Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum - New York City - Museums

It's been called a bun, a snail, a concrete tornado, and even a giant wedding cake; bring your kids, and they'll probably see it as New York's coolest opportunity for skateboarding. Whatever description you choose to apply, Frank Lloyd Wright's only New York building, completed in 1959, is best summed up as a brilliant work of architecture -- so consistently brilliant that it competes with the art for your attention. If you're looking for the city's best modern art, head to MoMA or the Whitney first; come to the Guggenheim to see the house. Though you might not see much except scaffolding; the exterior of the museum is being restored with a completion date scheduled for late 2007.

But the restoration has no effect on what's inside and it's easy to see the bulk of what's on display in 2 to 4 hours. The museum's spiraling rotunda circles over a slowly inclined ramp that leads you past changing exhibits that, in the past, have ranged from "Matthew Barney: The Cremaster Cycle" to "Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People," said to be the most comprehensive exhibit ever of the beloved painter's works. Usually the progression is counterintuitive: from the first floor up, rather than from the sixth floor down. If you're not sure, ask a guard before you begin. Permanent exhibits of 19th- and 20th-century art, including strong holdings of Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, and French Impressionists, occupy a stark annex called the Tower Galleries, an addition (accessible at every level) that some critics have claimed made the entire structure look like a toilet bowl backed by a water tank (judge for yourself -- I think there may be something to that view).

The Guggenheim runs some special programs, including free docent tours daily, a limited schedule of lectures, free family films, avant-garde screenings for grown-ups, curator-led guided gallery tours on select Friday afternoons, and the World Beat Jazz Series, which resounds through the rotunda on Friday and Saturday from 5 to 8pm.