Is the Met worth it for ancient art?
Yes: its Egyptian and Greek and Roman collections are among the richest outside the Mediterranean, and they are displayed in long sequences of rooms that make a two-hour route possible. One limit for now: the galleries of ancient West Asian art are closed for renovation, so the Assyrian reliefs are not on view.
Egypt (Galleries 100-131)
1. The tomb of Perneb (Gallery 100)
Right at the start, a real Old Kingdom tomb chapel, around 2381-2323 BCE, that you can walk into. Perneb was a court official who dressed and crowned the king. Inside, look for the false door, the symbolic point of contact with the dead.
2. Seated statue of King Menkaure (Gallery 103)
The builder of the third pyramid at Giza, around 2490-2472 BCE. The guide to Egyptian sculpture explains the stiff, eternal pose.
3. The models of Meketre (Gallery 105)
Wooden models from the tomb of the royal steward Meketre, around 1981-1975 BCE, found in a hidden chamber. The bakery and brewery shows workers making bread and beer for his afterlife: daily life in miniature.
4. “William” the hippo (Gallery 111)
The small hippo nicknamed William, around 1961-1878 BCE. Hippos could destroy crops, yet the Egyptians saw them as creatures of the life-giving waters: that double nature gave their images magical power.
5. Seated statue of Hatshepsut (Gallery 115)
The female pharaoh shown in the costume of a king, though without the usual false beard. Like the other statues from her temple, it was broken by her successor, Thutmose III; here even the face was deliberately damaged.
6. The Temple of Dendur (Gallery 131)
A small Nubian temple completed by 10 CE, given by Egypt and rebuilt in a glass-walled hall by the park. A sphinx of Hatshepsut stands in the same hall. Come at the end of the afternoon, when the light is warm.
Greece and Rome (Galleries 151-170)
7. The Cycladic harp player (Gallery 151)
A marble musician from the Cycladic islands, 2800-2700 BCE, one of the earliest known images of a musician. The guide to why Cycladic figures look so modern fits it perfectly.
8. The Wounded Amazon (Gallery 153)
A Roman marble version of a Greek type: a warrior who has lost her weapons and bleeds from a wound below her right breast, with a horse’s rein as a belt.
9. The kouros (Gallery 154)
A marble youth of around 590-580 BCE, from the first generations of life-size Greek statues. The guide to the kouros statue explains the stiff stride.
10. The grave stele of a little girl (Gallery 156)
Around 450-440 BCE, a child says goodbye to her pet doves. Her unbelted dress falls open at the side; few Greek reliefs are this tender.
11. The old woman (Gallery 162)
A Roman copy of a Hellenistic statue: an aged woman, a figure from the margins of society that Hellenistic artists began to show. The guide to Hellenistic sculpture explains the change. In the same gallery, the sarcophagus with the Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons.
12. Eros sleeping (Gallery 164)
A bronze child god asleep on a rock, Greek, of the third or second century BCE. Hellenistic artists loved babies and old age equally.
13. The bedroom from Boscoreale (Gallery 165)
A complete Roman bedroom from a villa near Pompeii, around 50-40 BCE, its walls painted with views of buildings and gardens. Stand in the doorway to see the illusion work.
14. Caracalla (Gallery 169)
A marble portrait of the emperor, 212-217 CE, with cropped curls, stubble and a scowl, the military image he chose over the long beards of the emperors before him. Compare with Greek and Roman sculpture.
15. The Monteleone chariot (Gallery 170)
An Etruscan bronze chariot inlaid with ivory, from the second quarter of the sixth century BCE, used for ceremonies rather than war and recently reconstructed. End the route here.
What can you skip?
On a two-hour visit, skip the Great Hall crowds and go straight to the Egyptian wing. Skip looking for the Assyrian reliefs: those galleries are closed for now, but the Brooklyn Museum‘s Assyrian galleries are open. And skip Wednesdays, when the museum is closed.
How long do you need?
Two hours for this route, about fifty minutes in Egypt and the rest in Greece and Rome. With more time, add European paintings upstairs. For the city’s other museums, see New York’s art museums; for the same thread in Europe, the British Museum or the Louvre.
The Met in brief
- Ticket
- $30; over 65 $22; students $17; under 12 free; New York State residents and NY, NJ, CT students pay what they wish
- Booking
- Online, not required
- Hours
- Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 10:00-17:00; Friday and Saturday 10:00-21:00; closed Wednesday
- Free
- Under 12
- Time
- 2 hours for this route
- Note
- Ancient West Asian and Cypriot galleries closed for renovation. Closed Thanksgiving, 25 December, 1 January and the first Monday in May. The ticket also covers The Met Cloisters the same day
- Verified
- October 2026, on the official site. Prices and hours change: check before you go.
Questions
Is the Met pay what you wish?
Only for New York State residents and students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Other adults pay $30.
What day is the Met closed?
Wednesday, plus Thanksgiving, 25 December, 1 January and the first Monday in May.
Where is the Temple of Dendur?
In Gallery 131, at the end of the Egyptian wing on the main floor.
Can you see the Met in 2 hours?
Not all of it, but you can follow one collection. This route covers the highlights of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Sources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Plan your visit”: admission, hours and gallery closures (October 2026).
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, collection records for the fifteen works, with current gallery numbers (October 2026).
