Dia Museum Cafe

We are members and spent many wonderful weekend days visiting all year long. The setting is beautiful and the permanent collection always engages. During the pandemic, the museum was rightfully very cautious and because of the size, social distancing was easy. Sometimes the staff is discourteous and are overly aggressive with the visitors. There is a nice cafe and wonderful bookstore. It is one of my favorite places I return to often. Plan ahead because it is sometimes busy. Any season, Dia is a magical place for art lovers.

I recommend it for adults but don’t bring a young child here. We brought our 3 year old and realized our mistake very quickly. Many of the exhibits are very delicate and/or dangerous and are very appealing for a little one. Barbed wire exhibits attract little hands and delicate cardboard structures are begging to be climbed on. We ended up strapping her into the stroller for a while and leaving earlier than we intended. I’ll be sure to get a babysitter or wait until she’s older until we come back again to enjoy the collection

It’s always a pleasure to visit Dia:Beacon. To get there, it’s completely walkable from the MetroNorth station (7-10 min walk). Expect to spend at least two hours but plan for longer. The building is just as beautiful as the installations - large industrial space with amazing light from big windows. It’s a great place to sketch and reflect. It’s a serene place that allows you to spatially experience the work on display.