Best Museums: Top 10 Worldwide for 2025
These legendary museums display some of the world’s most significant art and artifacts, attracting millions of visitors annually who seek to experience the depth of human creativity and history. With collections that span from ancient civilizations to modern masterpieces, each institution stands as a monument to the evolution of culture and offers a direct connection to the past and an enduring source of inspiration. From the navigation menu, feel free to browse over 3,500 museums worldwide and decide if you want to put one or more into your itinerary.
Fun Art Quiz
Guess which image is from what famous museum. Simply hover over each image for a clue!
The British Museum
houses a large collection of world art and artifacts.
The Guggenheim in Bilbao
Designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry in the Basque Country.
The Uffizi Gallery
A highly visited museum in Italy.
The Hermitage
Among the oldest and largest museums worldwide in St. Petersburg, Russia
(See Travel advisories).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A large museum with greater than two million works of art and culture dating back 5000 years in New York.
The Museum of Modern Art. MOMA
Among the first museums to display art works from the modern era in New York City.
Musée d'Orsay
A museum near the Seine with a large amount of sculptures and impressionist paintings in Paris, France.
The National Gallery
A free museum featuring some of the greatest collections of paintings on earth.
located in Trafalgar Square.
The Prado Museum
A large 12th to 19th century collection of artwork including Velazquez, Goya and El Greco in Madrid, Spain.
The Smithsonian
A group of 19 museums and galleries with a variety of exhibits that everyone can enjoy in Washington DC.
The Louvre
One of the largest and most well-known museums. Formerly a royal palace it features paintings, sculptures and artifacts within Paris, France
The Vatican museum
Located in what millions of people regard as the holy place in Rome, Italy.
What You'll Find in the Top 10 Museums
Listed below are the top 10 museums worldwide (in no particular order)
» British Museum, London
- Kept in one of England's architectural points of interest, its permanent collection adds up to around 8 million works of art, is among the finest and largest throughout the world. Art enthusiasts as well as newcomers will discover art and antiquities from ancient and present day civilizations spanning two million years. Popular attractions include the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian mummies, and Parthenon sculptures. Admission is free of charge.
» The Tate Museum, London
This is Britain's national museum and exhibits international modern and contemporary art where you can view artworks from Matisse, Picasso, Dalí, Pollock, and countless others. The Tate located on the baks of the Thames River consists of the Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online. With approximately 4.7 million visitors yearly, the Tate is the most-visited modern art gallery across the globe (source: Wikipedia)
» The Vatican Museums, Rome
- Features some of the world's finest art collections. One will uncover a massive archive of cherished gems from historic periods and the Renaissance, completely preserved in a labyrinthine series of extravagantly decorated palaces, apartments, and galleries. One is simply engulfed in art and beauty as you walk into the Sistine Chapel, the exhibition rooms of the Vatican Apostolic Library and the actual museums.
» Museu Nacional del Prado, Madrid - Regarded as a significant landmark from Madrid's abundant art history, it holds a collection of paintings that showcases artwork by the biggest names in European art from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Additionally, you will find collections of drawings, prints and sculptures and lots of examples of decorative arts and historical documents
» The Ufizzi, Florence, Italy - Considered a must see when visitng Florence, Uffizi displays works from all the major Renaissance artists including Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Veronse, Giorgione, and some wonderful Caravaggios. It is packed with countless works of stunning art from the renaissance period and statues. All paintings are generally shown in chronological order. More than a few people who went per TripAdvisor recommend to get your tickets online prior to going or you'll end up waiting in line for three hours or more.
» The Louvre, Paris (Musee du Louvre) 99 rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris, France -
The Louvre Museum, past residence of the kings of France, is one of the largest museums in the world with 35,000 pieces of art. Its collections are distributed across 8 sections: Egyptian Antiquities, Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities, Islamic Art, Near Eastern Antiquities, Paintings, Sculptures, Decorative Arts, and Prints and Drawings dating back to the Middle Ages up to 1848. It is mostly famous for housing the Mona Lisa, The Raft of Medusa, Venus de Milo, the Victory of Samothrace,+ along with Da Vinci pieces. Many who visit will attest that one day is not enough to see everything.
Admission: 12 €. Free for EU students
» The Guggenheim, Bilbao, Spain stores various works of art from the 20th century. It is regarded as one the most interesting structures of its period, a stunning building designed by Canadian architect Frank Gehry, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has enjoyed more than ten years of incredible success and uniqueness with no straight walls, all curvy. Its headline feature are the works of Richard Serra .
» The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia - One of the largest museums in Europe features a collection of well over three million works of art and artifacts from world culture. Among them are the countless art masterpieces from Picasso and Monet to da Vinci and other paintings, graphic art, sculptures and works of applied art, archaeological discoveries, plus currency and coin collections. The main architectural ensemble of the Hermitage, located in the heart of St Petersburg, features the Winter Palace and the past residence of Russian emperors.
IN THE U.S.A.
» Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City - The Met's mission is to conserve, educate, exhibit, and inspire appreciation of the more than two millions works of art it features comprising five thousand years. Another equally important goal is to strengthen the understanding of pieces of art that collectively account for the largest array of achievements by mankind at an unsurpassed level of quality all dedicated to the public.
» The Smithsonian, Washington, DC - A great place to visit when touring the the the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, the Smithsonian is crowned the world's largest museum complex and research organization consisting of 19 museums, 9 research centers and the National Zoo. Favorites include the Natural History Museum, Museum of American History and souvenirs from the 18th and 19th century.
» MoMa(Museum of Modern Art), New York City - Moma's objective is to collect the established and the experimental, the past and the present of all people. It's collection includes drawings, painting and sculpture, abstract art, architectural works and design, photography, prints, illustrated books, film, and media. You'll find famous pieces from Picasso, Monet, Matisse, Warhol and numerous others.
Admission $14. FREE for SUNY/CUNY students with ID.
- "British Museum" by Hurk licensed by Pixabay under CC BY 4.0
- "The Tate Museum" by Txllxt TxllxT, licensed under CC BY 4.0
- "Vatican Museum" by Scapin licensed under CC and Pixabay