Attendance figures are published yearly by TEA/AECOM. Here is the 2024 ranking of the world’s most visited museums, with their key works and what to know before going.
1. Louvre, Paris — 8.7 million visitors
The largest art museum in the world. 35,000 works on display, 380,000 in storage. Key works: Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Coronation of Napoleon, Liberty Leading the People. Booking required, 30-minute average wait for the Mona Lisa.
2. Vatican, Rome — 6.8 million
Includes the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, the antiquities collection. Booking strongly recommended. Arrive early morning to avoid the crowd.
3. British Museum, London — 6.4 million
Free. Key works: Rosetta Stone, Parthenon marbles (contested), Egyptian mummies. 8 million objects, mostly ancient civilizations.
4. Metropolitan Museum, New York — 5.7 million
Largest US museum. Key works: Temple of Dendur, medieval armor, American art collection. Three buildings including the Cloisters for medieval art.
5. National Gallery, London — 3.2 million
Free. Specialized in European painting from the 13th to 19th century. Key works: Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Velazquez’s Rokeby Venus, The Arnolfini Portrait.
6. Tate Modern, London — 4.7 million
Free. Specialized in modern and contemporary art. Former power station converted. Key works: Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych, monumental sculpture in the Turbine Hall.
7. Reina Sofia, Madrid — 3.3 million
Key works: Picasso’s Guernica, works by Dali and Miro. Mostly dedicated to 20th-century Spanish art.
8. Centre Pompidou, Paris — 3.1 million
Inverted architecture (pipes outside). Specialized in modern and contemporary art. Key works: Kandinsky, Matisse, Picasso. Under renovation until 2030.
9. Prado Museum, Madrid — 3.4 million
Specialized in Spanish painting. Key works: Velazquez’s Las Meninas, Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son.
10. National Museum of Korea, Seoul — 4.2 million
Largest museum in Southeast Asia. Ancient and contemporary Korean collection. Spectacular architecture.
11. Musee d’Orsay, Paris — 3.9 million
Former train station. Specialized in 19th-century art, especially Impressionism. Key works: Renoir’s Bal du moulin de la Galette, Courbet’s Origin of the World, Van Gogh’s Cafe at Night.
12. National Gallery of Art, Washington — 3.2 million
Free. Key works: the only Leonardo da Vinci painting in America (Ginevra de’ Benci), Calder, Pollock.
13. State Hermitage, Saint Petersburg — 2.8 million
One of the largest museums in the world, in the Winter Palace. Three million objects. Collections from Catherine the Great.
14. Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence — 5 million
Specialized in Italian Renaissance. Key works: Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera, Leonardo’s Annunciation, Titian’s Venus of Urbino.
15. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam — 2.7 million
Specialized in Dutch Golden Age. Key works: Rembrandt’s Night Watch, Vermeer’s Milkmaid.
Visiting tips
Three rules that change everything.
Prepare the visit. Pick 10-15 must-see works rather than trying to do the whole museum. A museum is to be savored, not gulped.
Arrive at opening or late afternoon. Tour buses arrive around 10-11am and leave around 3-4pm. Outside that window, the experience is very different.
Favor weekdays. A Tuesday morning at the Louvre does not look like a spring Saturday.
Worth reading: 30 famous paintings to know before the visit. SAPIRO lets you review 553 works with their location, perfect before a cultural trip.