Last weekend I visited a magnificent 12th Century French monastery.  The trip didn’t involve an expensive overseas flight to get there though. For $1.75 on the PATH train and $2.00 on the A train, my friend and I were transported not only across the ocean, but also back in time. The Cloisters, a building that is part of the Metropolitan Art Museum, includes parts of actual medieval French monasteries. It’s located in Fort Tyron Park at the very top of Manhattan. The building is the perfect setting for the museum’s European medieval art collection. A visit to the Cloisters is well worth the short trip from Jersey City.

My best friend from home, Kristin, flew in from Michigan on Tuesday night. She had less than a week to explore the Big Apple (and of course the highlights of Jersey City as well). She took in various Manhattan neighborhoods and even two Broadway shows, but the one place we reserved for Saturday when I could go along was the Cloisters.

I had heard the Cloisters, reconstructed from five medieval French cloisters and from monastic sites in southern France, was beautiful. The name cloister refers both to the monastery where monks live, as well as to a covered walkway with columns along the wall. I’d seen pictures of the tan-colored estate, which made it look more like a postcard from Italy than one of New York City. But I had never been there myself. It seemed like the perfect place we could explore and both feel like we were some place different.

So last Saturday, with the clouds gray and thick with the possibility of rain, we carried our umbrellas with us on the PATH train as we made our way into Manhattan. We connected quickly to the A train from the World Trade Center. Unfortunately, the A train was running local, so we settled in for a bit longer ride than we expected.

A map at the entrance showed that the Cloisters was situated at the northern end of the park. A sign also explained that much of the reconstruction of the Cloisters was a gift of John D. Rockefeller.

“The result is not a copy of any particular medieval structure but an ensemble of spaces, rooms, and gardens that provide a harmonious and evocative setting in which visitors can experience the rich tradition of medieval artistic production. Just as cloisters provided sheltered access from one building to another within a monastery, here they act as passageways from gallery to gallery.”

-Metropolitan Museum of Art

Besides funding the building, Rockefeller also donated much of the medieval artwork, financed the conversion of 66.5 acres of land into Fort Tyron Park, and even, in 1927, donated seven hundred acres of land to the state of New Jersey across the Hudson River. This was done in order to make sure the view from The Cloisters remained undisturbed. The Cloisters was dedicated in 1938.

 

After having learned a bit more about the Cloisters, we started along the paved path. Entering the park felt a little like stepping into an enchanted forest. Flowering trees had bouquets of blossoms on their limbs. And beds of flowers burst with tulips and azaleas. We meandered along, inhaling the sweet fragrance in the air. As we walked west, the panorama of the Hudson River and Palisades Park in NJ came into view. Rockefeller had the right idea to make sure the forest stayed undisturbed. The scene was lovely and seemed to belong more to the country than the city. The traffic on the West Side Highway below was even transformed to sound like the hum of ocean waves. Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch of the imagination- but overall the setting was extremely peaceful.

The park and view of the exterior building would be reason enough for a visit. But there was even more to explore inside. Since the Cloisters is part of the Met, the same pricing applies. They have a suggested donation of $20 for adults. But giving just a $1 donation enables one to enter without question as well.

We wandered from room to room, entranced as much by the artwork as by the setting. The interior structure of the Cloisters was art itself. The open courtyards, with their marble columns along the outside and geometric plantings in the middle, left me breathless. Enjoying a cup of coffee at the Met’s café, located in one of the courtyards, allowed me to soak up the setting and feel truly transported.

After our coffee we finished exploring the inside. We took our time, pausing at the sculptures. Standing in a reconstructed chapel, sounds of monastic chanting echoed throughout the vaulted room.

Eventually we found our way back to the entrance of the building. We reclaimed our umbrellas and bags that we’d checked in. And feeling rejuvenated with the pleasure of travel, without the feeling of jet lag, we made our way out and later, back to Jersey City.