It’s no stretch to say there’s an actual medieval castle in the five boroughs. The Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annex celebrating the art and architecture of medieval Europe. The building isn’t just chock-full of art—paintings and icons, sculptures and tapestries—but is also itself a historic work.
The Cloisters is made up of actual medieval architecture sourced from French monasteries and abbeys that has been reconstructed in the city. (The architecture of the museum is older than the United States itself.)
The museum shares a name with the Italian architectural style of a covered walk or open gallery surrounding by four sides. The museum includes four of these cloisters as well as chapel rooms sourced from across Europe and dating from between the 12th and 15th centuries.
The Cloisters also feature medieval gardens and terraces that overlook the Hudson River and the Palisades beyond. No wonder it’s one of New York’s 26 must-visit destinations.
- Pocket Guide: Cloisters [Curbed Facebook]
- Pocket Guide [Curbed]