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, or the ranking of the most visited monuments to round out the itinerary. SAPIRO lets you review 553 works with their location, perfect before a cultural trip.
