The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Tickets
Discover New York
Last update:
Continue planning your trip to New York
MoMA tickets in New York: pace, highlights and easy entrances
With the right MoMA tickets a noisy Midtown sidewalk turns into a planned dive into modern art: skip-the-line access that shrinks the lobby shuffle, classic entry you can stretch into a slow afternoon and combinations with nearby neighborhoods that keep the day alive after the last gallery, all within our catalog of activities so you can match the visit to your time, energy and curiosity.
📚 Choose your experience
Skip-the-line MoMA tickets for busy museum days
Turn long lobby queues into extra gallery time.
MoMA entry ticket for flexible, slow visits
A simple way to enjoy the full collection.
Plan your museum time without rushing
Route ideas, crowd patterns and energy-saving tricks.
Combine MoMA with New York in one day
Link your ticket to nearby walks and food.
Frequently asked questions about MoMA tickets
Clear answers on booking, prices and time.
Skip-the-line MoMA tickets: art with less waiting
Walking in with skip-the-line MoMA tickets means you join a reserved entrance flow instead of the main ticket queue, pass security with fewer stop‑and‑go pauses and reach early galleries while others are still sorting payments, so your first minutes with headline works and quiet side rooms feel unusually calm for such a famous museum.
This format suits travelers on tight schedules, families who know patience runs out in long lines and visitors coming on weekends or rainy days when lobby crowds grow fast; by front‑loading the logistics, you keep more attention free for the paintings, installations and views across the sculpture garden instead of the clock.
🎯 Who benefits most from skip-the-line tickets
- Short city breaks where every museum hour has to count.
- Group trips that would otherwise lose time regrouping at the desk.
- Peak‑season visits when same‑day tickets risk selling out.
🧭 Practical tips for skip-the-line entries
- Arrive a little early so your time slot works as a buffer, not a deadline.
- Keep your phone, digital voucher and ID handy for smoother checks.
- Use the audio guide to jump straight to your must‑see galleries first.
MoMA entry ticket: a flexible way to see the collection
A classic MoMA entry ticket keeps things straightforward: you secure a day, walk in with a confirmed reservation and decide on the spot whether this is a focused highlights visit or a slow wander through painting, design, photography and film, adapting your rhythm as certain rooms catch your attention.
Most standard offers through GuruWalk cover general admission to all open collection galleries for your chosen day and usually include access to major temporary shows and a digital audio guide; some formats also extend benefits to MoMA PS1 within a set period, so checking the activity description helps you decide whether you want a pure museum day or a bridge toward more experimental spaces in Queens.
🖼️ When a classic entry makes more sense
- Unhurried days when you expect to stay in the museum for a long stretch.
- Art‑focused trips where you prefer drifting to strict timing.
- Return visits to revisit a few favorite rooms without pressure.
📷 Small details that improve the visit
- Start in upper painting galleries so energy meets the big icons first.
- Use quieter design or photography rooms as built‑in breaks.
- Note which pieces move you and loop back briefly before leaving.
Planning your MoMA visit: time, highlights and crowds
MoMA is stacked vertically, so many experienced visitors ride the elevator toward the upper painting and sculpture floors and then work downward through design, photography and temporary exhibitions, seeing headline works while energy is high and leaving lower levels as a flexible zone you can linger in or skim.
For a lighter overview you can focus on a single medium or era and let the audio guide connect a handful of key works instead of chasing every room, while serious art fans often treat the museum as a half‑day base, including a pause in the sculpture garden or café before revisiting one or two galleries that felt especially important.
Crowd levels change during the day, so it usually pays to choose earlier or later time slots in our offer of experiences, keep an eye on small side galleries when main rooms feel dense and check on arrival whether any blockbuster temporary exhibition uses timed entry so you can plan that segment first.
🕰️ Inside-the-museum timing tricks
- Use short visits for highlights, longer ones for deep dives.
- Alternate busy galleries with quieter corridors or film rooms.
- Check signage for film screenings or talks that fit your slot.
Beyond MoMA: pairing the museum with New York streets
Stepping back onto West 53rd Street, your MoMA tickets can anchor an entire New York day: a late breakfast before the museum, a few concentrated hours in the galleries and then a walk toward Fifth Avenue, Central Park or the theaters of Midtown to keep the city part of the story rather than just the backdrop.
Many travelers like to contrast MoMA’s white cubes with neighborhoods at street level, using our related guides such as Greenwich Village walking tours in the dedicated Greenwich Village Walking Tour product page or ending the day with a tasting route from the New York City food tours collection, turning the museum visit into a full‑day arc of art, streets and flavors.
Frequently asked questions about MoMA tickets
Do you need to buy tickets in advance for MoMA, NYC?
While you can sometimes buy on the day, booking MoMA tickets in advance is strongly recommended, especially for busy periods, because it secures your time slot, reduces queuing and lets you compare options in our catalog of activities before you arrive.
What does a MoMA ticket include?
Most GuruWalk options for MoMA include general admission to all open collection galleries for the selected day, access to major temporary exhibitions when available and a digital audio guide; some tickets also extend benefits to MoMA PS1 within a limited period, so always check the activity description for the full list of inclusions.
How long does it take to visit MoMA?
With a focused route, many visitors feel satisfied after a short visit through the main painting and sculpture floors, while others stay much longer, turning their MoMA tickets into a half‑day base with pauses in the sculpture garden or café; choose the time window in our offer of experiences that matches your pace and attention span.
How much are MoMA tickets?
On GuruWalk, recent MoMA entry products sit around the mid‑teens in euros for basic admission, with skip‑the‑line formats in a higher bracket; prices can change with season and demand, so check GuruWalk's activity catalog to see the latest amounts for your dates and currency.
Is MoMA free?
MoMA is not generally free, but some visitor categories and specific evening programs offer free or discounted entry, such as children or local residents at certain times; when you use GuruWalk, check each activity description to see whether your ticket includes those advantages or focuses on standard paid admission.
Why is MoMA so expensive?
MoMA maintains a world‑class collection, ambitious temporary shows and a large staff in central Manhattan, so ticket prices reflect conservation, programming and building costs; to make it feel worth it, use your MoMA tickets intentionally, prioritizing the galleries you care about and choosing between standard, skip‑the‑line or bundled experiences according to your budget.
Does buying tickets at the box office avoid fees?
Buying directly at the museum can sometimes reduce handling fees, but you usually pay with time instead of money, because box‑office and security lines grow long on popular days; reserving through our catalog of experiences secures entry in advance and lets you weigh formats calmly instead of deciding at the counter.
Is it better to go to the Met or MoMA?
The answer depends on your interests: MoMA focuses on modern and contemporary art, while the Met covers thousands of years of global history, from ancient artifacts to recent paintings; many visitors plan one main museum day for each and use MoMA tickets for a concentrated look at twentieth‑ and twenty‑first‑century creativity.
Author: Belén Rivas, GuruWalk
Publication date: 2025-12-05
Data updated as of December 2025
