On our last trip to New York I finally got the chance to visit the Cloisters, a gorgeous art museum dedicated to medieval European art. It gets its name from the several 17th century cloisters (gardens) ensconced in the museum itself. Friends, it’s dreamy . . .
Getting There + Admission
Getting to the Cloisters is a little bit of a challenge — it’s located in Fort Tryon Park, about half an hour’s train ride away from midtown, so it’s a trek. I strongly suggest that everyone in your party be well-fed and well-hydrated for the journey so that nobody gets hangry on the way.
The Cloisters is part of the Met, so one admission ticket gets you access to the Cloisters, the Met Fifth Ave, and the Met Breuer for three consecutive days. Admission is $25 per person for tourists. Once we bought our tickets, we checked our umbrella stroller at the coat check (free) and carried the baby in her Lillebaby carrier. The museum is full of stairs and cobblestones and it’s just better explored on foot.
Fashion is Art: Met Gala Exhibition
The Costume Institute’s spring 2018 exhibition — Heavenly Bodies — is on display at both the Cloisters and the Met Fifth Avenue until October 8, 2018. The Cloisters is the perfect home for the Catholic-inspired haute-couture on display.
Left to Right: Balenciaga – Holy Sacraments; Valentino cape inspired by the Black Madonna of Częstochowa; Raf Simon’s for Dior in the Garden of Eden
unicorn tapestries that are estimated to have been created between 1495-1505. They are spectacular and weird and spectacularly weird.
unicorn horns” (actually narwhal tusks) were prized throughout the middle ages for their magical and medicinal properties. I’m definitely going to have to go to the unicorn throne chair in Denmark when I visit Copenhagen (it’s on the bucket list).
The Cloisters
Center cloister/courtyard . . . dreamy.
Trie Cafe
If you get hungry while you’re at the Cloisters and need a snack or a rest, there’s a little cafe downstairs where you can dine on prepared salads, sandwiches, and drinks al fresco. We had a peanut butter & jelly sandwich ($7.25), a garden salad ($12.00), and chips ($3.75) – total: $23. The PB&J was pretty standard and the garden salad vibrant. The best thing about it was the surroundings: after picking up your food, take a seat at one of the shaded tables surrounding the cloister and enjoy!
the Cloisters since I was like nine or something and read the Babysitter’s Club Super Special: New York, New York! I know, I’m a nerd. Come at me. I was obsessed with these books as a child! I think I’m like a mix of Claudia and Stacey – don’t you dare say bossy Kristy or boring Dawn.
