John F. Kennedy International Airport to Upper East Side (Museum Mile)

There is a particular pleasure in knowing that a long day in the air ends within a few minutes' walk of a Vermeer, a Kandinsky and the green expanse of Central Park. The Upper East Side does not shout for your attention the way Times Square does; it holds it quietly, along a stretch of Fifth Avenue where the Met and the Guggenheim keep company with each other and with the park at their doorstep. Arriving here from JFK feels less like landing in a metropolis and more like slipping into the wings of a great cultural stage, ready to step out among the collections the moment your bags are down. The airport sits roughly 22 km away, and how you cross that distance sets the tone for everything that follows.

Along the Lexington Avenue Line to the Collections

For the traveller who likes the journey to have a little momentum, the swiftest way in is the AirTrain to Jamaica, then the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central, and finally the 4, 5 or 6 uptown. The whole passage runs about 50 minutes and costs somewhere between €13 and €15 — the fastest rail route by some margin, with departures every 10 to 20 minutes. What I find especially fitting is the finale: the Lexington Avenue line delivers you straight up the eastern flank of the island, surfacing within reach of the museums themselves. There is something apt about ending a transit on the very line that threads past the doorsteps of the galleries you have come to see. It is not, of course, a door-to-door service — you will shoulder your case up a staircase or two — but for anyone who travels light and enjoys the quiet theatre of a city's commuter rail, it is the most elegant option on offer.

The Frugal Passage for the Patient Aesthete

Should you prefer to spend your euros on the Guggenheim's admission rather than on transit, the budget route rewards patience handsomely. Take the AirTrain to Jamaica once more, then the E train into the city, transferring to the 6 to carry you the final stretch. Figure on around 65 minutes and a fare from about €10.80 — the AirTrain at roughly €8 and the subway at €2.80. Trains come frequently, every 5 to 10 minutes, so the waiting is never tedious. This is the choice of the seasoned museum-goer who understands that a well-managed few coins saved at the outset can just as easily become a coffee in the Met's café or a print from the gift shop. You trade a quarter-hour and a subway transfer for genuine economy, and the arrival is no less satisfying for it.

Curb to Kerb by Yellow Cab

When you land jet-lagged and the last thing you wish to contemplate is a staircase, the yellow cab remains a civilised indulgence. Join the official taxi line outside the terminals — never the touts who drift through arrivals — and settle into the reassuring certainty of the flat fare. The journey to Manhattan runs on a fixed $70 rate, to which you should add tolls, surcharges and a tip, so the whole affair typically lands between €64 and €106, taking around 55 minutes. It is door-to-door, depositing you at your address with your luggage intact and your composure preserved. Those who prefer to summon a car by app will find Uber or Lyft roughly comparable, around €55 to €101, though these ride at the mercy of demand in a way the yellow cab's flat fare does not. For an evening arrival, when the park is darkening and the museums have long closed, the simplicity has real appeal.

Arriving in Style, Sign in Hand

For the traveller who regards the transfer itself as part of the occasion, a pre-booked car service is the most considered choice of all. One car takes the whole party and its luggage the full distance to your door in about 55 minutes — a child seat fitted on request — sparing you the queue entirely. The fare is fixed in advance — somewhere between €74 and €129, with no surge to unsettle the arithmetic — which lends a certain calm to the whole exercise. There is a quiet luxury in stepping from the aircraft into a waiting car and watching Manhattan assemble itself through the window without a single decision left to make.

Whichever you choose, the reward is the same: a base among the city's finest collections, with the Met, the Guggenheim and Central Park arranged before you like the day's itinerary already half written. Rest, then step out onto Fifth Avenue and let Museum Mile do the rest.