The museum is a treasure trove of knowledge on various topics. For centuries, museums have preserved and protected historical, cultural and natural artifacts and specimens for future generations around the world. Some of the most visited European museums are listed below:
10. Science Museum London - 3.2 million visitors
This museum is located in South Kensington on Exhibition Road. Founded in 1857, the Science Museum is a significant London landmark today. The entrance to the museum is free, but if you want to visit any of the exhibitions organized in the museum, you will need to buy tickets. More than 300,000 exhibits are housed in this museum, including some of the earliest inventions during the Industrial Revolution. There are a large number of famous exhibits, for example, the first jet engine, the Puffing Billy steam locomotive, Stephenson's Rocket and others.
9. Center Georges Pompidou in Paris - 3.2 million visitors
The Pompidou Center is a huge and complex building located in Paris. The building includes a public information library and a modern art museum. This museum is the largest of all contemporary art museums on the continent. It is the ninth most visited museum in Europe.
8. Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid - 3.3 million visitors
The Reina Sofia Museum is the eighth most visited museum in Europe. The museum was opened in 1992 and is named after Queen Sofia. It is located close to the Atocha metro station and the train station in Madrid. This museum is dedicated to Spanish art and many paintings by legendary Spanish artists. The museum also hosts art exhibitions throughout the year. The Reina Sofia Museum has a library with thousands of books, videos and audio recordings related to art.
7. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg - 4.1 million visitors
The Hermitage is located in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the second largest and most significant art and cultural museum in the entire world. The Hermitage was founded in 1764 and opened to the public in 1852. It contains more than 3 million exhibits, including the world's largest collection of paintings.
6. Natural History Museum London - 4.6 million visitors
This museum is one of the most popular attractions in London and the sixth most visited museums in Europe. It contains a huge number of natural history exhibits. The museum has five main sections: zoology, botany, paleontology, entomology and mineralogy. It houses about 80 million exhibits. The collection of dinosaur skeletons is of the greatest interest to people.
5. Contemporary Tate Gallery in London - 5.8 million visitors
This museum is the fifth most visited museum in Europe. Exhibits in this museum showcase contemporary art from all parts of the world, as well as modernist and contemporary British art. No admission fee is required for the Tate Gallery's permanent exhibitions. However, temporary exhibitions held in the museum are usually paid.
4. Vatican Museum, Vatican - 6 million visitors
The museums are located in the Vatican City. They are dedicated to culture and Christian faith. Their collections are created by popes and reflect historical, cultural and religious significance. Numerous famous sculptures and paintings from the Renaissance period are also housed in these museums. About 70,000 works are in the Vatican museums, of which 20,000 are exhibits.
3. London National Gallery - 6.3 million visitors
This art museum is located in Trafalgar Square in central London. The museum was founded in 1824 and has since been visited by art and culture lovers from all over the world. The National Gallery has more than 2,300 paintings by outstanding artists of international renown. In this gallery, paintings were exhibited from the mid-13th century to 1900. Admission to the main collection of the museum is free.
2. British Museum in London - 6.4 million visitors
The British Museum is the second most visited museum in Europe. Located in Bloomsbury, London. The museum has about 8 million exhibits that are dedicated to art, culture and history. The British Museum was founded in 1753 and opened in 1759. The museum is famous for its extensive collection of Egyptian antiquity, which is the largest in the world. The museum contains coffins with 140 mummies. An immense wealth of Greek and Roman antiquity is also preserved in the museum, such as sculptures from the Parthenon, ancient bronzes and jewelry, Greek vases, Roman glass and mosaics, and more. In addition, the museum houses other equally important collections from different parts of the world.
1. Louvre, Paris - 7.4 million visitors
The Louvre is the most visited museum in Europe. It is the largest art museum in the world and the main attraction in Paris. The museum is located on the right bank of the Seine. The territory of the museum is 160 106 square meters. In the museum you can see a collection of 38,000 thousand exhibits from both the prehistoric period and the modern era. The museum building is a historic royal palace that was built in the 12th century. Collections at the Louvre include ancient and modern paintings and drawings, sculptures, prints and more. Ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek and Middle Eastern antiquity is also in the museum. Original works of art made by world legendary artists and painters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci are on display at the Louvre Museum.
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Watch a video on the world's greatest museums. Which one would you like to visit first?
