The 10 most visited art museums in Europe contain some of the most famous paintings ever created and collections from ancient civilisations who helped shape today’s world. This list was complied with the help of a worldwide report from The Art Newspaper for 2019 and Wikipedia, with stats rounded up to the nearest 100,000.
10. The Musée d’Orsay in Paris – 3.7 million visitors
The tenth most visited art museum in Europe in 2019 was the Musée d’Orsay in Paris which is home to works by some of France’s most well known artists like Cezanne and Renoir.
9. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London – 4 million visitors
Just shy of 4 millions visitors, the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington takes ninth place, sometimes shortened as ‘The V&A’, the museum is also next to another popular attraction in London, The Natural History Museum.
8. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence – 4.4 million visitors
The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is located in the historic centre and displays some of Italy’s most celebrated artworks like the Birth of Venus by Botticelli. It’s also worth mentioning that Florence is also home to another Michelangelo masterpiece, the statue of David at The Accademia Gallery.
7. The Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid – 4.4 million visitors
The seventh most visited museum in Europe in 2019 was the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, visited by over 4.4 million people.
6. The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg – 5 million visitors
The State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg contains some of the finest art and architecture in the world. Founded by Catherine the Great, the museum is spread across a series of buildings, added on to the spectacular Winter Palace.
Da Vinci, Van Gogh and Picasso make up a small part of the second-largest art collection in the world, and rooms like The Pavilion Hall makes it one of the most beautiful museums in Europe to visit.
Related: Exploring Catherine The Great’s palaces in Saint Petersburg
5. The National Gallery in London – 6 million visitors
4. Tate Modern in London – 6.1 million visitors
The fifth and forth most visited art museums in Europe are in London – fifth is The National Gallery and forth is Tate Modern.
3. The British Museum in London – 6.2 million visitors
There’s two-million years of Human History to explore inside The British Museum in London and 60 free galleries housing collections from all corners of the globe, including the famous Rosetta Stone from Egypt and marbles from the Acropolis. The British Museum is itself a piece of history as its the first public national museum in the world and contains the largest covered square in Europe.
2. The Vatican Museums in Vatican City – 6.9 million visitors
The Vatican Museums are so vast you’d clock up around 10,000 steps if you walked the whole 7.5km/4.5 miles of it! You’d of course expect to see tonnes of Biblical art by the likes of Raphael, but there’s actually a large variety of other collections in the Vatican from Ancient Egypt, Rome, Asia and the Americas.
The Sistine Chapel cieling by Michelangelo is perhaps the most famous Biblical art display in the world and is situated between the museums and St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s amazing to see with your own eyes the fresco of The Creation of Adam on the ceiling, an image that’s been replicated and reprinted the world over.
1. The Lourve Museum in Paris – 9.6 million visitors
It’s not just the most visited art museum in Europe – The Lourve Museum is the most visited museum in the world and has the largest art collection. Home to perhaps the most well known portrait, the Mona Lisa, and the statue of Venus – there’s practically a priceless collection of art within these walls – though some have speculated the Mona Lisa would be worth an estimated $2.5 billion!
Where next: Two day excursion in St Petersburg
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