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Best museums in New York City, ranked honestly

Ranked by Reality: whether each one delivers for people who went. The chips show if it lives up to its hype.

The Met — photo by Curtis Mamas

Worth itReality 84 +31The Met★ 4.8Uptown & Central Park · MuseumEncyclopedic art museum on Fifth Avenue, from Egyptian temples to Van Gogh and armor

Intrepid Museum — photo by Gans Krown

Worth itReality 75 +42Intrepid Museum★ 4.7Midtown · MuseumWWII aircraft carrier on the Hudson with the Space Shuttle Enterprise, a sub and a Concorde

Ellis Island — photo by Charlene Grieu

Worth itReality 70 +333Ellis Island★ 4.7Lower Manhattan & Downtown · MuseumFormer immigration station turned museum, reached on the Statue of Liberty ferry

The Cloisters — photo by Sebas Inchauspe

Worth itReality 70 +194The Cloisters★ 4.8Uptown & Central Park · MuseumThe Met's medieval-art branch in a monastery-style building above the Hudson in Fort Tryon Park

MoMA — photo by ___C___

Worth it if…Reality 69 −15MoMA★ 4.6Midtown · MuseumMidtown's modern art heavyweight: Starry Night, Monet's Water Lilies, Warhol and a sculpture garden

Natural History Museum — photo by Walid Tibermacine

Worth it if…Reality 64 +76Natural History Museum★ 4.6Uptown & Central Park · MuseumGiant science museum on Central Park West: dinosaur halls, the blue whale, gems and the planetarium

The Frick — photo by Kenia Velasquez

Worth it if…Reality 64 +337The Frick★ 4.6Uptown & Central Park · MuseumOld Masters (Vermeer, Rembrandt, Turner) in Henry Clay Frick's Gilded Age Fifth Avenue mansion

The Whitney — photo by Byron Jiang

Worth it if…Reality 61 +158The Whitney★ 4.5Lower Manhattan & Downtown · Museum20th-century and contemporary American art in a Renzo Piano building with Hudson-view terraces

Guggenheim — photo by Jake Adam

Worth it if…Reality 54 +39Guggenheim★ 4.3Uptown & Central Park · MuseumFrank Lloyd Wright's spiral museum on Fifth Ave; the ramp shows rotating modern and contemporary art

The numbers

#	Place	Verdict	Hype	Reality	Gap	Google
1	The Met	Worth it	81	84	+3 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.8 (95,540)
2	Intrepid Museum	Worth it	71	75	+4 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.7 (47,627)
3	Ellis Island	Worth it	37	70	+33 · Underrated	★ 4.7 (6,635)
4	The Cloisters	Worth it	51	70	+19 · Underrated	★ 4.8 (9,185)
5	MoMA	Worth it if…	70	69	−1 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.6 (61,502)
6	Natural History Museum	Worth it if…	57	64	+7 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.6 (27,181)
7	The Frick	Worth it if…	31	64	+33 · Underrated	★ 4.6 (5,146)
8	The Whitney	Worth it if…	46	61	+15 · Underrated	★ 4.5 (15,257)
9	Guggenheim	Worth it if…	51	54	+3 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.3 (26,929)