NEW YORK: Capital of Modern Art

Fly from London to New York. On arrival, transfer by private coach to our hotel, a landmark Art Deco building in the heart of Manhattan. Some time to settle in is followed by a welcome dinner together.

After breakfast we set out on foot for the Empire State Building, located just a short walk from our hotel. Completed in 1931, the famously spectacular views offered by this icon of the New York skyline are the perfect way to orientate ourselves. Coach transfer to Pier 83, where a relaxing river cruise will give us unparalleled views of some of Lower Manhattan’s most famous architectural sites. Returning to dry land, some time for an independent lunch is followed by a visit to the Frick Collection, the collection of Pittsburgh industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). Housed in Frick’s former residence, one of the few remaining Gilded Age mansions in the city, highlights of the collection include works by Bellini, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Gainsborough, Goya, and Whistler. Stroll back to our hotel through Central Park before an evening free for independent activities.

By coach to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright’s UNESCO-listed masterpiece. Conceived by the architect as a ‘temple of the spirit’, the building is not without controversy – paintings are famously tricky to hang around the building’s sweeping ramped gallery. The museum houses a permanent and ever-expanding collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and we will spend the morning exploring its treasures. Walk to the Neue Gallery, where, by contrast, a collection of early 20th-century German and Austrian art is housed in a Louis XIII-style townhouse of the same period. Traversing Central Park once again, we arrive at the New York Historical Society Museum for a private visit of its exhibits, which explore the rich cultural and social history of New York and the USA. Afterwards, enjoy dinner together in the museum’s stylish restaurant before returning by coach to our hotel.

A day devoted to exploring the glorious treasures of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds one of the world’s finest collections. We spend our morning in The Met Cloisters, the Northern Manhattan branch of the museum devoted to the art and architecture of mediaeval Europe with more than 2,000 artworks and artefacts (metalwork, painting, sculpture and textiles). Transfer by coach to The Met Fifth Avenue, the museum’s main site, where, after some essential time for refuelling in one of the restaurants, we dive into this enormous collection. A trove of more than 2 million works, some of the best-loved masterpieces here include impressionist and post-impressionist works by Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, the greatest collection of Egyptian art and artefacts outside Cairo, and the American and Lehmann Wings. Return by coach to our hotel in the late afternoon where the evening is free for your own leisure.

Coach transfer to Brooklyn Heights where we will walk the famous bridge, stopping for coffee in true New York style along the way. Afterwards, a coach tour of Lower Manhattan, the cradle of New York City, will reveal the major sites of the area that were not visible on our cruise; Wall Street, Battery Park, the site of the World Trade Centre, the Woolworth Building and Washington Square included. After an independent lunch in Greenwich Square, we walk to the Whitney Museum, where the focus of this large collection is 20th- and 21st-century American art. Opened in 1931, the gallery’s focus was unusual at a time when the world was looking to Europe for artistic innovation. In 2015, the gallery moved to a striking new Renzo Piano-designed home at the foot of the High Line, the elevated parkway created in 2009 on a former New York Central Railroad. We stroll the length of this elevated oasis, picking up our coach on the far side and returning to our hotel. Free evening for independent exploration.

After breakfast, walk to The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where the morning is ours to explore this fabulous and influential collection. The museum holds more than 150,000 treasures, with numerous iconic highlights, from Picasso’s ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ to Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ and Monet’s moving ‘Water Lillies’ triptych. In the afternoon, we walk on to the Rockefeller Centre, where some free time for lunch is followed by a journey up to the ‘Top of the Rock’, the observation deck with sweeping views across Central Park and the skyscrapers of midtown and downtown. The rest of the afternoon is yours to spend as you wish but we will reconvene in the evening for a special farewell dinner in the charming Grand Central Oyster Bar.

After breakfast, enjoy some free time for last-minute visits or shopping. Coach transfer to the airport for our return overnight flight.