- The Palace Museum in Beijing was the most visited museum in 2025.
- It recorded 19m visitors.
- Five of the top 20 museums are in Europe.
- The Louvre ranked fourth with 9.046m visitors.
- China had 12 entries in the top 20.
The Themed Entertainment Association has published its annual index of museum visitor numbers for 2025. The Palace Museum in Beijing ranked first with 19m visitors. The Summer Palace in Beijing ranked second with 17.381m visitors.
China had 12 entries in the top 20. The Louvre in Paris ranked fourth with 9.046m visitors and the Palace of Versailles ranked fifth with 8.4m. The Natural History Museum in London ranked seventh with 7.117m visitors and the Vatican Museums ranked eighth with 6.934m.
The British Museum ranked 13th with 6.44m visitors. The report noted that attendance in continental Europe remained at high and relatively stable levels as museums completed post-pandemic recovery. New exhibitions and wings supported growth at several museums in England.
World top twenty
- 1. Palace Museum, Beijing, China – 19,000,000
- 2. Summer Palace, Beijing, China – 17,381,000
- 3. Museum of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, Xi’an, China – 10,970,000
- 4. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France – 9,046,000
- 5. Palace of Versailles, France – 8,400,000
- 6. Shenzhen Nanshan District Museum, Shenzhen, China – 7,455,000
- 7. Natural History Museum, London, UK – 7,117,000
- 8. Vatican Museums, Vatican City – 6,934,000
- 9. Opium War Museum, Dongguan, China – 6,929,000
- 10. National Museum of China, Beijing, China – 6,900,000
- 11. Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea – 6,887,000
- 12. National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea – 6,507,000
- 13. British Museum, London, UK – 6,440,000
- 14. Prince Kung’s Mansion Museum, Beijing, China – 6,120,000
- 15. Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan, China – 6,080,000
- 16. Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum, Chengdu, China – 6,030,000
- 17. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, US – 5,984,000
- 18. Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, China – 5,860,000
- 19. Shenyang Palace Museum, Shenyang, China – 5,852,000
- 20. China Science and Technology Museum, Beijing, China – 5,530,000
Europe top twenty
- 1. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
- 2. Palace of Versailles, France
- 3. Natural History Museum, London, England
- 4. Vatican Museums, Vatican City
- 5. British Museum, London, England
- 6. State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 7. Peterhof State Museum-Reserve, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 8. Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 9. Tate Modern, London, UK
- 10. National Gallery, London, UK
- 11. Pompeii Archaeological Park, Pompeii, Italy
- 12. Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria
- 13. State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- 14. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
- 15. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
- 16. Wawel Royal Castle, Kraków, Poland
- 17. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
- 18. Humboldt Forum, Berlin, Germany
- 19. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
- 20. Gallerie degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy
