Brooklyn Museum
The second-largest art museum in New York, with a world-class Egyptian collection, the permanent home of Judy Chicago's *The Dinner Party*, and a fraction of the Met's crowds.
- What it costs
- General admission is ticketed with a suggested-contribution option. Special exhibitions cost extra. Check whether the monthly free evening is running.
- Best in
- Any season
- Where
- 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238
- Official site
- brooklynmuseum.org
The Egyptian collection
This is the headline and it surprises people. The Brooklyn Museum holds one of the finest collections of Egyptian art in the world, on a level with the Met and the British Museum for quality if not for scale.
It is displayed intelligently and, crucially, you can stand in front of things without being moved along. That alone justifies the trip.
The Dinner Party
Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party has been permanently installed here since 2007, in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art — the first space of its kind in a major museum.
It is a large, difficult, landmark work of 20th-century American art and there is nowhere else to see it. Allow proper time.
Why it beats the Met on a given day
Not on collection size — the Met wins that outright. On experience: the Brooklyn Museum is a fifth as crowded, cheaper, easier to get round in an afternoon, and its American and contemporary galleries are consistently better curated than their scale suggests.
If you have one museum day and you want art, go to the Met. If you have two, or you have already done the Met, or you dislike crowds, come here.
Getting there
The 2 or 3 to Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum stops directly outside — the entrance is at the top of the subway stairs. About 35 minutes from Midtown.
The 4 or 5 to Franklin Avenue is a five-minute walk.
The Botanic Garden is next door and Prospect Park is across the street.
Getting around once you're there
Step-free entrance and lifts throughout. Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum station is accessible, which is unusual and useful.