But this city is filled with every type of collection – from dinosaurs to sex – so there’s plenty of off-beat or out of the way places worth a visit. My wish is to tour every museum, which would require me to do things like actually explore the Neue Galerie beyond just the cafe (in my defense: the cafe is totally charming).

But we’ve been making a dent in the long list of collections. And if visiting New York  the following museums might not be on your radar, but they should be. More experience than museum, The Tenement Museum walks you through the immigrant stories that shaped New York, and The Cloisters recreates medieval Europe in upper Manhattan.  Exhibit depending, The Brooklyn Museum, Asia Society Museum and Museum of the City of New York are all worth an afternoon stroll. 

 The Park Avenue Armory is transformed several times a year by large-scale or just plain ambitious installations like Ernesto Neto’s anthropodino. Shows aren’t up for long though, so don’t save something you want to see until later because it will be gone.

The tranquil Noguchi Musuem in Queens houses a retrospective of Isamu Noguchi’s work in a converted industrial building and garden across the street from where the sculptor worked for a chunk of his career.

Years later, others followed the pioneering Noguchi to Queens. Including the Fisher Landau Center for Art (pictured left) and MoMA  PS1 (pictured right). Emily Fisher Landau is a keen collector of contemporary art with pieces remarkable enough to deserve a 25,000 square foot museum in a former parachute factory.  MoMa PS1, featuring emerging artists and hosting funky summer dance parties, is a good adventure too.

And for those who want to amble beyond walls and outside of city limits, spend a day at the  Storm King Art Center where the landscape is transformed by hulking, undulating and all around magnificent sculptures.