When was the last time you visited New York City? Here’s something to bring back your taste for the Big Apple.

Ready to go? Whether you’re interested in opera, Broadway, or art, we’ll get you on your way.

Also, don’t miss this video of the Muppets performing Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

What’s your favorite thing about New York? Share below.

We are grateful that our Smithsonian travelers are so often eager to share their thoughts about their tour experiences with us.

This week, see what others had to say about some of our Metropolitan Opera tours.

“I had wanted to attend a performance of all four Ring operas for, oh, the last 40 years or so. Smithsonian tours finally made this possible for me, with excellent seats at the Met, and accommodations and meals, and a terrific study leader whose presentations made the operas so much more enjoyable. I cannot thank you enough!”

-Janet Goldstein, Wagner’s Ring Cycle at the Met

“Hotel Room – $250.00; Pre-performance dinner – $75.00; Orchestra seat – $175.00; Awaiting the first notes of the overture to your favorite opera at Lincoln Center with new-found opera friends – priceless.”

-Laurie Tomita, Opera 101: Four Outstanding Evenings

Smithsonian Journeys Director Amy Kotkin with Study Leader Arthur Kaplan

I am scribbling notes for this blog from Orchestra Prime seat G22 at the Metropolitan Opera. The gorgeous Swarovski crystal chandeliers have begun their ascent to the ceiling of this vast and grand auditorium, the lights are dimming, the maestro is about to appear in the orchestra pit.

Our Smithsonian travelers –   25 of us who have gathered from all over the country for four days of opera – are totally primed to experience the magnificent Renée Fleming as Thäis – a fourth-century Egyptian courtesan who is transformed into a true believer by a monk and enters a convent somewhere deep in the Sahara desert. The monk, Athaneal, belatedly acknowledges his love for her and is tormented by his unrequited passion. Not a likely story? Well, they seldom are – but with 19th-century opera, we are talking about grand emotions and larger than life characters, not cinema verité. (more…)