The 10 Most Visited Museums in the World - Official Ranking

Over the centuries, museums have established themselves in the collective imagination as icons of human civilisation. Real temples of knowledge, they have always been considered among the major tourist attractions as they collect the cultural heritage of peoples: the tangible evidence of the progress of scientific, artistic and historical doctrine.
It is well known that today there are various forms and types of tourism; however, cultural holidays continue to be widely appreciated by travellers, which is why we offer you a list of the most visited museums in the world

NB: The following ranking is based on the report provided by the non-profit Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) in collaboration with the American engineering/construction company AECOM.

2019 ranking: The global pandemic that hit the world in 2020 has inevitably changed our habits, especially those related to travel. As a result, even museums have suffered a drastic drop in visitation, reporting numbers that do not reflect normal everyday life. This is why the following ranking shows the criteria for 2019, in a period of "normality" and without restrictions.

10 - Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg: 4,957,000 visitors

The Hermitage Museum is one of the most prestigious museums in the world. It consists of no less than five interconnected palaces and to admire all the works would not take 10 years! For this reason, our advice is to organise your visit in good time and already select the works you want to see. The complex includes the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Great Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theatre.

More than three million works of art are housed inside the Hermitage, with paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Matisse, Renoir, Rembrandt, Rubens, Cezanne and Picasso, to name but a few. The main palace is the Winter Palace, the most famous in the city, once used as the winter residence of the tsars. Easily recognisable by its white and green façade with 400 Ionic columns, inside you can visit most of the 1057 finely decorated halls and rooms.
SEE ALSO: What to see at the Hermitage Museum: opening hours, prices and tips

• Hours: Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, Wed until 9pm, closed Mon, 1 Jan and 9 May

• Ticket price: single admission 700.00 RUB (€9.60), free on the third Thursday of each month, 8 March, 18 May and 7 December.

9 - Museum of Natural History, New York: 5,000,000 visitors

Photo by bryan.... Located in front of New York's iconic Central Park, the American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's largest natural history museums, a must-see especially if you're travelling with your family. It's also one of the most visited in the city, so we recommend buying your ticket online to avoid the queues or one of the city's cards, such as the New York CityPASS® which includes museum admission.

It houses 33 million specimens of plants, animals, rocks, meteorites and human remains, as well as the largest collection of dinosaur fossils in the world. There are also areas dedicated to marine animals, fossils and much more! But the most observant will immediately recognise the museum: it is in fact the location chosen for the 2006 film A Night at the Museum starring Ben Stiller.

• Hours: daily 10am-5.45pm

• Tickets: fullprice$23.00 (€19.50), seniors and students $18.00 (€15.30), children 3-12 years $13.00 (€11.00) - buy online

8 - Natural History Museum, London: 5,424,000 visitors

Described as the Cathedral of Nature, the Natural History Museum is one of London's most beautiful and famous museums and, as with most great British museums, admission is free. Perfect to visit with children.

Inside the Natural History Museum are some 80 million objects, including the famous specimens collected by Charles Darwin. Inside you will find sections ranging from botany to mineralogy, from palaeontology to zoology. The museum is also well known for numerous skeletal displays of dinuosaurs and it is thanks to them that its history began: the museum was in fact built between 1873 and 1880 to house a collection of skeletons, fossils and plants from the British Museum. It later expanded more and more, also encompassing the nearby Geological Museum until it became the attraction it is today.

• Hours: daily 10am-5.50pm

• Ticket price: free

7 - National Gallery, London: 6,011,000 visitors

Photo by Nathan Stazicker. London's National Gallery is located in Trafalgar Square, somewhat the heart of the English capital. The museum stands majestically, its shape reminiscent of a temple: a façade with tall, beautiful columns, capitals and a central dome. You certainly can't go wrong!

Today it is one of London's most important museums, as well as being one of the most visited and, as with most of the city's great museums, admission is free, making art accessible to all. More than 2,300 paintings from various periods and styles are on display inside: with two floors full of rooms and collections, the works range from the Middle Ages to post-Impressionism, showing the mastery of the greatest interpreters of Western art to the whole world.
SEE ALSO: What to see at the National Gallery: opening hours, prices and tips

• Hours: daily 10am-6pm

• Ticket price: free

6 - Tate Modern, London: 6,098,000 visitors

Let's stay in London, because here you can find another of the most visited museums in the world. We are talking about the Tate Modern, housed in the premises of the former Brankside Power Station. Here, too, admission is free.

The Tate Modern is part of the larger Tate complex, which also includes the Tate Britain (also in London), the Tate Liverpool, the Tate St Ives and the Tate Online, and is one of the most avant-garde modern art galleries in the world. It houses some of the world's finest works of modern and contemporary art, from 1900 to the present day, such as paintings by Picasso, Kandinsky and Van Gogh. In addition, a section of the complex houses the Tate Exchange, a floor where people can collaborate and test new ideas through art.
SEE ALSO: What to see at the Tate Modern: times, prices and tips

• Hours: daily 10am-6pm

• Ticket price: free

5 - British Museum, London: 6,208,000 visitors

And let's always stay in the English capital, because the British Museum is the most visited museum in London, a real institution in the city. You can rejoice: here, too, admission is free.

Inside, the British Museum houses one of the largest and most valuable collections of archaeological finds in the world. Here you can really discover the origins of our history and more than 8 million objects are preserved in its halls, from the earliest stone carvings of the prehistoric era to the very first coins, up to the many examples of hieroglyphics, but also Chinese ceramics and works of art from the 20th century. But that's not all: the famous'Rosetta Stone', the stone that enabled scholars to decipher ancient writings, is also preserved here. Finally, it is also worth a visit for its unique architecture alone: you can spend half a day inside it!
SEE ALSO: What to see at the British Museum: opening hours, prices and tips

• Hours: daily 10am-5pm

• Ticket price: free

4 - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 6,770,000 visitors

'The Met', as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is often called, ranks third with 7,360,000 visitors.
Inside, more than two million works of art are permanently displayed in nineteen sections; there are also encyclopaedic collections of musical instruments, clothing and weapons from all over the world.
SEE ALSO: What to see at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Hours, prices and tips

• Hours: Sun-Thu 10am-5.30pm, Fri-Sat 10am-9pm

• Ticket price: Full price $25.00 (€21.50), seniors $17.00 (€14.50), students $12.00 (€10.20), under 12 free

3 - Vatican Museums, Vatican City: 6,883,000 visitors

Let's take the bottom step of the podium: founded by Pope Julius II, the Vatican Museums are the third most visited museum in the world. They are located next to St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican and are also one of the most visited attractions in Rome. We therefore recommend that you buy your entrance ticket online to avoid the long queues or join a guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel with a local guide.

The Vatican Museums are one of the richest and most splendid museum complexes in the world and inside you can admire precious works from antiquity, from the Greek and Roman periods, such as the Lacoonte, theApoxyomenos and the Apollo del Belvedere, as well as examples of Egyptian and Etruscan art. The section housing the Picture Gallery, with works by Raphael, Caravaggio and Leonardo da Vinci, is also a must-see. But the main attraction of the museums is the Sistine Chapel, the work of Michelangelo. A place so beautiful that it doesn't even seem real!
SEE ALSO: What to see in the Vatican Museums: opening hours, prices and tips

• Hours: Mon-Sat 8:30am-6:30pm, Sun closed

• Ticket price: full price €17.00, concessions €8.00 - buy online

2 - National Museum of China, Beijing: 7,390,000 visitors

For the second step of the podium we fly to Asia, specifically to Beijing: here we find the National Museum of China, or National Museum of China, the second most visited museum in the world. It overlooks the iconic Tiananmen Square, a stone's throw from the Proebita City.

The National Museum of China is considered the temple of Chinese history and culture. Inside, you can discover the history of the country, from the ancient bronze hall to the ancient Chinese jade hall, exhibiting extraordinary artefacts from Ancient China to more modern history. Absolutely unmissable, plus admission is free!
SEE ALSO: What to see at the National Museum of China: opening hours, prices and tips

• Hours: Tue-Sun 9am-5pm, closed Mon

• Ticket price: free

1 - Louvre, Paris: 9,600,000

And for the first step of the podium we return to Europe: the Louvre in Paris is the most visited museum in the world, with almost 10,000,000 visitors. As this is the most visited museum in the French capital, we recommend that you buy a ticket with scheduled admission so as not to have to queue too much. Alternatively, you can buy the ticket with an audio guide or purchase the package that includes a visit to the museum and a cruise on the Seine.

Inside the Louvre are some of the world's best-known works: Leonardo da Vinci's famous Mona Lisa and Virgin of the Rocks, Nike of Samothrace's Venus de Milo and Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, to name but a few. It's definitely one of those museums you have to visit at least once in your life, so take your time!
SEE ALSO: What to see at the Louvre in Paris

• Hours: Wed-Mon 9am-6pm, Tue closed

• Ticket price: single entry €17.00, free for under 18s or under 26s if living in a European country - buy online

Most visited museums North America

Most visited museums Asia-Pacific

Most visited museums EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa)