Skip-the-Line Metropolitan Museum of Art Semi-Private Tour

Hands down one of the best excursions that we have ever done! Our tour guide Mark, was incredibly knowledgeable. He taught us so much about the pieces we were admiring - from their history, to their contributing stories, to the relevance in the historical timeline. His excitement for art was absolutely contagious. Would highly recommend this tour, and hopefully you'll be lucky enough to have Mark as your guide.

We’ve done lots of tours all over the world. Charlie was by far the best most enthusiastic tour guide we have ever had definitely would use him again. We weren’t so much on our tour.

The Met is extraordinary, but it can also be overwhelming. With millions of pieces spanning thousands of years, it’s hard to know where to start or how to make sense of it all. My fiancé and I were visiting for the first time and wanted a deeper, more meaningful experience. Booking a small group tour with Robin through Babylon Tours was easily the best decision we made during our trip to New York. Robin is everything you could want in a guide: warm, engaging, incredibly knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about both art and people. From the start, she made the museum feel approachable. She asked thoughtful questions about our interests and curated the tour in a way that felt completely tailored to us, while still offering a broad and fascinating look into the heart of the Met. What makes Robin exceptional is her ability to bring both the art and the artists to life. She doesn’t just describe what you’re looking at. She tells the story behind it. Whether we were admiring medieval armor or a bold 19th-century portrait, she revealed the deeper meaning, cultural context, and human stories that shaped each piece. Her style is that rare combination of insightful and entertaining, blending humor with history in a way that kept us fully engaged from start to finish. She also gave us a deeper appreciation for the museum itself. As we moved through different galleries, Robin shared the story of how the Met came to be, how its architecture evolved, how collections were acquired, and how curators and donors influenced what we see today. These layers of insight made the entire experience feel rich and connected, far beyond what we would’ve gotten wandering on our own. Instead of reading plaques and guessing at significance, we got to immerse ourselves in the art, history, and storytelling that Robin so skillfully weaves together. We left with not only a better understanding of the Met, but a lasting connection to the people and ideas behind the work. And the best part? There’s still so much more to see. Robin could easily create an entirely different tour next time, and we’re already looking forward to coming back for it. If you’re visiting the Met, whether it’s your first time or your fiftieth, do yourself a favor and book a tour with Robin. She made our visit unforgettable. This is the kind of experience that stays with you long after you leave the museum.