secrets behind the hall’s world-famous acoustics. You’ll also get to learn about the architecture that made Carnegie Hall a dream venue for musicians from around the globe.On the tour, you’ll check out rare musical scores in the Composers’ Gallery and take a stroll through the Rose Museum, home to hundreds of artifacts that showcase Carnegie Hall’s place in NYC’s cultural scene. From historic photos to personal items of legendary artists, the museum offers a fascinating look into the Hall’s lasting legacy.Whether you’re a music lover or history buff, a Carnegie Hall tour is a must-do when you’re in New York City!

Wander through the impressive permanent galleries and become awe-struck by the top-notch collection of gorgeous art. The Guggenheim is home to the works of Cézanne, Gauguin, Manet, Monet, Picasso, Pissarro, and Renoir. From Impressionist and Post-Impressionist to sculpture and the Avante Garde, this museum is an art lover’s paradise.

The Museum of Sex New York throws those once-taboo topics into the spotlight and takes you on an educational journey to the epicenter of human sexuality. It’s not about sleaze here - you’ll find important academic and psychological studies, and discover groundbreaking research into human behavior.There are over 15,000 artifacts on display from various time periods and cultures, each showcasing perspectives on sexuality from leading scholars and artists. See fine art and films plus historic objects that were previously destroyed for their explicit nature. The Museum of Sex New York is associated with the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, and it aims to encourage open and frank conversation about human sexuality.Exhibitions invite visitors to dive deep into such topics as the origins of pornography, sex toys across time, and artists creating work at the vanguard of sexuality and gender. An onsite bar offering signature libations allows visitors to loosen their inhibitions while creating a sexy and festive atmosphere.

Learn about the history of this synagogue and why it holds such deep significance for the Jewish community on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.The Eldridge Street Synagogue was built in the late 19th Century to accommodate the boom in Jewish immigration to New York, and the Lower East Side in particular. But when the 1924 Immigrant Quota Laws forced the Jewish community into decline, the building fell into a long period of decay and neglect.Rediscovered in the 1970s and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996, the synagogue underwent an astonishing 20-year renovation, including the installation of a spectacular new stained glass window, to transform it into the vibrant museum and hub for arts and education that it is today.Step through the magnificent neo-Moorish facade and inside this grand architectural marvel, where you’ll find glass domes bearing the Star of David, towering brass lamps and an impressive interior staircase.There’s a huge collection of written letters and artifacts to explore, provided by the Eldridge Street congregation, but the highlight that will have you reaching for your camera is the monumental stained glass window by artist Kiki Smith and architect Deborah Gans. This wonderful piece of contemporary art is the museum’s centerpiece: a 16-foot circular window in swirling blues and turquoise, containing a galaxy of stars.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City is a place of remembrance, reflection and historical understanding. Located at the former World Trade Center site, it documents the events of September 11, 2001, and their lasting impact through carefully curated exhibitions and original artifacts.Inside the museum, exhibits present a detailed account of the day’s events, from the moments leading up to the attacks to their immediate and long-term consequences. Through a combination of recovered objects, multimedia displays and recorded testimonies, the museum highlights both the scale of the tragedy and the individual human stories behind it. Personal narratives from first responders, survivors and victims’ families provide insight into the courage, cooperation and resilience shown during and after the attacks.Your visit ends at the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, where two large reflecting pools mark the footprints of the Twin Towers. The engraved names surrounding the pools honour the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives, offering a calm and contemplative space in the heart of Lower Manhattan.The 9/11 Memorial & Museum serves as both a historical record and a place for quiet reflection, ensuring the events of September 11 – and those affected by them – are respectfully remembered.

Mercer Labs is an ultra-sensory, 360° immersive playground where art and cutting-edge tech collide. Right in the heart of downtown NYC, this multi-level gallery stretches across 15 interactive rooms, each packed with mind-bending visuals, hypnotic soundscapes, and touchable experiences that’ll leave you questioning what’s real.Maestros and the Machines ExperienceStep into a groundbreaking world where art, technology, and imagination collide. Maestros and the Machine redefines creativity, inviting you to explore what the great masters—like Mozart, Da Vinci, and Hokusai—might have created with today's limitless technology.Conceived and directed by renowned artist Roy Nachum, this immersive exhibition is a living dialogue between past and future. Through stunning visual displays and innovative technology, timeless masterpieces are reimagined, evolving before your eyes.Art transcends time—and here, it becomes something truly immortal. Discover a new way to experience creativity at Maestros and the Machine, where the boundaries between eras, ideas, and innovation dissolve.

Located in Times Square, RiseNY’s immersive three-part adventure lets you experience New York City in a whole new way, connecting you to some of the city’s most famous sights and historical moments!Your experience begins inside a replica of the original NYC City Hall Subway Station where you’ll enjoy a screening of Ric Burns and James Sanders’ documentary about the Big Apple’s evolution into a global cultural hub, narrated by Jeff Goldblum.A virtual subway car transports you to RiseNY’s seven galleries, which are themed around finance, film, fashion, music, the New York skyline, TV/radio and Broadway. Museum-quality exhibits showcase the city’s pop culture roots, with highlights including a hand-painted jacket made for Madonna by graffiti artist Keith Haring, the guitar Bruce Springsteen used to write Born To Run, Biggie Smalls’ red tracksuit, a check signed by Founding Father Alexander Hamilton and replica set designs from iconic New York TV shows including The Honeymooners.Your thrilling adventure climaxes in the state-of-the-art flying theater. Take your seat, strap in and get ready for an uplifting experience like no other. You’ll rise into the air before dipping, swooping and soaring across the New York skyline. Enjoy the best seats in the house for the Times Square New Year Ball Drop, soar over Central Park and see Brooklyn Bridge and the Yankee Stadium from dizzying heights. Amazing 8K aerial footage, realistic flight movement and wind and mist effects might even convince you that you’re experiencing the real thing!

Step inside the Museum of Broadway and discover the stories behind the shows that have shaped New York’s most famous stage. Throughout the museum, interactive exhibits highlight legendary performers, landmark productions, and the behind-the-scenes creativity that brings Broadway to life. From original costumes and set pieces to rare photographs and memorabilia, the collection offers a closer look at the craft and history of live theatre.The experience begins in 1732, tracing Broadway’s evolution from its earliest performances through to the present day. As you move through the galleries, you’ll see how Broadway has continually reflected – and challenged – social attitudes, pushing creative boundaries and influencing culture far beyond New York City.Themed exhibition spaces focus on different eras, styles, and genres, allowing you to explore iconic shows while also discovering new favourites. Along the way, hands-on displays invite visitors of all ages to get involved – whether that means stepping onto a mock stage, engaging with performance-inspired activities, or immersing yourself in the sound and spectacle of Broadway’s greatest moments.

This experiential exhibition space pushes the boundaries of the arts and sciences to create a multi-sensory experience like no other. Their technology-driven exhibitions use the largest seamless megapixel count projections of any cultural institution in the world, which, combined with their Hyperreal Sound technology creates a both visually stimulating and audibly fascinating atmosphere to experience art.This large exhibition space is the perfect environment to take in their wondrously otherworldly exhibitions, which cover themes spanning nature to technology.Exhibitions aside, the venue itself is pretty noteworthy - located in a 150-year-old boiler room beneath the famous Chelsea Market, it's an impressive space.