Destination NY: Met Cloisters

NEW YORK, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue is one of New York City’s most popular attractions.

But there’s another part of the Met in Upper Manhattan that you may have never heard of.

Destination New York’s Greg Mocker takes us to the Met Cloisters.

People visit New York for many reasons from entertainment to history and architecture. I look for a place outside. A visit here can combine the arts and the outdoors all at the northern tip of Manhattan.

Hidden, tucked away… a quiet part of the busy city … this is the very definition of the word “cloister”…

Find the Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park in Washington Heights. It’s a place for walking and wandering … along the gardens and the grounds with spectacular river views and the cliffs of New Jersey.

“You feel like you left the island of Manhattan. Even though we’re on the northern part of the island itself.”

Griffith Mann is the curator of the medieval department.

The pieces are originally from Europe. The structure was built as a museum in the style of a monastery, convent or church abbey. Uptown, in the middle of a New York City Park.

“A lot of the materials were created in 1300s and 11th century. The unicorns are one of the main attractions…. much more than decorations hanging on the wall. They command the room. Members of the aristocracy would commission things like that. They might have been created on the occasion of a marriage but there’s still a lot of mysteries around them.”

The gardens are filled with stories… plants and herbs that can be used for cooking or for healing.

The met Cloisters can transport you to medieval times. and then the bus on the corner or nearby subway takes you back to the city.

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