I think the Cloisters is one of my favorite places to go on a nice spring day. The Cloisters is essentially several European monasteries that were taken apart, shipped to New York, then reconstructed by the Metropolitan Musuem and turned into a Medieval art gallery. The most famous work housed there is the Unicorn Tapestries:
Even if you are not that into art or museums, the Cloister is still definitely worth a visit on a nice day because of its atmosphere. Its definitely a money place to go on a more sophisticated date or a good place to take people who are visiting New York. Rather than describing it myself I found a very good review from New York Magazine:
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This uptown branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is worth the 45-minute subway ride from midtown (plus a pleasant 10-minute walk through Fort Tryon Park.) Perched on the tip of Manhattan, the castle-like Museum is comprised of five Medieval cloisters imported from France and filled with art and artifacts. Perhaps the most celebrated attractions are The Unicorn Tapestries, a group of seven wall hangings that vividly portray the mythological hunt and capture of a unicorn. (The flowers in the tapestries, woven of wool and silk, are depicted in such detail that researchers have identified many of them.) Other gallery objects include religious sculptures, water vessels shaped like animals, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass and ivories. Many visitors come for the building itself: One room recreates a 12th-century chapel and the monastery gardens are breathtaking. With its antiquated structure and amazing vistas, the Museum is also featured in numerous films including Coogan's Bluff and Keeping the Faith.
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