Top 10 most visited museums in the world

The staff from various departments including gallery attendants, ticket agents and security personnel joined forces to go on strike against the mentally and physically draining working conditions. This incident highlighted the global trend, especially after the pandemic, where people in mass numbers have been attracted by museums despite lack of infrastructure and staff.

Amidst this surge in cultural tourism, let’s take a look at the other top 10 most frequently visited museums around the world.

Vatican Museum, Vatican City

The museum registered a footfall of more than 6.8 million in 2024. The Vatican museum is organized in a manner that the visitors can enroute different paths to explore it. The key attention of the museum is the Sistine Chapel which is famous for Michelangelo’s frescoes on the ceiling and altar wall. Other attractions include papal carriages, historical documents, vestments, and religious relics.

National Museum of China, Beijing

The museum spans over 70,000 square meters with a construction area of nearly 200,000 square meters and 48 exhibition halls making it one of the largest museums in the world. Annually, 6.7 million visitors come to explore the museum. This museum showcases China’s rich history and artistic heritage. The highlights of the museum include the “Simuwu Ding” (the world’s heaviest ancient bronze vessel) and the “Gold Thread and Jade Garment” (a Han Dynasty burial suit).

(Photo: Pixabay)

British Museum, London

Founded in 1753, the museum holds the record of the first national museum that became open to the public. Drawing over 6.4 million visitors in the year 2024, the museum showcases items from all over the world. The museum’s premise has been used as film sets on numerous occasions and the film-series, ‘Night at the Museum’ was also filmed here. Famous artifacts that are on display include Rosetta Stone, Sophilos Vase, The Parthenon Sculptures among many others.

Natural History Museum, London

In 2024, the museum welcomed a record-breaking 6.3 million visitors, making it the second most visited UK attraction that year. The museum offers free entry to its permanent exhibitions, which adds to the visitors tally. The museum’s dinosaur gallery, including the famous “Dippy” (Diplodocus cast), and the “Our Broken Planet” exhibition, are consistently popular with visitors.

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Popularly known as The Met, the museum houses over two million works of art, encompassing a wide range of cultures and time periods. With the footfall record of 5.36 million visitors in 2023, the museum features the largest collection of American Art in the world. The Met is renowned for its collections of classical antiquity, ancient Egyptian art, European paintings, American and modern art, medieval art at The Cloisters, and its Costume Institute.

(Photo: Pixabay)

American Museum of Natural History, New York

Founded in 1869, the museum complex comprises of 21 interconnected buildings. With around 5 million annual visitors, the museum is famous for its fossil dinosaur and mammal halls, as well as its lifelike dioramas. The Rose Center for Earth and Space, featuring the Hayden Planetarium, is also a major attraction. The museum also boasts of over 30 million research specimens, including one of the world’s largest collections of fossils and insects.

Tate Modern, London

Tate Modern houses a vast collection of modern and contemporary art, including international and British works from 1900 to the present day. In 2023, it recorded 4.74 million attendees. It is housed in a former power station on the south bank of the River Thames, a site that has been transformed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. The major attraction is the museum’s Turbine Hall, renowned for its large-scale, often spectacular, art installations.

National Museum of Natural History, Washington D.C.

The museum size is comparable to 18 football fields. The museum boasts over 146 million specimens and artifacts, making it the world’s largest natural history collection. This includes plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts. In 2023, arond 4.4 million people visited the museum. Also, the museum does not charge any entry fees, making it more widely accessible. Other notable exhibits include African elephants, paleobiology (dinosaurs), and gemstones.

Guangdong Museum, Guangzhou

The museum boasts a vast collection of over 166,000 items, including ceramics, wood carvings, calligraphy, paintings, and gemstones. The museum with approximately 4 million visitors in the year 2023, is a key institution for understanding the unique culture of the Lingnan region, which encompasses Guangdong, Guangxi, and parts of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. Notable exhibits include a dinosaur hall with fossils and information about the region’s prehistoric life, and a calligraphy and painting hall showcasing traditional Chinese art.

National Museum of Korea, Seoul

The museum is situated on a golf-course, which was earlier part of the Yongsan Garrison. The museum’s famous collection includes Gold Crown, Pensive Bodhisattva, Ten-Story Pagoda among others. Moreover, the museum’s six permanent galleries showcase a comprehensive collection of Korean artifacts and art, covering prehistoric times through the Joseon Dynasty is the reason for its footfall of 3.5 million visitors.

(The author is an intern with The Indian Express)