World’s 20 most popular museums

The Louvre is back.

After being toppled from its spot as the world’s most visited museum in 2016, the Paris institution has regained its No. 1 position.

The venerable museum – home to masterpieces including “Venus de Milo,” the “Winged Victory of Samothrace” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” – welcomed 8.1 million visitors in 2017, a nearly 10% increase over its 2016 attendance numbers.

20. Centre Pompidou, Paris: The Centre Pompidou's arresting architecture is the work of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers. The museum is No. 20 among the world's most popular museums, according to the Museum Index released by the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM.

19. Victoria & Albert Museum, London: A world leader in art and design, the V&A broke back into the world's top 20 museums in 2017. The museum opened a new courtyard and entrance in 2017 and saw a 25% increase in visitation.

18. National Museum of American History, Washington: The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is home to more than three million artifacts, including puppets from "The Muppet Show."

17. Reina Sofía, Madrid: This Spanish museum is home to more than 20,000 works spanning the time period from the late 19th century to the present.

16. China Science Technology Museum, Beijing: This innovative museum drew just shy of 4 million visitors in 2017.

15. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg: Founded in 1764 to house a collection acquired by Russian Empress Catherine the Great, this imposing museum is home to more than three million works of art and cultural artifacts.

14. Natural History Museum, London: The Natural History Museum has 80 million specimens dating from the formation of the solar system to the present day -- a period of 4.5 billion years.

13. National Palace Museum, Taipei: Taiwan's impressive palace museum is home to a collection of ancient Chinese artifacts.

12. American Museum of Natural History, New York: Founded in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History explores human cultures, the natural world and the universe.

11. National Gallery, London: The National Gallery is home to one of the world's greatest collections of paintings, spanning the major traditions of Western European painting.

10. National Gallery of Art, Washington: The National Gallery of Art's sculpture garden is a popular spot on the National Mall. The museum has more than 130,000 works tracing the development of Western art.

9. Tate Modern, London: Since its opening in 2000, Tate Modern has welcomed more than 40 million visitors. A new iteration of the modern and contemporary museum opened in 2016.

8. British Museum, London: Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. It is home to the Rosetta Stone and many other significant artifacts and works of art.

7. National Museum of Natural History, Washington: This Smithsonian museum houses more than 126 million specimens and cultural artifacts, including 30 million insects and 400,000 photographs.

6. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum: The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum opened in 2001. In 2017, the museum welcomed 6.4 million visitors.

5. Vatican Museums, Vatican City: The Vatican Museums feature art and cultural artifacts gathered by popes over the centuries.

3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Founded in 1870, the Met's collections span more than 5,000 years of art from around the world, including monumental exhibits from Egypt.

3. National Air and Space Museum, Washington: A Smithsonian Institution museum, the National Air and Space Museum's holdings include historic aircraft and spacecraft.

2. National Museum of China, Beijing: The world's most popular museum in 2016, the National Museum of China ranked second in 2017 with 8 million visitors.

1. Louvre, Paris: After dropping to No. 3 in 2016, the Louvre is once again the world's most popular museum. Attendance was up by nearly 10% in 2017 with 8.1 million visitors.

Top 20 museums around the world for 2017

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Those figures were released in the 12th annual Theme Index and Museum Index collaboration between the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and AECOM.

Tourism to Paris recovered in 2017, after bad weather and security fears hit the industry in 2016. That recovery as well as the “Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting” exhibition were likely responsible for the Louvre’s attendance spike.

The National Museum of China in Beijing, which edged out the Louvre to become 2016’s most popular museum, dropped to the No. 2 spot, with 8 million visitors.

Washington’s National Air and Space Museum and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art tied for the third-ranked spot, with 7 million visitors each in 2017.

Global attendance

Overall, global museum attendance was nearly flat in 2017, with a 0.2% increase in attendance over 2016 among the top 20 museums. The top museums collectively welcomed 108 million visitors in 2017.

However, regional museums fared better with 5% growth attributed to strong performance in Asia and some popular new entries.

While the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington did not break into the global top 20 with 2.4 million visitors in its first full year, it did have a significant impact on overall museum attendance in North America.

The museum is largely responsible for a 3% increase in attendance in 2017 at North America’s top museums.

Seven of the top 20 museums on the global list are located in China. With 11% growth year-over-year, museums in Asia recorded the fastest growth in 2017.

For more on the world’s most popular museums, click through the gallery above.

World’s most popular museums in 2017

1. Louvre, Paris, France

2. National Museum of China, Beijing, China

3. National Air and Space Museum, Washington, United States

3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States

5. Vatican Museums, Vatican City

6. Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, Shanghai, China

7. National Museum of Natural History, Washington, United States

8. British Museum, London, United Kingdom

9. Tate Modern, London, United Kingdom

10. National Gallery of Art, Washington, United States

11. National Gallery, London, United Kingdom

12. American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States

13. National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan

14. Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom

15. State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

16. China Science Technology Museum, Beijing, China

17. Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain

18. National Museum of American History, Washington, United States

19. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom

20. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France