The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, with a Sensory Friendly Map of quieter, crowded and loud galleries, a social narrative and a My Met Tour picture checklist for kids on the autism spectrum, free admission for a care partner, and free Discoveries art workshops for kids with developmental disabilities and autism.
Sensory supports. Sensory Friendly Map, social narrative, free Discoveries workshops.
Hours
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 10 am to 5 pm; Friday and Saturday 10 am to 9 pm; closed Wednesdays. Closed Thanksgiving Day (Thu Nov 26 2026), December 25 (Fri Dec 25 2026), January 1 (Fri Jan 1 2027) and the first Monday in May.
1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028 (step-free entrances at 81st Street and Fifth Avenue and through the parking garage at 80th Street and Fifth Avenue)
The Met's Resources for Visitors on the Autism Spectrum page has a social narrative for an independent family visit, another for teens and adults, one for coming to a Discoveries program, the My Met Tour visual checklist with picture cards, and the Sensory Friendly Map. The map and the kids' social narrative are dated 2015, and some of what they describe has changed: today tickets can be bought online, and with an online ticket you can go straight to any gallery entrance.
The Sensory Friendly Map also marks spaces with natural light (such as The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing, Gallery 131, The Astor Court and The Charles Engelhard Court) and spaces with low or subdued light (such as parts of Asian Art and Musical Instruments, Gallery 681).
Discoveries workshops are free tours and art-making sessions for kids, teens and adults with learning and developmental disabilities and those on the autism spectrum, together with family and friends. Each session needs advance registration. For questions or to request accommodations, call 212-650-2010 (voice) or email access@metmuseum.org.
A Sensory Friendly Map (2015) names quieter, less crowded galleries and the loud, crowded ones, such as the Great Hall; check the current gallery closures before you pick.
Everyone goes through a security check with lines at the entrances; skip the crowded, noisy main steps and use the Uris Center entrance at 81st Street.
A care partner of a visitor with a disability gets in free, and the visitor's ticket is $22; both are bought in person.
For a full-size copy your child can use, open this page at squaredsteps.com, tap Make it yours, then print.
More about The Met Fifth Avenue
Louder or more crowded, in The Met's words
Great Hall (can be loud and tends to be crowded)not stated
Great Hall Balcony (Galleries 202 to 205) (can be loud)not stated
Egyptian Art (Galleries 100 to 138) (tends to be crowded; Galleries 123 to 127 are closed right now)not stated
19th- and Early 20th-Century European Paintings and Sculpture (Galleries 800 to 830) (tends to be crowded; Galleries 816 and 817 are closed right now)not stated
Quieter and less crowded, in The Met's words
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas (Galleries 350 to 359)quiet zone
Asian Art (Galleries 206 to 253)quiet zone
Musical Instruments (Galleries 680 to 684)quiet zone
The Robert Lehman Collection (Galleries 950 to 965)quiet zone
General Admission: adults $30, seniors (65 and over) $22, visitors with a disability $22 (in person only), students $17; children 12 and under, Members and Patrons, and the care partner of a visitor with a disability (in person only) are free. New York State residents and New York, New Jersey and Connecticut students pay what they wish, but must pay something ($0.01 minimum per ticket). Buying pay-what-you-wish tickets online needs a New York State billing address; New Jersey and Connecticut students buy them in person with student ID. Accepted proof of residency includes a New York State driver's license or ID card, IDNYC, a current bill or statement with a New York State address, a student ID or a New York library card.
Complimentary admission with an IDNYC card, a valid EBT/SNAP card through Museums for All (New York State EBT/SNAP cardholders can sign up at any Membership Desk for a free Membership that admits up to two adults plus children 17 and under, limited to nine people per visit), a Cool Culture pass, a Culture Pass, a military ID from mid-May to Labor Day (Blue Star Museums), a Bank of America card on the first full weekend of every month (Museums on Us), and more. Pick up complimentary tickets at a ticketing desk on site.
Advance tickets aren't required. Every ticket includes exhibitions and same-day entry to both Met locations for the date on it, including re-entry; you may be asked to re-validate your ticket when leaving and coming back into the galleries. Refunds, exchanges and transfers of tickets aren't permitted.
Not allowed in the building or at coat check: large bags, glass containers and liquids other than water, food and drink (other than water in a secure bottle or for medical reasons), oversized strollers, jogging strollers, wagons and scooters (mobility scooters are allowed), pets or emotional support animals, costumes with masks that cover the full face, and more. Plastic baby bottles are allowed, but eating and drinking aren't allowed in the galleries. Children twelve and under must always be with an adult.
The Eatery is a family-friendly food hall; children are welcome at all dining locations, and high chairs and booster seats are available on request. The all-gender family restroom is on the Ground Floor, most restrooms have changing stations, and the Lactation Room is on Floor 4. Lost and found is at the Great Hall Security Desk (212-570-3981).
Parking in the garage at Fifth Avenue and 80th Street is only on weekday evenings (6 pm to midnight) and weekends, and isn't guaranteed: up to 1 hour $25, 3 hours $42, 5 hours $50, 10 hours $55, 24 hours $60 (Members save 10% with validation). By subway: the 4, 5 or 6 to 86th Street, then walk three blocks west to Fifth Avenue (about 10 minutes).
Visitors with disabilities may borrow a stool in Burke Hall inside the 81st Street entrance or ask at the Admissions Desk. Seating is available throughout the galleries.
