The opening of The Art Show on Thursday kicks off a carnival of New York art fairs that won’t stop until March 9. The city will host at least 10, offering hundreds of booths of modern and contemporary art, from blue chip to brand-new, and even a sampling of antiquarian books. For the gallerists, the process can be nerve-racking. But for everyone else, it’s a blast.

The more you see in a given day, the better the odds you’ll discover something to love — and even if you don’t, sensory overload has a thrill of its own. And with so many of the exhibitors flying in from abroad, you can essentially travel the world in an afternoon. Just don’t think you’ll get to everything. I recommend wearing sneakers, resisting the urge to over-caffeinate, and putting two — or at most three — of these fairs on your itinerary. Here’s an overview of some of the more substantial fairs.