have included a collection of three bright-colored balloon-animal sculptures by Jeff Koons and a continually evolving, environmentally sensitive bamboo structure by Doug and Mike Starn). But an equally good reason to make the trip up to the top of the building is the grand view of Central Park, which reveals the breathtaking magnitude of Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted’s gift to the city. In the spring and summer, the park is a rich, green carpet of trees, flanked by the ornate and stately buildings of the city’s fanciest neighborhoods; in the fall, the green becomes flecked with gold, rust, and red. Drink in the view while the two of you sip lattes or cocktails from the Met’s rooftop bar, and marvel at the lushness before your eyes. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is open seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden is open seasonally from May through late fall during museum hours, weather permitting. 1000 Fifth Avenue, between East 80th and 84th Streets, in Manhattan. 212-535-7710. www.metmuseum.org. Subway: 4, 5, 6 to 86th Street.
. . . or from the Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing The Temple of Dendur is one of the Met’s most iconic and beloved attractions, in part because of its breathtaking setting in a room with a high glass ceiling and a sloping glass wall, which looks onto a quiet, tree-lined nook of the park. The temple, which dates back to 15 BCE, was a gift to the United States from the Egyptian government in 1965, and in 1967, the Met won out over other institutional suitors to house it. The temple was re-erected in a specially designed room in the Sackler Wing, and it sits over a reflecting pool, which symbolizes the River Nile. The floor-to-ceiling glass wall on one side of the gallery provides a stunning backdrop to this incredible
i n
l o v e
i n
N e w
Y o r k
artifact, and the view of the park is particularly lovely during fall foliage—a view indelibly depicted in the famous “pepper” scene in When Harry Met Sally. The Temple of Dendur is located in the museum’s Sackler Wing and open during normal museum hours.
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at dusk Strolling along the wooden walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge is another one of the city’s great classics, offering equal doses of history, sweeping views, and iconic experiences. Pick a time in summer when the nights are long, and start your walk while the sun is going down. By then, the hustle-bustle of the 130-year-old bridge’s main job (shuttling citizens between Manhattan and Brooklyn) will be dying down, and the pedestrian walkway will be less crowded than it is on weekend days and early evenings. If you start your walk on the Manhattan side, don’t forget to turn around
18
The Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art