The Cloisters is a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it isn't the medieval art and architecture of The Cloisters that make the museum so surreal for visitors. It's the four acres of Fort Tyron Park in which the museum is situated: visitors walk through gardens overlooking the Hudson River and navigate through the halls of actual French cloisters, all without leaving lively Manhattan.
Acting as passageways between the museum's modern galleries, many of The Cloisters' walls, arches, and stained-glass windows date back to 12th through 15th century Europe. Instead of mimicking a particular structure, the museum contains parts of five monastic cloisters from medieval France, creating a serene anthology of monastic life. Even the gardens are planted according to horticultural details found in the art, poetry, and column capitals, making them accurate to medieval times.
On display, the art works vary from illuminated manuscripts to unicorn tapestries, from a finely detailed twelfth-century ivory cross to depictions of the "Virgin and Child." In total, The Cloisters hosts more than 5,000 works on display, the oldest dating back to A.D. 800. The Cloisters also features garden tours in the summer, as well as occasional concerts and festivals celebrating the spirit of the Middle Ages.
Attraction Information
- Hours:
- March through October: Tuesday through Sunday: 9:30am to 5:15pm
- November through February: Tuesday through Sunday: 9:30am to 4:45pm
- Monday: Closed
- Admission:
- Included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art Admission
- Subway Stop:
- A train to the 190th Street Station
- 1 train to the 191st Street Station
- Contact:
- Location: 99 Margaret Corbin Dr New York, NY
- Phone: 212-923-3700
- Website: www.metmuseum.org
