The Louvre ranks first among the world’s 20 most popular museums, while the Palace Museum comes in at 13th.

▲ The Palace Museum ranks 13th globally, the highest among all museums in Taiwan. (Photo / from Wikipedia)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Compiled by staff

Indonesia’s news website detik.com reported today (June 11) that the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and AECOM have published the latest rankings of the world’s most visited museums. The Louvre in Paris, France, claimed the top spot, with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., and the National Museum of China in Beijing ranking second and third. The National Palace Museum in Taipei, which houses a wealth of historical relics, came in 13th place — the highest-ranking museum in Taiwan.

▲ The Louvre won first place in the popularity ranking. (Photo / from the internet)

In this ranking, changes in annual visitor numbers were also considered a key metric. Although the Louvre ranked first, its 2013 attendance of 9.334 million was down 4% from 2012. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the U.S., which came in second, attracted 8 million visitors in 2013 — a 5.3% increase from the previous year. Ranked third, the National Museum of China in Beijing saw a remarkable 38.7% growth in 2013, the highest growth rate among the top 20 museums, reaching 7.45 million visitors in a single year. The National Palace Museum in Taiwan, which received the best ranking among Taiwanese museums, welcomed 3.396 million visitors last year, a 15% increase from the previous year.

[World Museum Popularity Rankings]:
1. The Louvre, Paris, France
2. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA
3. National Museum of China, Beijing, China
4. National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., USA
5. British Museum, London, UK
6. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
7. National Gallery, London, UK
8. Vatican Museums, Vatican City
9. Natural History Museum, London, UK
10. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA
11. National Museum of American History, Washington, D.C., USA
12. Tate Modern, London, UK
13. National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
14. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., USA
15. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
16. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Shanghai, China
17. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
18. National Museum, London, UK
19. Science Museum, London, UK
20. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK