The NYC walking tour of Chelsea galleries

West Chelsea can't be beat for a good ol' galleryhop. Just check out our guide to the best Chelsea galleries to get a flavor of what we mean—the area remains NYC's artistic hot spot. And if all that cultural edification proves thirsty work, just head to the best bars in Chelsea and toast yourself—connoisseur that you are.

RECOMMENDED: Find more NYC tours and walks

• Take the A to 23rd St and walk uptown along Eighth Ave toward 25th St. Head west to Tenth and Eleventh Aves, where a plethora of gallery-going options await you.

• Start at Pace/MacGill(510 W 25 St between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, 212-759-7999, pacemacgill.com), which has displayed pieces by 20th-century masters like Chuck Close and Agnes Martin.

• A block south, you’ll find the Mary Boone Gallery(541 W 24th St between Tenth and Eleventh Aves, 212-752-2929, maryboonegallery.com). On the same block is Metro Pictures(519 W 24th St, 212-206-7100, metropicturesgallery.com), both of which have revolving exhibits of emerging and established artists.

• Take Tenth Ave down to 21st St and you'll hit the gigantic Chelsea staple, Gagosian Gallery(522 W 21st St between Tenth and Eleventh Aves; 212-741-1717, gagosian.com). Step right up for the exhibition Picasso & the Camera, on view from Oct 28 through Jan 3.

• Bonus? Entry to all of these galleries—and there are a ton more that we haven’t even mentioned—will set you back…nada. (Note: Most galleries are closed on Sunday, so call ahead.)

• Now that you have all that money for food, head east down 21st St and make a left on Tenth Ave toward the Empire Diner(210 Tenth Ave, 212-596-7523, empire-diner.com) a historic NYC dining-car diner that looks like it was beamed in from an Edward Hopper painting.