When making plans to visit New York City, whether for a family vacation or for a business trip, it is difficult not to run across plenty of information and promotions about the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This world-class museum is one of the largest anywhere, as well as being one of the best known, and it is where some of the most wonderful collections of fine art anywhere in the world are housed.

The collections that are housed in this New York museum are comprised of more than two million works of amazing art. This stunning supply of art treasures spans more than 5,000 years of world history and culture that comes from every corner the globe. The "Met," as it is popularly called, especially by locals, was founded in 1870 and it is located along the eastern edge of New York City's Central Park, situated on Fifth Avenue. Each year it receives millions of visitors.

The expansive Metropolitan Museum of Art encompasses more than two million square feet of area and it also features an extensive portfolio of art holdings that includes vast collections of artifacts and artistry from around the world. Each collection individually could be ranked among the most notable in the world in its particular category of art.

For example, the American Wing of the Met contains the world's most exhaustive collection of American paintings, sculptures and decorative works of arts. At the same time, the Met also has over 2,500 European paintings in its art exhibitions. These European masterpieces in the art gallery range, from renowned artists such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Manet, Renoir, and many others, in total comprise a vast and varied collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works.

The Met is also home to the greatest collection of Egyptian art that can be found outside of Cairo and the Islamic art collection is also widely considered to be one of the finest in the world. Other major gallery exhibitions found within the walls of the Met include arms and armor, costumes, Asian art, European decorative arts and sculpture, medieval art, Renaissance art, modern art, photography, drawings, prints, musical instruments, and other assorted antiquities from the ancient cultures of the world.

Each year, there are more than 30 special gallery exhibitions hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. These special art exhibitions are representative of a wide and varied range of artists, cultures and time periods, from ancient to modern. In addition, the museum also actively strives to serve the people of New York City, the US, and those around the world by offering a wide array of educational art history training programs, internships, fellowships and programs to loan out many of the works of art that the museum owns.

The educational programs offered by the Met are attended annually by over 300,000 museum visitors, teachers and students that range from the grade school age to university level. On top of that, the institution loans more than 5,000 works of art each year to other museums and cultural facilities around the world.

Many people from numerous walks of life and parts of the world have declared that the Metropolitan Museum of Art should be regarded as a national treasure. It is also recognized as a strong and vibrant influence that helps promote a greater understanding of art history. In addition, the Met is also spearheading an initiative to reach out to a greater diversity of audiences and to expand the reach of the museum even further by bringing new innovations to its website as well.