NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 14: A preview attendee explores an interactive film exhibit entitled "Google Cube-Untitled" during the Sensory Stories Press Preview held at the Museum of the Moving Image on April 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Brent N. Clarke/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Museum of the Moving Image

Top choice

LoginSave

This supercool complex is one of the world's top film, TV and video museums. Galleries show the best of a collection of 130,000-plus artifacts, including Elizabeth Taylor's wig from Cleopatra, an epic bounty of vintage TVs and cameras, 19th-century optical toys and a room of vintage arcade games. Interactive displays – such as a DIY flip-book station – show the science behind the art. The museum also has fantastic temporary exhibitions and regular film screenings; check the website for details.

You can also try your hand at film editing (including redubbing the ‘We’re not in Kansas any more’ scene from The Wizard of Oz).

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • A woman takes notes in front of a sculpture at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

    Metropolitan Museum of Art

    2.58 MILES

    What started with a handful of paintings brought over from Europe or donated by a coterie of philanthropically minded robber barons in the 19th century…

  • OCTOBER 2015: Visitors paddle in boats near a bridge at Central Park..

    Central Park

    2.86 MILES

    One of the world’s most renowned green spaces, Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways,…

  • Ellis Island and the Immigration Museum

    Ellis Island

    7.24 MILES

    Located in New York Harbor, Ellis Island is the US's most famous and historically important gateway and is home to one of the country’s most moving…

  • Beautiful view of Manhattan during a summer sunset

    Empire State Building

    3.27 MILES

    The Chrysler Building may be prettier, and One World Trade Center taller, but the queen bee of the New York skyline remains the Empire State Building. NYC…

  • NEW YORK - MAY 29 : ONE WORLD OBSERVATORY grand opening day on May 29, 2015. It is open year round. Starting May 29th until September 7th from 9 a.m. until midnight

    One World Observatory

    5.55 MILES

    Spanning three levels at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, One World Observatory offers dazzling panoramic views over Manhattan's…

  • SolomonR. Guggenheim Museum, detailed view

    Guggenheim Museum

    2.61 MILES

    A New York icon, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, more commonly known as the Guggenheim, is an internationally-renowned art museum and one of the most…

  • Statue of Liberty

    Statue of Liberty

    7.84 MILES

    It’s been over a century since Lady Liberty made her debut appearance on the New York skyline, but this iconic statue is still one of the city’s most…

  • NEW YORK CITY, USA - JUNE 18 2016 - Panoramic view of the interior National 9/11 Memorial Museum. The Last Column Remnants and Slurry Wall. Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA

    National September 11 Memorial Museum

    5.58 MILES

    When the twin towers of the World Trade Center toppled during the awful events of 11 September 2001, it led to years of soul-searching about what would be…

View more attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Kaufman Arts District

0.04 MILES

Anchored by the legendary Kaufman Astoria Studios at 34-12 36th St, this up-and-coming district comprises more than 24 blocks of Queens' cultural heart –…

2. Greater Astoria Historical Society

0.3 MILES

At research time this labor-of-love organization and community space was in-between physical locations. Once it finds a new home (by end of 2019), expect…

3. Noguchi Museum

1.05 MILES

Both the art and the context in which it's displayed here are the work of LA-born sculptor, designer and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi, famous for…

4. Socrates Sculpture Park

1.09 MILES

First carved out of an abandoned dump by sculptor Mark di Suvero, Socrates is now a city park on the river's edge with beautiful views and a rotating…

5. SculptureCenter

1.09 MILES

Down a dead-end street, in a former trolley repair shop, SculptureCenter pages Berlin with its edgy art and industrial backdrop. Its hangar-like main…

6. Roosevelt Island

1.41 MILES

Floating in the East River between Manhattan’s eastern edge and Queens, New York’s anomalous, planned neighborhood sits on a tiny island no wider than a…

7. MoMA PS1

1.42 MILES

At MoMA's hip contemporary outpost, you'll be peering at videos through floorboards, schmoozing at DJ parties and debating the meaning of nonstatic…

8. Gracie Mansion

1.7 MILES

This Federal-style home served as the country residence of merchant Archibald Gracie in 1799. Since 1942, it's been the residence of New York’s mayors and…