Travel bucket list idea:

Chelsea’s Art Galleries

New York, United States of America (USA)

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Last updated: 07 April, 2024

Art lovers and collectors should head to the enclave between 18th and 25th Streets and 10th and 11th Avenues, where hundreds of art galleries are crammed together, showcasing an eclectic mix of modern and contemporary art from wacky installations to chic photography.

Anyone from Andy Warhol or Basquiat to current prominent and emerging artists may feature, in a mix of the pointless and the memorably brilliant. You don’t have to buy – gallery-hopping browsers are welcome.

Logistics

Price: Free

Minimum age: Any

Age suitable: 18+

When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

There’s a useful online map of art gallery locations on this website, but given their close proximity, you can just wander around and find them, popping into the galleries that grab your attention. If you’re short of time (or lazy), the greatest concentration is on 23rd-26th streets.

New York Gallery Tours offer private and scheduled tours for connoisseurs. Time Out New York has listings of specific artist exhibitions.

When to do it

The galleries all have different opening times. The majority are open Tuesday-Saturday. Avoid Mondays, when most are closed.

Who to go with: organised tours

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

Chelsea Contemporary Art Tour with NYC Professional Art Critic

New York City

Viator

Your accredited tour guide is a local professional art critic, writer and college instructor. She has created and led tours for over fifteen years in New York's galleries and museums and will take you to the most talked-about exhibitions of the moment. In our small group, you can ask questions and share observations while your guide fills in background info on the on the best shows in New York City!

Price $49

Min age 8

Rating 4.91 / 5 [34 ratings]

Tour supplied by:

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New York City

New York, United States of America (USA)

Destination guide

The ‘city that never sleeps’ is a 24/7 thrill of soaring skyscrapers, jaw-dropping architecture, dynamic culture and world-class art, dining and performing arts scenes.

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