More than 200 million people visited the world’s 100 most popular museums in 2025, confirming a steady return to pre-pandemic cultural habits, according to data released by The Art Newspaper.
At the top of the rankings, the Louvre Museum remained firmly in first place for yet another year, welcoming 9.046 million visitors—an increase of 4% compared to 2024. The Vatican Museums held on to second place with 6.933 million visitors, marking a 2% rise and a full recovery beyond pre-COVID levels.
Completing the top three is the National Museum of Korea, which surged dramatically from eighth place. The museum recorded a remarkable 72% increase in attendance—one of the largest absolute gains ever—drawing 6.5 million visitors in 2024 and nearly doubling its 2019 figures.
Greece’s sole representative on the list, the Acropolis Museum, slipped in the rankings despite stable visitor numbers. From 33rd place in 2024 with just over 2 million visitors, it fell to 38th in 2025, recording 1,994,052 visitors—a negligible year-on-year change.
Overall, analysts describe 2025 as a “quiet” year, noting that most major museums—particularly in France, Spain, and Italy—have long since recovered from pandemic-related losses. The Prado Museum broke the 3.5 million visitor barrier for the first time, albeit with only marginal growth, climbing one position to 13th place.
In Northern Europe, the picture proved more nuanced. A major exhibition by Anselm Kiefer, jointly hosted by the Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum, drew an impressive 340,000 visitors, boosting overall attendance to 675,000 and 1.9 million respectively.
However, the Rijksmuseum saw a slight decline, dropping to 30th place with 2.3 million visitors, down from 2.5 million in 2024. In Oslo, the relatively new Munch Museum attracted 775,000 visitors, reporting increased interest from international tourists and younger audiences.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, higher ticket prices at state museums and the introduction of admission fees at previously free spaces within the Humboldt Forum contributed to a 13% drop in attendance—highlighting the sensitivity of visitor numbers to pricing policies even amid broader recovery trends.
