What an absolutely beautiful place to visit. If it wasn’t for friends who live in NY I would not have known about this place as it’s not advertised. It was stunning- a building made up of other buildings from around the world then all pieces back together in a wonderfully clever way I order to show the architecture and piece inside. All set high on the hill with delightful views over Manhattan. This is well worth a trip to see.

The Cloisters, aka The Met Cloisters is a magnificent museum that’s located at Fort Tyron park in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. In October of 2023, I brought and treated my wife and myself for a visit to the museum and we very much enjoyed our experience there. Constructed by industrialists and philanthropist, John D. Rockefeller Jr. in the 1930’s and then later given and governed by the Metropolitan Museum Of Art (The Met), the Cloisters primarily features renowned European medieval architecture and art, with a particular emphasis on Christian symbols and themes. The museum holds about 5,000 works of art and architecture, many of them originating from the Byzantine and Renaissance periods. During our visit, my wife and I viewed and took several pictures of beautiful tapestries, panel paintings, sculptures and effigies. Our favorite works of art were the “Mérode Altarpiec,” “the Enthroned Virgin and Child” and the various statues of Mary & Jesus. We also enjoyed visiting the Cuxa & Trie Cloisters. If you are an aficionado of Medieval Art & Architecture, then we highly recommend that you visit and explore the Cloisters!!!

We were unable to visit the Cloisters the last time we visited NYC so I made sure we included it in our itinerary. It is easy to get to via Subway but beware of a steep walk up to the Cloisters. The collection is amazing not to mention the gardens and the views. It was so peaceful! Get there when they first open to avoid the crowds.

This is a gem. A great find and a nice break from the packed museums. I went expecting a totally different experience but what a pleasant surprise. The religious art was amazing and the space and gardens were grand. I felt immersed in history.

Reviews capture the special and unique experience visiting The Cloisters. It is truly a respite from the busy museums and a place of contemplation. If anything, see the famous Unicorn tapestries and the brilliance of the ones that are being restored. Stunning views of the GW Bridge and the Hudson River. The steps from the subway to the museum is a long way. The best plan is to take the subway and then pick up the M 4 bus the rest of the way to Fort Tryon Park. If anyone had any suggestions for places to grab a light bite to eat, we are all ears. You can easily head to the Upper East Side and find many wonderful cafes.

I love touring the Met Cloisters at the holidays. They have such interesting walking tours and displays of decorations for the Christmas holidays. The museum is not overdone and the people who work here are the utmost professional. Instead of the tour we were supposed to have on holiday plants during the Middle Ages, we had a talk of Three Kings Day and the how the interpretation has changed over the years. This is seen in the artwork around the galleries and how it changed over the Middle Ages. There were different versions in storytelling and how the story progressed from three wisemen to three kings. We saw different mediums in woodwork, stained glass and tapestries. After the tour, I walked around the museum and looked at what the collection had to offer on the subject again. I observed the artwork again with a little more time and realized that the storytelling must have changed over the ages. The museum was beautifully decorated with all sorts of plants that were blooming at different stages and realized this is how the churches must have been decorated after the Dark Ages. Very interesting and beautiful to look at. This is a little gem of a museum uptown.

About an hour on the subway from lower Manhattan but absolutely worth it. The Cloisters was built in the 1930s but it's like stepping back several centuries. Doorways, windows and columns from medieval buildings have been incorporated into the building so sensitively so you really believe you are entering a 15th century church or a 16th century cloister. The collection includes altarpieces, devotional statues, sculptures of saints and many other treasures. The $30 entry fee also covers entry to the main Met gallery on the same day but they are several miles apart and each place demands a few hours to do it justice - I spent three and a half hours wandering round the Cloisters at a fairly leisurely pace. You could do it in less time but you may as well enjoy the lovely atmosphere for as long as possible! I went on a Monday and it wasn't very busy. The website advises going to 190th St but I went to Dyckman Street station for getting back downtown afterwards and that felt a little closer once I had found my way out of the park to the main road. From 190th St it is very straightforward - just head from the bottom tip of Fort Tryon Park to the top. It is up an incline and there are some steps but it's a nice walk with wonderful views over the river, and doesn't take too long.

Absolutely lovely, and great placards explaining the treasures within. The plants and trees weren't yet in bloom, but I can only imagine how spectacular it must be when they are. Even if you get easily bored in museums, you'll find this one intriguing.

The location provides a great view of the Hudson River, and the building is in a nice bit of welcome greenery in the city. The architecture is quite intriguing in itself. But all this is just nice wrappings for the vey fine art, and the wonderful little garden that is displayed within. The free daily tour gives indepth insight into many of the works. We ran out of energy before we ran out of things to see there. The site is accessible by car and is also an easy ride on public transit.

Had not been to the Cloisters in years and wanted to visit again. This museum is of medieval times with a lot of architecture and art from that period. We took the 1 hour tour of highlights and learned a lot. The gardens (there are 3 or 4) are small but beautiful. We enjoyed a light lunch at the cafe. We also wandered around the Park which is quite nice too. A very nice outing for an afternoon with friends.