Could not have asked for a better experience on our private line tour with Mark at the Met.
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Duration 5.5 Hours (Including A Lunch Break)
- Tour Will Run, Rain Or Shine
- Professional Tour Guide Exclusively For You
- All Entrance Fees
- Private Walking Tour & Museum Tour
Excludes
- Tour price does NOT include hotel pickup or drop-off (we recommend UBER or Taxi)
- Tour price does NOT include gratuities (optional)
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- By the Information Desk in front of the Egyptian Pharaoh statue, in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Itinerary
Start at the Met, where your guide will show you a collection that rivals those of the Louvre and British Museum. With no less than 2 million works of art and artifacts on hand, the Met showcases objects from Ancient Greece and Egypt as well as modern art from Europe and beyond. During this tour, you’ll start at the sumptuous Great Hall before moving to the museum’s most important galleries. In the Medieval Europe Gallery you’ll learn about the Studiolo from the Ducal Palace as well as armory worn by Henry VIII. The American wing hosts the staircase from the Chicago Stock Exchange as well as the iconic portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware River. Learn about the turbulent and inspiring lives of several European painters including Vermeer, Seurat, and Van Gogh in the European wings. The museum itself has stories to tell, and your guide will explain how this American gallery differs from its older European counterparts, especially since it began before the United States was even 100 years old!
After a break for lunch, Central Park. Designed to give New Yorkers a breath of fresh air. More than just green space, it’s also a venue for memorials and artwork honoring figures like Bolivar and Marti, as well as Balto and Hans Christen Andersen. As your enthusiastic young guide shares the park’s history, you’ll cross the famous Gapstow Bridge on your way to the Central Park Zoo. You will follow the tree-lined Mall and discuss the literary figures memorialized in statues on either side. You will discover the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, sight of countless Hollywood moments. Cross Bow Bridge on your way to Strawberry Fields towards the Dakota to learn about John Lennon’s assassination at his memorial. You’ll discover the resplendent restaurant, Tavern on the Green, before joining the locals in Sheep Meadow, where New Yorkers of all walks of life can get away from city life for a moment.
After meeting your guide at the Latin America History equestrian statues on the corner of 6 Ave & 59 St, you will enter the park. One of the first things you will see is the surviving ASPCA horse drinking fountain sited in 1912. Although we are well into the world of the automobile, this represents the only place in the city where one can bring a horse to drink water if they happen to have one. You will then walk west to get a stunning view of the new SuperScrapers. 432 Park Avenue is a residential skyscraper that overlooks Central Park. The skyscraper is the second tallest building in New York behind One World Trade Centre, making it a prime location to live at.
Next you will see the Time Warner Center, a mixed-use building complex that consists of two twin towers bridged by a multi-story atrium. The complex contains upscale retail shops as well as some office and residential flats. Yet another impressive skyscraper for you to photograph!
Afterwards, you will visit Bow Bridge, the largest bridge in the park. It is a cast iron bridge, decorated designed with Classical Greek refinement during the 19th century. While other bridges in the park are inconspicuous, Bow Bridge is made to stand out from its surroundings, decorated with an interlocking circles banister and intricate elements underneath the arch span.
Another bridge you will come across during your tour is the beautiful schist Gapstow Bridge that ws initially built in 1874. The bridge offers one of the best views of the New York City skyline and you will be able to get some great shots of the city.
Then, you will make your way to the Great Lawn, a site of 55-acres that is considered one of the most famous lawns in the world. The Lawn is a great place to have a picnic on a spring afternoon or catch some rays in summer. Close by you will see the Turtle Pond, where most of the park’s turtles live.
After this you will see the Dakota, perhaps the most famous cooperative building in the city. Constructed in 1884, it still maintains much of its original character. It was the home of John Lennon, former Beatles member from 1973 until his murder in the archway of the building in 1980.
Following, you will visit Strawberry fields, a 2.5-acre area in Central Park that pays tribute to the late Beatle, John Lennon. A designated quiet area in the park, Strawberry files is lined with elm trees, shrubs, flowers and rocks, making it a tranquil, picturesque site.
During your walk you will come across what is known as the Angel of Bethesda atop of Bethesda Fountain. Located in the centre of Bethesda Terrace, the angel became New York City’s first major piece of public art commissioned from a woman.
Start at the Met, where your guide will show you a collection that rivals those of the Louvre and British Museum. With no less than 2 million works of art and artifacts on hand, the Met showcases objects from Ancient Greece and Egypt as well as modern art from Europe and beyond. During this tour, you’ll start at the sumptuous Great Hall before moving to the museum’s most important galleries. In the Medieval Europe Gallery you’ll learn about the Studiolo from the Ducal Palace as well as armory worn by Henry VIII. The American wing hosts the staircase from the Chicago Stock Exchange as well as the iconic portrait of Washington crossing the Delaware River. Learn about the turbulent and inspiring lives of several European painters including Vermeer, Seurat, and Van Gogh in the European wings. The museum itself has stories to tell, and your guide will explain how this American gallery differs from its older European counterparts, especially since it began before the United States was even 100 years old! After a break for lunch, Central Park. Designed to give New Yorkers a breath of fresh air. More than just green space, it’s also a venue for memorials and artwork honoring figures like Bolivar and Marti, as well as Balto and Hans Christen Andersen. As your enthusiastic young guide shares the park’s history, you’ll cross the famous Gapstow Bridge on your way to the Central Park Zoo. You will follow the tree-lined Mall and discuss the literary figures memorialized in statues on either side. You will discover the Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, sight of countless Hollywood moments. Cross Bow Bridge on your way to Strawberry Fields towards the Dakota to learn about John Lennon’s assassination at his memorial. You’ll discover the resplendent restaurant, Tavern on the Green, before joining the locals in Sheep Meadow, where New Yorkers of all walks of life can get away from city life for a moment.
Finally, we will end our tour at the Central Park Zoo, at the southeast corner of Central Park in New York City. Here, you can either stay and enjoy the stunning landscapes of the park, or your guide will accompany you to the nearest subway.
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Reviews
Charlie led our review with humor, intelligence, and grace. He guided us through serval areas over a few hours and gave us details that’s we’d never hear or read on a plaque. Well worth it!
Mark V. was an amazing guide. I have toured the Met many times over 30 years and I learned more from Mark V. In two hours than in all those past visits.
Our tour guide Rob was wonderful and very knowledgeable, he also did a great job at guiding us through the Harlem Renaissance exhibit with very little notice, he made it very special and personable.
Mark, our guide, was over the top. The perfect teacher to learn so much in an enjoyable way. Simply, outstanding. Mark is an asset to your company.
Charlie was great and really personable. Really enjoyed the tour. Our group had a fun day. He took us to see all the areas we asked for and had great stories.
We could not have asked for a better day during our private tour of the MET and Central Park. Our tour guide (Mark V.) was not only informative but presented the information in a way that was both educational and fun. In addition, he was professional, thoughtful and an absolute pleasure to spend the day with.
It was a great visit. Charly really knows his stuff, very amicable and patient, especially that most of us were senior citizens and couldn't go as fast as him. GREAT GUIDE
We are a family of four. Had a wonderful tour with Robin. She was very knowledgeable regarding the Met. Learned a lot we almost assuredly would not have discovered had we gone on our own. Central Park highlights also were wonderful. An hour break for lunch on our own. This was very fast paced and fit a great deal of information in a several hour time frame.
As you read this, grab a pen and write this down: Babylon Tours - Mark. He started out as an AMAZING guide (seriously, he seemed like The Met’s Curator), became a friend, and ended up being like family. He’s knowledgeable, kind, funny, and truly devoted to making your experience great….not great by his definition, but great by Yours. He remains attentive to what you want to see and the speed with which you want to see it. We spent 6 wonderful hours with him and had an Unforgettable tour. It could not have gone better. But here is what sets Mark apart: at the end of our time together, he did not wish us well with an outstretched hand and disappear. He was an ambassador of Manhattan as he stayed with us in the rain, giving up his umbrella to my mother, and walked with us for 20 minutes til he grabbed us a cab!!! I won’t go on and on about how he sent us to The Best food places, or how his goodness lights up Manhattan as much as Times Square, but I will say it again so you don’t have to scroll back up to the top: BABYLON TOURS - MARK. We’ll never settle for anyone else. He’s that good.
Wow what a tour. Mark was the best tour guide I ever had. Informative, interactive and fascinating knowledge. If you don’t do this you are missing out!
Mark was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and gave us a comprehensive tour of the Met. He listened to our interests and took us to areas of the museum we wanted to see. Mark was a great tour guide.
Katherine, our guide had a wide knowledge of art history and led us on a chronological tour of the Met. Very personable and conversational guide. Central Park tour included many architectural highlights of park at a nice pace to see many parts.
My husband and I had a great time , we got to see and understand so many things inside the Met ; our guide Katherine was the best tour guide, she knew her job, she was always ready to answer our questions and had such a great attitude ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡. Central park was so much fun , we walked a lot and also learned so much about the history of the park . I want to thank you for having chosen Katherine as our tour guide. Next time we come we will ask for her .
I reserved this private three people skip the lines Met Tour several months prior to our NYC visit through Viator. They referred us to Babylon tours. Our tour guide Robin was excellent. She kept us at a well paced tour of the MET. She is was very knowledgeable, interesting and efficient. She has an art background which enriched our experience. We called her as we were standing in the security line and she met us as soon as we entered the reception. Super day and very much met our new expectations..
Our tour guide Mark Venaglia made our visit to the Metropolitan Museum a pleasure. He taught us to see art through the eyes of an artist and how artists are influenced by past artistic styles. Very knowledgeable and worth every minute. We would have stumbled through on our own. Perfect small group size.
Robin, your the best. Shame I wasn't feeling well to have continued on.But what I did see, thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you have a limited amount of time to see the Met and Central Park, I recommend this private or semi-private tour. Our tour guide had an advanced degree in Archeology and also ran tours in other countries! He also had lived in New York for many years and was very knowledgeable. We covered a lot of ground in 5 hours seeing the highlights of the Met and seeing not only Central Park but also famous buildings around that area where the swank live.
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