A massive slab of a building on the eastern edge of Central Park between 80th and 84th Streets, the Met , as the museum's usually called, is the foremost museum in America and one of the great museums of the world. The Met's collection takes in over two million works of art. Any overview of the museum is out of the question: the Met demands many and specific visits or, at least, self-imposed limits.
Broadly, the museum breaks down into seven major collections : European Arts-Painting and Sculpture; Asian Art; American Painting and Decorative Arts; Egyptian Antiquities; Medieval Art; Ancient Greek and Roman Art; and the Art of Africa, the Pacific and the Americas.
Among the less famous Met collections are its Islamic Art (possibly the largest display anywhere in the world); European Decorative Arts; Greek and Roman Art; Arms and Armor Galleries (the largest and most important in the Western Hemisphere); a Musical Instrument Collection (containing the world's oldest piano); and the spectacular Costume Institute.
Despite the museum's size, initial orientation is not too difficult. There is just one main entrance, and once you've passed through it you find yourself in the Great Hall , a deftly lit Neoclassical cavern where you can consult plans, check tours and pick up info on the Met's excellent lecture listings.