Tags
British Museum, La Gioconda, Louvre, Magic Kingdom, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Michelangelo, Mona Lisa, National Callery of Art (Washignton DC), National Gallery (London), National History Museum of Washington DC, National Museum of American History (Washington DC), National Museum of China, National Museum of Natural History (Washington DC), National Palace Museum Taipei (Taiwan), Natural History Museum of London, Pompidou Centre, Tate Modern (London), Themed Entertainment Association, Vatican Museums, Walt Disney World
The most popular museums in the world…
Museums bring to mind hushed, reverential rooms—though not to anyone who has competed to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. Room six at the Louvre can feel more like a Justin Bieber concert, as crowds, mobile phones aloft, jostle to take snaps.
The Louvre is the world’s most-visited museum; last year more than 9m* people paid €12 ($16) to squeeze a peek at La Gioconda‘s stifled smile. Most of the top museums are free (as is the Met in New York; the $25 it asks for is only a suggested donation). At the Louvre*, visits fell slightly from a year earlier. Attendance is growing at the National Museum of China—at the current rate, according to some, it might surpass the Louvre next year as the world’s most-visited museum.
The Themed Entertainment Association*, which compiled the museum data, also tracks theme parks. The most popular attraction was the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, which received 18.6m visitors*, double the Louvre’s figures. In all, 133m tourists* visited a Disney theme park in 2014*, suggesting that people prefer Mickey to Michelangelo.
1. Louvre (Paris)
2. Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC)
3. National Museum of China (Beijing)
4. National Air and Space Museum (Washington DC)
5. British Museum
6. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
7. National Gallery (London)
8. Vatican Museums
9. Natural History Museum of London
10. American Museum of Natural History (New York)
11. National Museum of American History (Washington DC)
12. Tate Modern (London)
13. National Palace Museum Taipei (Taiwan)
14. National Callery of Art (Washington DC)
15. Pompidou Centre (Paris)
(*) Unofficial data waiting for the latest official stats. The ranking of the most visited museums in the world besides official numbers of visitors in 2014, has not changed or moved in the last 5 years.
Visitors Data: Themed Entertaiment Association + The Economist + CNN News
Main Image and for social networks: Hipster Walt de Cartoonbrew.com
EVE Museology 
For #2, I believe you mean the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC). Or do you mean the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (Washington, DC)? There is no National History Museum of Washington DC
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Yes Meg, you are right. Thank you for the correction. Regards.
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