Incredible immersive experiences to do in NYC right now

Back in 1987, an art amusement park—featuring works from Keith Haring, Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more—delighted visitors in Germany. There were plans for a world tour, but it never happened, and the art was abandoned. Until now, that is.

Now, you can walk through Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, a wonderland featuring a Basquiat Ferris wheel, a Haring carousel, a Lichtenstein labyrinth, puppets and other immersive experiences in this limited-time installation at The Shed. Luna Luna is, hands down, the coolest art exhibition to open in New York City this year, and it's on view through February 23, 2025 with tickets starting at $44/person.

On a February morning in the early aughts, an ambitious public art project called “The Gates” filled Central Park with flowing orange flags that visitors could walk beneath. It was open for just two weeks, bringing some much-needed levity to the city. More than 4 million people visited Central Park during the show's short run, and it generated an estimated $254 million in economic activity across the city.

Now, in celebration of these beloved artworks by the late artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, a cutting-edge augmented reality experience on the Bloomberg Connects app will allow New Yorkers to discover The Gates once again. It's available to view in Central Park, along with a complementary exhibition at The Shed, from February 12-March 23.

Some 4,500 years ago, ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza—the greatest pyramid the world had ever seen. Sure, you can read about this incredible civilization in history books, but you can now walk through their pyramid without ever leaving New York City. A new virtual reality experience called Horizon of Khufu offers a chance to travel miles away and back in time. 

You'll get a chance to wander around the pyramid, then look in awe at the intricate tombs of Pharaoh Khufu and the majestic Giza Necropolis. Eventually, you'll board a ship for a journey across the Nile, attend a mummification ceremony, and experience the somber occasion of King Khufu's final rites.

ARTECHOUSE, the immersive art experience in Chelsea, typically features the work of a single artist exploring a single topic, such as Afrofuturism, AI·magination and outer space. But for their new installation, ARTECHOUSE has turned over the venue to dozens of emerging artists for a wide-ranging, year-long art extravaganza.

Titled “Submerge,” the show will feature more than 100 artists over the course of 2025. The work of artists from across the globe will rotate every four months amid an open call for submissions. Expect to see everything from 3D animation to AI innovation to multimedia storytelling—anything that takes creativity out of confines of computer screens and onto an IRL canvas. Submerge is open to all ages through December 31 with tickets starting at $23.85. 

Mercer Labs, Museum of Art and Technology is a unique new immersive museum created by Roy Nachum, the artist behind Rihanna’s famous 2016 “Anti” album cover, and his business partner Michael Cayre, a real estate developer. Not only are the visual elements striking and entertaining but certain rooms are specifically targeted towards the younger set while appeasing adults as well. A mere walk through Mercer Labs makes one thing clear: the immersive space can be much more than that given its size and the clear technological capabilities embedded in each room.

Basically a massive maze made of ropes, this new exhibit allows attendees to jump inside, climb, relax and even get lost in the whole webbed arrangement that’s comprised of 80,000 feet of handwoven rope, which is part of a 400-square-foot interactive artwork created by Treenet Collective, a net expert company. 

Find "The INTERnet" at INTER_, the interactive art center at 415 Broadway by Canal Street in Soho.

The installation, which accommodates 15 people at once, boasts a variety of different weaving styles, each one creating a "setting" for folks to dive into, including the "quantum leap," where guests can play in mid-air, and the "social network," a more serene space that will feel like you are floating above everyone else.

Journey back in time to April 15, 1874 in Paris, when Impressionist painters began creating their groundbreaking work. Through the art and science of virtual reality, you can now join them as they break away from traditional academic painting, focusing instead on capturing light, color and atmosphere in new ways.

Titled "Tonight with the Impressionists: Paris 1874," this VR exhibition will take you back to the streets of 19th-century Paris to meet the artists behind the paintings and experience key moments in the Impressionist movement. Meet Monet, Renoir, Morisot, Degas, and others as they depict everyday life and outdoor scenes with spontaneous brushstrokes and vibrant colors. Expect to spend about 45 minutes fully immersed in their world thanks to your VR headset.

The exhibition was created by Excurio in collaboration with the renowned Musée d’Orsay in Paris. See it at Eclipso, located at 555 West 57th Street. Tickets range in price from $30-$44 depending on the date. 

Think bugs are creepy? Think again. That's the message of IMAGINARI, an immersive art and science experience in Manhattan. 

The year-long exhibition called The Insect World shows just how cool—and important—bugs actually are. You’ll get to walk through fields of 6-foot flowers, come face-to-face with Picasso bug artwork, and see a mantis partying under a disco ball. Larger-than-life ladybug sculptures dot the floor, and 200 faux monarch butterflies perch on a 12-foot cherry blossom tree. It all adds up to an important message of environmental stewardship.

Tickets are on sale now for $36; the all-ages exhibition will be on view until April 2025.

Live like Monica, Chandler, Ross, Rachel, Joey and Phoebe at The FRIENDS Experience: The One in New York City. It's basically an immersive museum celebrating the '90s sitcom. You'll get to walk through rooms that look exactly like the ones on the TV show.

Photo opportunities abound. There’s a chance to pose with the “Pivot” couch, a backdrop that looks like the Vegas chapel, and a photo opp with Phoebe’s grandma’s taxi. You can even pose on top of Pat the Dog, snap a photo with the giant poking device and take a selfie in Monica’s apartment. Using high-quality cameras, staff take photos at each spot, which you can purchase at the end. But staff will also take free photos with your cell phone if you ask. 

It's not just a selfie museum, though. There's a fascinating display featuring the show's costume designer Debra McGuire where you'll learn about her sartorial choices for each character. Another exhibit spotlights artist Burton Morris, whose Pop art pieces decorate Central Perk. Other display cases feature set designs, signed scripts, props and costumes.  

Get ready for heart-pounding experience in the sky unlike any other experience atop a skyscraper. Summit One Vanderbilt sits atop the new 67-floor One Vanderbilt super-tall—a 1,401-foot-high—skyscraper.

As the city's fourth-tallest building after One World Trade Center, Central Park Tower and 111 West 57th Street, it sits just west of Grand Central Terminal, where you first enter the experience underground. After a trip through a mirrored hallway with its own immersive elements, visitors take an elevator up to the 91st floor, where they're 1,000 feet over the streets and sidewalks of NYC.

Kenzo Digital has created a totally mirrored infinity room called "Air" that reflects the sky and city views over and over, making you feel like you're walking in the sky or on another plane of existence. Looking above you and below you in this two-story space, you see your reflection repeating forever.

One of the coolest parts of the experience is that it changes with the weather and time of day. When the weather is nice, it'll look like you're walking among the clouds. When it's stormy, you'll see the rain fly sideways and around the building. 

Part visual splendor, part olfactory wonder and part ooey-gooey sensory fun, Sloomoo Institute’s slime museum offers a captivating playground for all ages.

While Sloomoo is a highly Instagrammable experience, the founders hope you’ll spend some time away from your phone and immersed in the moment during your 90-minute visit to truly have the slime of your life. You can squish vats of slime, make your own slime to take home and even stand under a slime waterfall—that's truly immersive.