MoMA on a NYC Bus Tour: Closest Hop-On Hop-Off Stops, Tickets, and How Long to Stay

Big Bus New York's Uptown Loop, also called the Blue Route, begins at Stop 14, Hope Sculpture, on 7th Avenue at West 53rd Street in front of a Chase Bank. MoMA's general admission entrance is in the Rockefeller Building on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, close to Sixth and just east of the museum's flagship store, according to MoMA's visitor FAQ. That makes the walk simple: cross 7th Avenue, head east on 53rd, cross Sixth Avenue, and the entrance is a short way along on the same side of the street as the store.

The next stop around the loop, Stop 15, Rockefeller Center, sits at West 49th Street and Fifth Avenue in front of Michael Kors. From there you walk north up Fifth past St. Patrick's Cathedral to 53rd Street and turn left. It's slightly longer, but it's the stop you'll use if you're coming back from the Met or Central Park side of the loop and don't want to ride the full circuit back to Stop 14.

Downtown Loop riders have an option too. Big Bus's Downtown Loop starts at Stop 1, M&M's World, at 7th Avenue and West 48th Street. Walking north five blocks to 53rd and then east gets you to MoMA without switching loops. The Big Bus route page also lists MoMA among the attractions it sells alongside its tours, but that's a ticket add-on, not a stop.

Stop positions move with construction and street events, especially around Rockefeller Center in the holiday season. Open the operator's live map or app on the morning you ride. Our guide to where to board NYC hop-on hop-off buses explains how the Midtown stops fit together.

This is the planning detail most people miss. Big Bus's timetable lists the Uptown Loop at a 75-minute circuit, departing Stop 14 hourly between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The published first-bus times run 10:10 at Times Square, 10:25 at Rockefeller Center, 10:45 at the Met, 10:55 at Central Park Zoo, 11:02 at Columbus Circle and 11:07 at Carnegie Hall, with later buses following the same pattern. Hourly service means missing a bus by a few minutes costs you most of an hour. (Some third-party pass guides describe more frequent Uptown service, so trust the operator's timetable and app on the day.)

Plan for more than a quick look. Even a focused visit to a floor or two of the collection tends to take a couple of hours once you count security, the checkroom, and the crowds around the best-known paintings. If you hop off at 11 a.m. and spend three hours inside, you're back at the curb around 2 p.m. with two Uptown departures left.

So pick one of two shapes for the day. Either ride the full Uptown Loop first thing, hopping off at the Met or Central Park, and finish at MoMA in the afternoon when you no longer need the bus. Or do MoMA right at its 10:30 a.m. opening, then board the Uptown Loop around lunchtime. What doesn't work well is trying to do the Met and MoMA on the same day: they're two of the largest art museums in the city, and the hourly bus gives you no slack between them.

A hop-on hop-off ticket only covers the bus. Museum entry is a separate purchase unless you've bought a bundle or a city pass that lists MoMA. MoMA's ticketing page lists the rates above and says general admission covers all galleries and exhibitions, so there's no extra charge for a special exhibition.

MoMA says advance online purchase is required to guarantee entry, with a limited number of tickets sold on-site at the ticketing desk first come, first served. Online ticket holders skip the ticket line and go straight to the galleries. Children's tickets are free but must be reserved, and MoMA notes that a child ticket must be booked with an adult ticket.

If you're using a multi-attraction pass, read MoMA's rule carefully. Its ticket page says New York Pass, All-Inclusive Pass, Explore Pass and Sightseeing Pass holders must pick up their tickets at the museum and bring the pass to the ticketing desk. Budget a few extra minutes for that, especially on rainy mornings when MoMA warns there may be a line to enter. Our comparison of CityPASS and the New York Pass covers which passes bundle a bus tour and which don't.

We don't publish bundle prices on this page because they change by channel and season. Compare the bus ticket and the museum ticket separately before you buy a package, so you can see whether the bundle actually saves money for the attractions you'll use.

MoMA's FAQ lists everything included with general admission: access to every gallery and exhibition, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden when weather allows, hands-on spaces like the Crown Creativity Lab and the Heyman Family Art Lab, and same-day screenings in its theaters, for which you collect a separate free film ticket.

Two inclusions matter on a bus day. The free checkroom means you don't have to carry a day bag, umbrella or shopping around the galleries. And the audio guide runs on your own phone over MoMA's free Wi-Fi, so bring headphones rather than relying on rented equipment.

MoMA's collection galleries are spread across several floors. If you only have about two hours, pick a floor or two and skip the rest rather than racing the whole building; the museum's current floor plan shows where things hang.

Friday is the one day you can do the full bus loop and MoMA without compromise. Ride the Uptown Loop during the day, take the last bus back toward Midtown, and visit the museum in the evening, when it stays open three hours later than usual.

If anyone in your group lives in New York State, MoMA's UNIQLO Friday Nights program offers free admission from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. MoMA says those tickets must be reserved in advance and are subject to availability and proof of residency, so reserve before the day rather than turning up at the desk. Out-of-state visitors pay standard admission at any time.

Everything around Stop 15 is walkable from MoMA: Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral across Fifth Avenue, and the shops along Fifth. Top of the Rock is the observation deck right at that stop. Our Top of the Rock guide explains how timed entry works with a bus day. A realistic afternoon is MoMA, a walk down Fifth, and sunset from the deck.

If art is your main reason for being in New York, give the Met and MoMA separate days. Our Metropolitan Museum of Art guide covers its stop at Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street. On a single day, pair MoMA with a lighter stop instead: Central Park from the Zoo or Columbus Circle stops, or simply ride the full Uptown Loop for the commentary and views before going inside.

With a two-day ticket, a sensible split is Downtown Loop on day one (Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty ferry or the 9/11 Memorial) and Uptown Loop plus MoMA on day two. Our two-day itinerary lays that out stop by stop.

MoMA's ticketing page lists a $22 rate for visitors with disabilities and a free ticket for an accompanying care partner. Check MoMA's accessibility page before your visit for current wheelchair, seating and sensory resources.

On the bus side, Big Bus notes that customers with mobility issues may not be able to reach the top deck, so plan on the lower deck. Our wheelchair-accessible NYC bus tours guide covers boarding and ramp details by operator.

MoMA is one of the best rainy-day hop-offs on the Uptown Loop: the covered lower deck of the bus gets you there, the checkroom takes your wet gear, and you can spend as long inside as the weather requires. Our rain and weather policy guide explains what happens to your bus ticket if the forecast turns bad.

MoMA is unusually easy to reach from a hop-on hop-off bus: the Uptown Loop literally starts on its street. That convenience is the strongest argument for including it, especially on a Friday or as the final stop of a day when you no longer need the bus.

The argument against is time. With hourly Uptown buses, an unhurried MoMA visit uses up much of a one-day ticket's useful window. If you'd rather see more landmarks from the bus, ride the loop, note MoMA's location, and come back by subway on another morning. The E and M trains stop at 5 Av-53 St, across the street.