The Met Private Tour: Masterpieces with an Art Historian

The Met covers 5,000 years of human history, and on a first visit the size of the place works against you. This private tour fixes that by putting a professional art historian, or another licensed art specialist, at your side and letting you decide where the time goes. Before the day, tell the operator what you care about. The guide builds the route around it: ancient Egypt, the European painters, American portraits, modern art, or a mix. If you have no preferences, the default is a run through the museum's most famous works, with the stories that explain why they matter. A typical route starts under the arches of the Great Hall and takes in Greek and Roman antiquities, the Temple of Dendur and John Singer Sargent's Madame X, then paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh and Degas, finishing with modern work by painters such as Picasso and Pollock. Parts of the museum, including the modern and contemporary galleries, are currently closed, so the guide may swap in other works. About the temple: it was built around 15 to 10 BC under the emperor Augustus, when Egypt was a Roman province. The museum does not guarantee that every gallery is open on a given day, and single galleries can close at short notice. The temple was shut for a few days at the end of September 2026 before it reopened, so if it matters to you, check the museum's gallery closures page before you go. Admission to the museum is included and handled for you. Everyone still passes the security check at the entrance. The group is private, up to 8 people per booking, and the tour runs in English. The listing gives the length as two hours, while the operator's own description mentions two and a half, so leave some slack in your schedule afterwards. The museum is closed on Wednesdays. This booking is non-refundable.