Information
Landmark: CloistersCity: New York
Country: USA New York
Continent: North America
Cloisters, New York, USA New York, North America
Overview
Tucked away in New York City, the Cloisters showcases medieval Europe’s art, stone-carved architecture, and quiet, fragrant gardens.It belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, yet it feels far removed-a hushed, stone-lined sanctuary shaped by the spirit of medieval monastic life.The Cloisters sits in Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, gazing out over the Hudson River, with quiet gardens and shady woods wrapping around it.One.Architect Charles Collens designed the museum, which opened its doors in 1938 with sunlight spilling across its stone façade.John D. put up most of the money to build it, covering the cost like he was laying bricks himself.Rockefeller Jr., who gave both land and paintings,The building features real architectural pieces-columns worn smooth, arched doorways, quiet cloisters, and tall windows-salvaged from five European monasteries, most of them in France and Spain.Among them is the Cuxa Cloister, a 12th-century treasure from Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa in France, with pink marble columns that glow softly in the afternoon sun and a garden shaped by the quiet rhythm of medieval monastic life.Bonnefont Cloister, built in early 14th-century France, now blooms with rows of fragrant medicinal and culinary herbs.Trie Cloister (15th century, France) – a quiet courtyard where sunlight spills across stone paths and flowers burst into bloom.The Saint-Guilhem Cloister, built in late 12th-century France, features capitals carved with delicate, curling leaves.The Chapter House from the abbey of Pontaut once rang with monks’ voices as they gathered to talk and share decisions.The building isn’t just dressed up in medieval style-it’s built from real stones salvaged from old cloisters and crumbling churches, their weathered edges fitted alongside fresh masonry to form a seamless, atmospheric whole.Number two.The Cloisters’ collection ranges from the 9th to the 16th centuries, with treasures like intricately carved ivory panels that rank among the finest medieval European art anywhere.Highlights include the Unicorn Tapestries (1495–1505), a celebrated set of seven wool-and-silk works from the Netherlands that bring to life the symbolic hunt, capture, and taming of a unicorn, its mane glinting in the woven light.For centuries, their meaning has gripped scholars and intrigued visitors, weaving together Christian and secular imagery like saints beside carved beasts.The Merode Altarpiece (c.1427–1432) is a triptych by Robert Campin, also known as the Master of Flémalle, showing the Annunciation unfold in a richly detailed Flemish home, sunlight spilling across the wooden floor.The Cloisters Cross (~1150) is a massive English crucifix carved from smooth, pale walrus ivory, alive with intricate designs and layered symbolism.Stained glass from the Abbey of Saint-Denis and Chartres Cathedral glows with deep blues and ruby reds, showing the Gothic artisans’ mastery and their belief in light as a sacred symbol.Capitals, columns, carved sarcophagi, and weathered friezes from the Romanesque and Gothic eras line the galleries like silent sentinels.Illuminated manuscripts are rare medieval books, usually in Latin, their pages gleaming with gold leaf and bursts of vivid ink.Three.At The Cloisters, three main gardens bloom with the same careful attention as the art inside, each path edged with lavender and herbs.Drawing on medieval herbals, devotional works, and poetry, these gardens brim with plants once tended in monastic cloisters and noble estates, from fragrant rosemary to bright marigolds.The Herb Garden at Bonnefont Cloister holds more than 250 plant species once prized in medieval Europe for healing, flavoring food, making dyes, and sacred rituals, from fragrant sage to deep blue woad.Cuxa Cloister Garden is a richly decorated space, alive with seasonal blooms-lavender’s soft scent, lilies’ pale petals, and other symbolic flowers cherished for their spiritual and mythic meanings in the Middle Ages.Trie Cloister Garden leans toward blooms, capturing the look and feel of a medieval pleasure garden, with roses spilling over stone borders.The gardens aren’t merely decoration; they’re woven into the museum’s educational mission, illustrating how, in medieval times, the scent of rosemary or the curve of a cloister path reflected the bond between nature and spirituality.Number four.At The Cloisters, you feel as if you’ve slipped into another century, the quiet echo of footsteps on stone carrying you far from the present.Thick stone walls, soft pools of lamplight, and hushed courtyards combine to create a space that feels still and made for reflection.Compared to other NYC spots, the museum feels calmer, drawing visitors who love art history, architecture, botany, and the quiet pull of spiritual history.Tucked inside Fort Tryon Park, the spot opens up to sweeping views of the Hudson River and the rugged Palisades, making the city feel miles away.All year long, you can catch seasonal exhibitions, hear the warm tones of medieval music concerts, and sit in on thought‑provoking lectures.Five.You’ll find it at 99 Margaret Corbin Drive in Fort Tryon Park, New York, NY-just take the A train to 190th Street and stroll a few minutes past the stone arches into the park.Entry’s covered by the Met’s general admission, which is pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents and students from NY, NJ, or CT-whether you’re popping in for ten minutes or staying all afternoon.In short, The Cloisters isn’t just a museum-it’s a walk into medieval Europe, where stone arches, quiet gardens, and centuries-old art blend seamlessly with a sense of peace and deep reflection.
