Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these museums received millions of visitors every year. For this reason, they are the most visited museums in the world. Home to several masterpieces, these museums also a collection of artefacts and other historic objects. They include:
1.The Vatican museum, Vatican city
The Christian art museums, founded by Pope Julius displays works from immense collections amassed by the Popes throughout the centuries. There are about 70,000 works which include renowned classical sculptures and masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. In 2017,the museums were visited by approximately 6 million people.
2.Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
Also called ‘The Met’, it is one of the finest museums in the world. It was founded in 1870 with the purpose of bringing art education to Americans. It has a collection of about 2 million works of art with American, African, Oceanian, Byzantine and Islamic art. It is collection of classical antiquity, paintings, sculptures, musical instruments, costumes and accessories, antique weapons and armours from mostly European masters.
3.National Air and Space Museum, Washington
This museum was established in 1946. It is center for research into history and science of aviation and spaceflight, planetary science and terrrestial geology and geophysics. Covering an area of 71,000 square metres, the museum contains Apollo 11 command module. In 2017, the museum also received up to seven million visitors.
4.National Museum of China, Beijing
This is a state of the art museum with over eight million visitors in 2017. It is one of the largest in the world and was established in 2003. It covers 6.5 hectares of lands, displaying works over a total floor space of nearly 200,000 square metres. The museum is known for ‘Simuwu Ding’, the heaviest piece of ancient bronze ware in the world and a golden Qin Dynasty bronze tally shaped like a tiger.
5. The Louvre Museum, Paris, France
The Louvre is the world’s largest museum. This historic monument has about 38,000 prehistorical objects exhibited over an areaof 72,735 square metres. Itt is situated in Loure palace and was built as a fortress in the late 12th to the 13th century under Philip II. The remnants of the fortress are visible in the basement of the museum. It served as the location for Jay Z and Beyonce’s album.