MoMA is the world's most important museum of modern and contemporary art, holding the canonical collection of 20th-century painting, sculpture, photography, film, and design. Van Gogh's "Starry Night," Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," Monet's "Water Lilies," Warhol's "Campbell's Soup Cans," Pollock's "One: Number 31" — all here. The permanent collection alone contains 200,000 objects.
The museum was substantially expanded and redesigned in 2019, and the result is significantly better than what came before — the new galleries are better lit, the circulation more logical, and the curatorial approach more willing to mix media and challenge the familiar narrative of modernism. Allow a full day; the special exhibitions, film programme, and the permanent collection will fill it. Friday evenings are pay-what-you-wish from 4pm. The adjacent sculpture garden (free with admission) is one of the finest outdoor spaces in Midtown.