The art scene is as overwhelming as the rest of Manhattan. Most of the major art museums are located along the Museum Mile on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art contains more than two million works of art from ancient time to modern times and from all points on the compass. The Guggenheim Museum showcases works from the 19th and 20th century. At the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, one of the oldest artist-run organizations in the world, lectures and tours complement over 8,000 works of art. The annual Museum Mile Festival in June is the largest art festival in the country. The Manhattan Art & Antiques Center is the nation’s largest single center for art and antiques. Over 100 galleries offer diverse and impressive collections of European, Asian, American & African antique furniture, antiques silver, porcelain, paintings, tapestries, rugs and antique & costume jewelry in private galleries on three beautiful floors. Get ready, private art galleries in Manhattan number in the thousands.

Manhattan is Mecca in performing arts. The majority of Manhattan’s Theater District is in a narrow strip from 53rd to 42nd streets with over 36 theaters and productions nightly. If your heart is set on a particular show, buy tickets in advance. If you arrive in the city without tickets, try TKTS in Times Square or South Street Seaport Village for same-day, half-price tickets. Hint: Arrive early; the wait can be a couple of hours and credit cards are not accepted at either location. Of course, Broadway is not Manhattan’s only performing arts claim to fame. The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts features over 400 live opera, dance, puppetry, circus, and cultural art performances from around the globe each year. Radio City Music Hall also ranks high on performance points. And, don’t overlook hundreds of small theater and dance performance venues. It’s easy to see a different arts performance every night of the year without returning to the same theater twice.