Met Museum Highlights in Two Hours with an Expert Guide

Two hours is enough to see the Met properly, as long as someone else has done the planning. On this tour an English-speaking guide takes a small group (up to 18 people per booking) to the pieces people come for, and to a few details that most visitors walk right past. The route starts in the Ancient Egyptian galleries, with the Tomb of Perneb and the Temple of Dendur, then moves through the Greek and Roman galleries to the European and American collections. Expect Van Gogh, Monet's Water Lilies, Picasso and Degas, sculptures by Rodin and John Singer Sargent's 'Madame X'. The guide's real job is the stories: who painted what, why a portrait caused a scandal, which small detail changes the way you read a canvas. Your museum admission is included. Like every visitor, you still go through the security check at the entrance, so arrive 15 minutes early as the operator asks. When the tour ends you are still inside the museum, with the rest of the day to keep exploring on your own or head back out into the city. Coming in the Christmas season? The Met puts up a Christmas tree for the holidays, and the guide stops there for photos and tells the story of the woman behind it. A note on the Temple of Dendur: the museum does not guarantee that every gallery is open on a given day, and the temple's gallery has been temporarily closed at times. If it matters to you, check the Met's website before you go. The guide adapts the route around any closed rooms.