Luggage storage

Metropolitan Museum of Art

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art — known to everyone simply as The Met — is the largest art museum in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most visited in the world. Founded in 1870, it took up its present Beaux-Arts home on Fifth Avenue in 1880, with subsequent additions over the next century filling out the block-long building that now overlooks Central Park. The collection runs to more than two million works spanning 5,000 years of human creativity, from Pharaonic Egypt and Bronze Age Greece to Vermeer, Van Gogh, Pollock, and the contemporary galleries that fill the wings off the Great Hall.

The Met sits on the eastern edge of Central Park, between 80th and 84th Streets, anchoring the southern end of Museum Mile — the stretch of Fifth Avenue that also takes in the Guggenheim, the Neue Galerie, and the Cooper Hewitt within ten minutes' walk. Around six million people pass through its doors each year, queueing up the grand stairway under the seasonal banners that hang from the façade.

For visitors to New York, The Met is rarely a quick stop. The encyclopaedic collection rewards hours of unhurried exploration, the rooftop bar (open seasonally) is one of the better views over Central Park, and the Costume Institute downstairs has become a major draw in its own right. It is also, however, one of the strictest museums in the city when it comes to bags.

Is there luggage storage at the Metropolitan Museum of Art?

The Met does not allow suitcases, large backpacks, or oversized bags inside the museum. The on-site coat check at the main entrance handles small bags and outerwear, but it does not accept luggage, and on busy weekends the queue at the counter can run thirty minutes deep. Travellers arriving directly from a flight or train station with anything larger than a small daypack are routinely turned away at security.

Stasher solves this problem by partnering with vetted hotels and shops around the Upper East Side, Central Park South, and Midtown — all bookable online in advance. Key benefits of using Stasher near The Met include:

• Guaranteed availability — book your space online before you arrive, with no risk of finding the museum's coat check full or your bag refused at the door.
• Affordable daily rates — Stasher pricing near The Met starts from $6.95 per bag per day, considerably cheaper than booking a day-room at a nearby hotel just to leave bags behind.
• Flexible hours — many partners open early and close late, with several running 24/7 — useful around early-morning museum entries and the Friday and Saturday late hours.
• Insurance included — every bag stored through Stasher is covered against loss or damage.
• No size surcharges — the flat daily fee covers all bag sizes, including roller cases, instrument cases, and oversized items.

For travellers planning a full day at The Met before continuing to a hotel, an airport, or a train station, Stasher is the most straightforward way to make the visit possible without compromise.

Luggage Storage at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Using Stasher

Booking through Stasher takes a couple of minutes. Search by location and date, pick a Stashpoint, pay online, and turn up with the confirmation and a photo ID.

Stasher Locations Near The Met: Stasher partners cluster across the Upper East Side along Lexington and Third Avenues, around the entrances to Central Park at Fifth Avenue and 79th Street, and further south through Midtown East. Every Stashpoint has been vetted by our team and bags are kept in a securely locked area.

Convenience and Accessibility: Most partners near The Met run flexible hours that align with the museum's schedule — opening before the 10am general admission and staying open through the late hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Booking takes less than two minutes through the Stasher app or website.

Price: Daily rates start from $6.95 per bag, with no hidden charges for oversized items. Discounts are available for extended bookings or large groups travelling in for a major exhibition or one of the museum's special programmes.

What to Do and See Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met sits in one of the densest concentrations of culture and green space in New York. With your bags out of the way, the surrounding blocks fill a day easily.

Central Park: The Met's back doors open onto Central Park itself. The Great Lawn, Belvedere Castle, the Boating Pond, and the Bethesda Fountain are all within a 15-minute walk. The park is at its best in the late afternoon, with the museum providing the obvious starting or ending point.

Museum Mile: A 10-minute walk north along Fifth Avenue covers the Guggenheim, the Neue Galerie, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, and the Jewish Museum. Many visitors combine a Met morning with one of these in the afternoon — though tackling more than two in a day is a recipe for exhaustion.

The Frick Collection: A few blocks south on 70th Street, in the former Henry Clay Frick mansion, with a small but exceptional collection of European old masters. Reopened in 2024 after a major renovation.

Upper East Side dining: Madison and Lexington Avenues hold a strong selection of cafés, bakeries, and restaurants. Sant Ambroeus, E.A.T., and the older fixtures like the Lexington Candy Shop are local institutions.

The Met Cloisters: The Met's medieval-art outpost in Fort Tryon Park, upper Manhattan. A 45-minute subway ride north, but a different museum experience entirely — gardens, cloisters, and the Unicorn Tapestries in a setting that feels nothing like the Fifth Avenue building.

Carl Schurz Park and Gracie Mansion: A walk east toward the East River for a quieter slice of the Upper East Side, ending at the mayor's official residence.

Upcoming Events Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met itself runs a busy programme of special exhibitions, lectures, and live music — and a handful of city-wide events nearby push visitor numbers and storage demand sharply higher.

The Met Gala — first Monday of May. The fashion world's most-photographed evening, marking the opening of the Costume Institute's annual exhibition. Fifth Avenue closes to traffic from late afternoon and the museum is closed to general visitors for the day. Hotels across the Upper East Side fill across the long weekend.

Costume Institute Exhibitions — May through September. The Costume Institute's main annual show opens immediately after the Gala and runs through the summer, drawing some of the largest crowds the museum sees all year.

Museum Mile Festival — early June. A free, one-evening event where the major Fifth Avenue museums — The Met included — open their doors for free and Fifth Avenue closes to traffic between 82nd and 105th Streets.

Open House New York Weekend — mid-October. A city-wide weekend of access to buildings and sites usually closed to the public. Several Upper East Side venues participate.

NYC Marathon — first Sunday of November. The course runs up First Avenue through the Upper East Side, with Mile 17 to 20 falling roughly behind The Met. Public transit near the museum runs busier than usual all day.

Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche — December. The Met's annual seasonal display in the Medieval Sculpture Hall is one of the more atmospheric Christmas traditions in the city, drawing visitors well past the building's usual rhythm.

Major Transit Hubs Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met is well served by Manhattan's subway network, with buses on Fifth and Madison Avenues providing the closest curbside access.

Subway: The 4, 5, and 6 trains stop at 86th Street and Lexington Avenue, around a 10-minute walk east of The Met. The Q train on the Second Avenue Subway also stops at 86th Street. The 6 stops at 77th Street, which puts you slightly closer if the museum is your only stop.

Buses: The M1, M2, M3, and M4 run up and down Fifth and Madison Avenues, stopping directly outside The Met. The M86 cross-town bus runs across Central Park at 86th Street.

Grand Central Terminal: 20 minutes south by the 4, 5, or 6 train. Connections to Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road via the new Grand Central Madison hub.

Penn Station: About 25 minutes south-west, with NJ Transit, Amtrak, and LIRR services.

JFK Airport: Around an hour by the LIRR to Jamaica and AirTrain, or by subway and AirTrain. Stasher also covers storage near the major airport gateways for travellers building a Met visit around their flights.

LaGuardia Airport: About 30 minutes by taxi or rideshare, with the M60 bus providing a public-transit option from East Harlem.

Long-term or Large Group Luggage Storage Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Stasher offers long-term and large group luggage storage solutions across New York, including locations close to the museum. Whether you need to store bags for several days, weeks, or you are coordinating storage for a tour group, school visit, or special exhibition preview, our network of Stashpoints has the flexibility and capacity to accommodate you.

Managing luggage for large groups can be stressful — particularly given The Met's strict bag policy. Stasher provides extra discounts for long-term storage and large group bookings; contact our customer support team to discuss your requirements. Our flexible cancellation policy also lets you book space in advance and request a refund if your plans change.

For convenience, use the bag counter and date picker on our website to find available Stashpoints that fit your needs. With multiple locations across the Upper East Side and Midtown East, you will always find something within easy reach of the museum entrance.