The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Situated along the eastern edge of Central Park, and running four blocks long on 5th avenue, the Met is one of the most famous museums on the Upper East Side. The art inside ranges from ancient and rare artifacts, like roman sculptures and busts of philosophers, to more modern pieces like the abstract work of Jackson Pollock. Admission is donation-based, so pay what you can and enjoy walking through the different types of art!

My favorite exhibit is the impressionist artists exhibit. It gave me chills to look at the originals of van Gogh, Cezanne, Gaughin, Degas, Monet, Renoir, and many others. There are many ancient artifacts in the museum that are amazing to look and marvel at, but I recognized these impressionist pieces from my art and history classes, and it was fun to stare at them and recall what I knew about the artists' lives and remember their style of work. I recalled van Gogh's transition from darker colors to a lighter palette, and how he used thick brush strokes to form his shapes. I stared at Degas' paintings and wondered about his obsession with dancing ballerinas. It was a surreal experience to walk from gallery to gallery and see these pieces that I thought I would only ever get to experience in pictures.

Vincent van Gogh's "Irises." One of several pieces he did while at the asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France.

Seurat's work in pointillism, "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte."

My one piece of advice for the Met: do not try to see the whole museum in one day! It is simply too big to cram into a few hours. Take your time, go slowly, and come back if you have to. With a north, south, and west wing, two full floors, and a rooftop, there is so much art and history to appreciate. You will not want to miss any of it!