Top 10 Best Museums in the World 2024

Museums are the temples of art and history lovers and house some of the most incredible artifacts found from ancient times. You can relive the old era of art, architecture, painting, culture, revolution, wars and much more. Every country has museums showcasing their rich history and millions of people visit them every year. But there are some in the world museums that attract visitors from all over the globe owing to their rich historical collection. This article provides the list of 10 best museums in the world 2024 along with location and their history.

List of 10 Best Museums in the World 2024

Museums	Country
Louvre Museum, Paris	France
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York	United States
State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg	Russia
The British Museum, London	United Kingdom
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.	United States
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid	Spain
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam	Netherlands
Vatican Museums, Vatican City	Vatican City
Museum of Modern Art, New York	United States
The National Gallery, London	United Kingdom

World’s Top 10 Museums

Let us have a look at some of the best museums in the world that are home to some amazing historical collections, be it art, nature, paintings and so much more.

1. Louvre Museum, Paris

Louvre Museum or The Louvre is the most visited museum of the world, known for its famous work of the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. The museum is a historic landmark in Paris, France and was once known as Musee Napoleon, under Napoleon’s era. Louvre was first opened on 10 August 1793 and displayed an exhibition of 537 paintings. These works were royal and confiscated church property, most of them contributed by Napoleon, but after his abdication, majority work was returned to the original owners. There are more than 380,000 objects in the museum and over 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments.

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2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City is one of the largest art museums in the world. There are more than two million works in its permanent collection, divided among 17 curatorial departments. Art, architecture and artifacts from medieval Europe, collection of American and modern art, paintings, and sculptures from all European masters, works of art from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt are the main attractions of this museum. Other than this, African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, and Islamic art works are also found in the museum. Encyclopedic collections of costumes, musical instruments, accessories and antique weapons and armor from around the world are included in the museum’s historic work.

3. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The State Hermitage Museum of Russia is a home of beautiful art and immaculately portraying its culture. The museum was established in 1764 after an impressive collection of paintings from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky was acquired by Empress Catherine. It is the largest art museum in the world by gallery space and was opened to the public in 1852. Five of the six buildings in the main museum complex are open to the public. State Hermitage is one most visited art museums and was ranked number sixth by the Art Newspaper in 2021.

4. The British Museum, London

The British Museum is one of the largest and most comprehensive museums in existence and has over eight million works in its permanent collection. It is dedicated to human history, art and culture and holds the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present. Established in 1753, the British Museum is national museum in the world to become public. Due to British colonization, the museum expanded vastly and its branches were also opened. Many of the famous works of the museum still remains disputed due to their origin in other countries and are still the subject of international controversy

5. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is another best museum of the world located in United States. The museum is free to the public and is open 364 days a year making it one of the most visited museums in the world and the most visited natural history museum in the world. National Museum of Natural History was opened in 1910 and currently has over 145 million specimens of plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural artifacts. The collection is the largest in the world. Also, the museum is the home to around 185 scientists of natural history, the largest group of scientists dedicated to the study of natural and cultural history in the world.

6. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid

Located in Madrid, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía holds an art collection from 20th-century Spain. Named after Queen Sofía of Spain, the museum was officially opened on September 10, 1990. Dedicated to Spanish arts, the museum includes collections of Spain’s two greatest 20th-century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí and at the same time also presents a blend of national and international temporary exhibitions. It is one of the largest museums in the world for modern and contemporary art and its most valued possession is the Picasso’s 1937 painting Guernica.

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7. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Located in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the Van Gogh Museum, as the name suggests is dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh. The museum is very close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw and is the most-visited museum in the Netherlands. The museum opened its gates to the public on 2 June 1973 and contains the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world. Van Gogh museum is also the one of the most visited art museums in the world, ranking on 23 in a survey done in 2017.

8. Vatican Museums

The public museums of the Vatican City are called collectively as Vatican Museums that were founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century. The museum has a collection of art works from the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries. most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world are all present in this museum. Out of its collection of more than 70000 works, only 20000 are open to public display. The major attraction of these museums is the Sistine Chapel whose ceiling and altar wall was decorated by Michelangelo.

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9. Museum of Modern Art, New York

Considered as one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world, the Museum of Modern Art (or MoMA) offers an overview of modern and contemporary art.  The museum plays a major role in developing modern art, and its works include architecture and design, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, prints, illustrated books and artist’s books, film, and electronic media. The archives of MoMA hold primary source material related to the history of modern and contemporary art. More than 300,000 books and exhibition catalogs, 40,000 files about individual artists and groups and 1,000 periodical titles are housed in its library. In 2021, the museum ranked 15^th on the list of most visited art museums in the world.

10. The National Gallery, London

Located in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London, the National Gallery is one of the best art museums in the world. It has a collection of over 2,300 paintings from the mid-13th century to 1900. The museum was founded in 1824 when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein in 1824. The National Gallery was first opened to the public on 10 May 1824. Paintings of Angerstein by those from Beaumont’s collection were included in the collection in 1826.