These are the world’s 20 most-visited museums – and five are in Europe

Published on 30 October 2026 - 7:00 GMT+1 From state museums covering a country’s history to archaeological sites that give a glimpse into the past, museums are a great introduction to a new destination. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT In some cases, it’s the entire reason for the trip, and the most popular museums can rack up millions of visitors annually. Now, the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) has published its annual index looking back at visitor numbers for 2025, and five of the top 20 most-visited museums are in Europe. China dominated the list overall with 12 entries, including the number one spot: Beijing’s Palace Museum, which saw 19 million people walk through its doors last year. TEA attributed this to its large domestic audience as well as the fact that 91% of the country’s 7,188 registered museums offer free entry. Of the remaining eight, there are two apiece in France, the UK, and South Korea, as well as one each in the US and Vatican City. The top 20 most-visited museums worldwide Palace Museum, Beijing, China – 19,000,000 Summer Palace, Beijing, China – 17,381,000 Museum of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, Xi’an, China – 10,970,000 Musée du Louvre, Paris, France – 9,046,000 Palace of Versailles, France – 8,400,000 Shenzhen Nanshan District Museum, Shenzhen, China – 7,455,000 Natural History Museum, London, UK – 7,117,000 Vatican Museums, Vatican City – 6,934,000 Opium War Museum, Dongguan, China – 6,929,000 National Museum of China, Beijing, China – 6,900,000 Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea – 6,887,000 National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea – 6,507,000 British Museum, London, UK – 6,440,000 Prince Kung’s Mansion Museum, Beijing, China – 6,120,000 Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan, China – 6,080,000 Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum, Chengdu, China – 6,030,000 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, US – 5,984,000 Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, China – 5,860,000 Shenyang Palace Museum, Shenyang, China – 5,852,000 China Science and Technology Museum, Beijing, China – 5,530,000 The most-visited museums in Europe in 2025 Unsurprisingly, given France is the most-visited country on the planet, the top museum in Europe is the Louvre in Paris, which saw nine million visitors over the course of 2025, placing it fourth overall. Coming in fifth overall was another contender from France, the Palace of Versailles, with 8.4 million visitors. Seventh place went to London’s Natural History Museum, with 7.1 million visitors, followed by the Vatican Museums, with 6.9 million people visiting. The final European entrant is the British Museum in London, which came 13th overall thanks to its 6.44 million visitors. Writing about museums in continental Europe, the report notes that “attendance remained at high and relatively stable levels as most major museums completed their post-pandemic recovery”. Several museums in the UK saw major growth with the opening of new exhibitions or wings, like the Sainsbury Wing at the National Gallery, and Our Story with David Attenborough at the Natural History Museum. The top 20 most-visited museums in Europe Musée du Louvre, Paris, France Palace of Versailles, France Natural History Museum, London, UK Vatican Museums, Vatican City British Museum, London, UK State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia Peterhof State Museum-Reserve, Saint Petersburg, Russia Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Türkiye Tate Modern, London, UK National Gallery, London, UK Pompeii Archaeological Park, Pompeii, Italy Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków, Poland Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK Humboldt Forum, Berlin, Germany State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy