10 most famous museums in the world. Top ten most famous museums in the world

Hello dear guys! And to you, dear adults, also a big and warm hello!

Probably each of you at least once was in the museum. Every day around the world, thousands of tourists line up in long lines to see works of science and art, visit various exhibitions and then exchange their impressions of what they saw.

Many of the cultural attractions are known for their fame around the planet. Do you know those - those where any traveler would like to go?

I propose to recall the most famous museums in the world, scattered across different countries, so that when you are going on a long journey, you can plan a visit to them in your excursion program. Well, right now, so that you can talk about them in an interesting and exciting way in class.

So, the top ten of the most famous of the well-known, according to the ShkolaLa blog.

Lesson plan:

Paris Louvre

Once a medieval fortress, and then the residence of the French kings, it opened to visitors in 1793. 160106 square meters of the total area occupied, more than 400 thousand exhibits presented - all this is about the great and bewitching Louvre!

Its centrally located glass pyramid attracts about 9.5 million visitors every year and becomes a photographic attraction as one of the symbols of Paris. This is the place where one of the world's artistic mysteries is located - da Vinci's painting "Mona Lisa".

Today, the Louvre has seven huge departments, in which it is possible, as they say, to examine in detail the exhibition items in just a week, no less. Here are present:

  • Department applied arts;
  • halls of painting, graphics and sculpture;
  • art ancient egypt and the Ancient East;
  • Islamic and Greek departments;
  • Roman hall;
  • and culture of the Etruscan Empire.

Vatican Museums in Rome

AT exhibition complex 1400 halls and 50,000 objects are located in them. Get ready to walk about 7 kilometers to see all the exhibits.

The heart of the Vatican Museum is considered The Sistine Chapel- a monument of the Renaissance, the walls of which were painted by Michelangelo. You can reach it only by overcoming the entire museum corridor.

The construction of the Italian Museum began in the 4th century - then the first stones of the Church of St. Peter were laid, only in the 9th century did the walls appear, and by the 13th century they lined up in the papal Vatican residence. Every year, about 5 million visitors come here to see with their own eyes the treasures collected by Roman Catholics over several centuries.

British Museum in London

Opened in 1759 exhibition center a rather complicated story, and there are dark spots in the characterization. It is called not only a museum of all civilizations, but also a repository of stolen masterpieces.

This is the place where the cultural objects of Egypt, Greece, Rome, Asia and Africa, as well as medieval Europe are located. Only now, many of the 8 million exhibits appeared in the British Museum in a far from honest way. So, the ancient Egyptian Rosetta stone, however, like some other assets from Egypt, came here after being taken from Napoleon's army.

From Greece, with the strange permission of the Turkish ruler, precious sculptural expositions were taken to London.

By the way, admission to the British Museum is absolutely free.

Japanese National Museum in Tokyo

Dedicated to nature and science, it differs in that, along with the wonders of technology, there are stuffed animals, found remains of dinosaurs and their models.

Here, on the roof of a six-story building, you will find a botanical garden with sun umbrellas that automatically open when approached. There is a "forest hall" where you can wander among the rich flora.

In the global gallery you can follow the evolution of all life on Earth and get acquainted with modern technologies, and in Japanese learn historical facts about the land of the rising sun.

And this museum is also included in the list of famous places, because visitors can become scientists for a moment and personally conduct a series of experiments.

American Metropolitan

This museum is located in New York and is rightfully one of the most famous. Judge for yourself: Paleolithic artifacts are collected here, which are adjacent to modern exhibits from the field of pop art, there are cultural objects from Africa, the East and Europe, paintings from the 12th to the 19th centuries, musical instruments, weapons and clothing of the peoples of five continents.

The museum appeared thanks to a group of entrepreneurs, public figures and artists who donated their collections to it, and they were replenished with two million exhibition items. In general, there is something to see here!

The area of ​​the cultural heritage of America is divided by luxurious passages and stairs that combine buildings from different times with tall columns, fountains and stained glass windows. Moreover, its name has nothing to do with underground transport, but is derived from the word "metropolis", that is, "big city".

Madrid Prado Museum

Spanish Cultural Center painting has collected under one roof more than 7600 paintings, 1000 sculptures, 8000 drawings, 1300 pieces of art. It got its name from the park of the same name in which it is located.

Although there are no elegant interiors and gilded staircases, the museum has a huge number of collections of paintings from different European schools: Spanish, Italian, German, British, most of which were collected by the church and representatives of the royal family.

By the way, there is a copy of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, drawn by a student of Leonardo da Vinci.

Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

The main state museum of Holland is located in an old palace with towers and relief sculptures and is divided into 200 rooms, where many masterpieces of Dutch and world art are located. The red brick building stands on the canal embankment and stretches for an entire block.

The main masterpiece of the Amsterdam Museum is Rembrandt's painting "The Night Watch".

There are also canvases by artists of the Golden Age. And the exhibition halls abound with various antique gizmos from antique furniture to porcelain tableware.

Petersburg Hermitage

Russia, too, can rightfully enter the list and boast of a museum heritage known throughout the world. The Russian cultural giant is famous for the world's largest collection of paintings. Here you can get acquainted with the history from the Stone Age to the present, and the Golden Room is a separate story, because jewels are collected there. Russian empire and not only!

The Hermitage originates from the collection of Empress Catherine II and, having subsequently expanded, today it is a museum complex of six buildings, where more than 3 million exhibits are presented.

Cairo Museum

This cultural site was until recently famous for its complete collection of Egyptian art, which contains thousands of treasures from the tombs of Tutankhamun.

Before the revolution in Egypt, the Cairo Museum had more than 120,000 ancient exhibits, including monumental sculptures Sphinx of the ancient period, tombs and mummies of Egyptian pharaohs, decorations of queens.

One can only hope that the Egyptian nation will be able to preserve its heritage.

Archaeological Museum in Athens

This is the largest cultural center in Greece, which houses exhibits different eras, but the collections of ceramics and sculpture are on the list of the richest in the world.

The diverse collections of the museum include finds as far back as 6800 BC, among which are clay, stone and bone vessels, weapons, jewelry and tools.

Various museum items

Today we have compiled a list of ten famous museums world, located in different countries which are on everyone's lips. But there are museums in the world that few people know about, but which it would be worth knowing about, because they are very unusual. The video below shows some of them.


I hope the information presented in the article will help you in the development of your research projects.

Good luck with your studies!

Evgenia Klimkovich.

When you travel, there are many ways to plan your itinerary. But almost all include visits to museums. Museums are the perfect place for lovers of history and culture. Today, the world's greatest museums offer many interactive and interesting entertainment, which may allow you to unravel the mystery of history in your own unique way. This compilation contains 10 museums that are the most famous and recognizable landmarks in the world. You will be impressed by them alone appearance not to mention what's waiting inside.

1. Paris Louvre

Without a doubt the most famous museum in the world, the Louvre was a medieval fortress and palace of the kings of France before it became a museum two centuries ago. Even the modernization of the area with the addition glass pyramid in its center, nothing takes away from the historical charm of the Louvre Palace. The museum's collections, which range from the birth of great ancient civilizations to the first half of the 19th century, are among the most outstanding on the planet. You will find here the works of the most famous artists in history such as da Vinci and Rembrandt. The main attraction of the Louvre is Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa.

2. Hermitage, St. Petersburg

This gigantic museum has the largest collection of paintings in the world. It is a stunning place that illuminates the history of the world from the Stone Age to the present, and especially impressive is the Golden Room with its amazing precious stones. The Hermitage Museum is the most visited in Russia. It is scenically located along the waterfront area in the Center of St. Petersburg. This is a whole museum complex, which includes six different buildings of unique architectural design. Without a doubt, Emitage is one of the greatest museums in the world, an outstanding landmark of St. Petersburg.


3. British Museum in London

Here are collected millions of works of art from all over the world. The galleries of the British Museum are devoted to Egypt, Greece, Roman civilization, Asia, Africa and medieval Europe, tracing human history and culture. It houses the Parthenon marble that once adorned the Parthenon in Athens. The museum attracts six million visitors every year. If you can't get to the Egyptian Museum, then you can view the largest and most comprehensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts outside of Cairo right here. Also impressive is the new reading room of the British Museum, which you can see in the photo below:


4. Egyptian Museum in Cairo

In the Egyptian Museum of Cairo you will find the most complete collection of Egyptian art in the world. Among the thousands of treasures are also famous exhibits from the tomb of Tutankhamun. In 1835, the Egyptian government established the "Egypt Antique Treasure Service" in an attempt to stop the looting. archaeological sites and arrange an exhibition of the collected exhibits. The Egyptian Museum was built in 1900 and now houses more than 120,000 objects from the prehistoric era to the Greco-Roman period, including the ancient sculptures of the Sphinx. If you are exploring the sights of Egypt, then you should not miss the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.


5. Uffizi Gallery in Florence

UNESCO estimates that 60% of the most popular artworks in the world are located in Italy, and more than half of them are located in Florence. The Uffizi Gallery in Florence will amaze you to the core. It is definitely one of the finest collections of paintings and sculptures on the planet, with works dating back to the Renaissance by masters such as da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Caravaggio and many more. One of the main attractions here is the Birth of Venus Botticelli.


6. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York

Created in 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art houses more than two million works of art from around the world, from antiquity to modern times. You will find everything from Islamic and European paintings to collections of weapons and armor. Although there are many other great museums in New York such as the Guggenheim, the Met is one of the most significant. This is truly one of the greatest museums in the world.


7. State Museum in Amsterdam


8. Vatican Museum

The impressive Vatican Museum contains 22 separate collections, ranging from Etruscan and Egyptian art to maps and contemporary religious art. Even if you are not religious, you will still be impressed by the sheer beauty and splendor of Michelangelo's dome and Bernini's spiral columns. The main values ​​here are the renovated Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms.


9. Prado Museum in Madrid

Although its collection is less impressive, the Prado is one of the most respected and visited museums in the world. The most great value Prado Museum - Spanish art, with works by Velasquez, Goya, Murillo, El Greco and many other celebrities. Although the museum specializes in paintings, it also houses a large number of drawings, coins, medals and decorative arts. The museum's neoclassical façade is typical of the city's 18th century architecture. Special attention It is worth paying attention to the Three Graces of Rubens. It is one of the twenty most visited museums in the world.


10. National Museum Archeology in Athens

The Archaeological Museum in Athens completes the selection with the greatest museums in the world. This is the right place to admire the masterpieces of ancient Greece.

In 2013, the Hermitage was visited by 2.9 million people - it ranks 15th in the ranking of the 100 most visited museums in the world, compiled annually by The Art Newspaper. Read more about the most popular museums, including how much they earn, in the "World Record" section.

Photo: Alexander Petrosyan, Kommersant

In the ranking of museums compiled by the TripAdvisor portal based on the reviews of tourists from around the world, State Hermitage became the sole representative of Russia. Nevertheless, it is recognized as the best European museum in 2014 and ranked 3rd in the global list. Today, its collection contains about 3 million works of art, from the Stone Age to the present. To get around all of its 350 halls, you will need to overcome 20 km. In 2013, the Hermitage was visited by 2.9 million people - it ranks 15th in the ranking of the 100 most visited museums in the world, compiled annually by The Art Newspaper. Read more about the most popular museums, including how much they earn, in the "World Record" section.

Louvre, Paris

The most visited museum in the world is the French Louvre. The Art Newspaper estimated that 9.33 million people visited the Louvre in 2013. He holds the first place for all six years, during which the publication's rating is compiled.

The Louvre was opened to the public in 1793 on the basis of a collection collected by French kings from the 16th century (starting with Francis I). Since then, it has been constantly replenished. The museum is located in the city center on Rivoli Street in the Louvre Palace, which in 1989 was supplemented by a large glass pyramid that serves as the main entrance. Approximately 60 thousand square meters. m of exhibition space showcases about 35 thousand exhibits. There are departments of painting, graphics, sculpture, Egyptian art, Greek, Roman and Oriental antiquities, islamic art, arts and crafts. The museum fund reaches 460 thousand objects of art. The Louvre has two branches: in French Lans (opened in 2012) and in Abu Dhabi (scheduled to open in 2015).

The budget of the Louvre is about €400 million. About 50% is covered by the state, the rest of the museum earns itself through tickets, souvenirs; money also comes in the form of donations. There are other sources - for example, in 2006 the museum received $ 2.5 million for permission to film the film "The Da Vinci Code" in its halls.

A ticket for the permanent exhibition costs €12, temporary exhibitions in the Napoleon Hall - €13, a double ticket will cost €16. You can purchase a Paris Museum Pass for up to six days, which gives you access to over 60 of the city's museums (values ​​from €42 to €69).

Among the most successful exhibitions of 2013 is "Raphael: last years"(58.2 thousand visitors, an average of 4.3 thousand per day) and German painting of 1800-1939 (208.7 thousand people, 2.8 thousand per day).

British Museum, London

The main historical and archaeological museum of Great Britain in 2013 attracted 6.7 million visitors. Over the years of his work, attendance has increased more than a thousand times - in the XVIII century it was about 5 thousand people annually.

The museum was created in 1753 on the basis of the collection of the physician and researcher Hans Sloan, which he bequeathed to the nation on the condition that £20,000 be paid to his widow. Sloan's collection consisted of about 71,000 books, manuscripts and paintings. Now the museum fund, which includes cultural objects from all over the planet, reaches 8 million items, the oldest object is about 2 million years old. The museum building in the classicist style was built in the first half of the 19th century and subsequently expanded. The last £100m renovation was completed by British architect Norman Foster in 2000. The total area of ​​the museum is currently approximately 75 thousand square meters. m.

The British Museum is owned by the state and most members of its governing board are appointed by the prime minister. The entrance is free. Maintenance costs are covered by the state budget only partially. In 2013-2014, the museum received £43.9 million from the Ministry of Culture, almost the same amount was collected through donations, and the museum earned another £24.2 million.

The most popular last year was the exhibition "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum", which from March to September 2013 was visited by 471.9 thousand people (2.5 thousand daily).

Metropolitan Museum, New York

The largest art museum in the United States received 6.23 million visitors in 2013. A century earlier, only 800 thousand people a year came here.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded on April 13, 1870 by a group of businessmen and art connoisseurs, since 1880 it has been located in the eastern corner of New York's Central Park. The main building in the neo-Gothic style has significantly increased in size over time: the length of the facade now reaches 400 m (the equivalent of four New York blocks), the total area is 190 thousand square meters. m. In 1938, a branch was also opened in Upper Manhattan - Cloisters, where works of medieval art are collected. The collection is replenished mainly through donations. It all started with a Roman sarcophagus donated by the American vice-consul in Turkish Tarsus, as well as 74 works European painting from private collections. Now the collection of the Metropolitan has more than 2 million items presented in 17 departments - from ancient Greek art to costume and photography.

Total revenue in fiscal 2013 was $248.2 million. 66% came from the endowment fund and donations, and 15% from ticket sales. The City of New York has allocated $6 million to upgrade the museum's infrastructure and also covers utility costs. The Metro does not set a specific entrance fee, only the recommended one - $25 for adults, $17 for seniors, $12 for students. But everyone can pay what they want.

The greatest interest in 2013 was caused by two exhibitions: "Impressionism, fashion and modernity" and "Matisse: in search of true painting", which attracted 440.97 thousand and 468.57 thousand visitors, respectively (more than 5 thousand per day). Another hit was the exhibition "Punk: from chaos to haute couture", which was seen by 442.35 thousand people (4.8 thousand per day).

National Gallery, London

London's National Gallery in 2013 received about 6 million visitors. Record figures for the museum were achieved mainly due to interest in the permanent exhibition.

The gallery was founded in 1824. Then the British Parliament bought a collection of 38 paintings by banker John Julius Angerstein for £57 thousand, deciding to make it public. The current museum building, designed by architect William Wilkins, opened in 1838 in central London on Trafalgar Square. Subsequently, additional wings were added to the building, the last expansion was completed in 1991 - since then the museum has occupied 46.4 thousand square meters. m. As noted on its website, this footage can easily accommodate more than 2 thousand double-decker buses. The collection contains more than 2.3 thousand works by Western European artists of the 13th-19th centuries, including Botticelli, Titian, Raphael, Rubens, Monet and Cezanne. The paintings are exhibited in chronological order.

The museum is an autonomous non-governmental organization, members of the Board of Governors are appointed by the Prime Minister. Total income in the 2012/2013 financial year - £57.5 million, expenses - £31.7 million. A significant part of the funds - £26.3 million - the institution received in the form of a grant from the government. Another important source of income is private donations. The gallery is open to the public 361 days a year and admission to the permanent exhibition is free.

In 2013, the museum did not hold high-profile events. The most popular free exhibition - "Michael Landy: Living Saints" - attracted 209 thousand visitors (1.1 thousand per day). The most popular paid exhibition is "Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure" (61.23 thousand people, about 800 per day).

Vatican Museums

5.5 million people visited museums in 2013, which house an extensive collection of art belonging to the Roman Catholic Church.

This collection began with a collection of sculptures collected by Pope Julius II in the 16th century. The official date of foundation is considered to be 1506, when the sculptural group "Laocoön and his sons" was discovered in Rome - it was installed in the courtyard of one of the Vatican palaces. Successive pontiffs continued to expand the collection and established a number of museums and galleries. The last of these institutions, the Historical Museum, was founded in 1973 by Paul VI. The collection of the Vatican is divided into 25 departments, including the antique collection, museums of Etruscan and Egyptian antiquities, the Pinacoteca with a collection of Renaissance masters and the Sistine Chapel with frescoes by Michelangelo.

You can spend several hours in line at the Vatican Museums during the peak tourist season. The ticket will cost €16, children, students and church ministers pay half the price. Collections from ticket sales and other activities of museums are one of the main sources of income for the budget of the city-state. In particular, it was reported that in 2011 they amounted to €91.3 million. The expenses of the museums themselves were not made public.

Temporary thematic exhibitions are held by the Vatican infrequently. One of the last known is the exposition of Faberge eggs from the collection of Viktor Vekselberg, opened on Easter 2011 in the Pinakothek. At the same time, measures are being taken to make the core collection more accessible. In particular, the replacement of the air conditioning system in the Sistine Chapel will increase the one-time maximum amount visitors from 700 to 2 thousand people.

Tate Modern, London

The Tate Modern gallery has become one of the main attractions of the British capital in a few years. In 2013 it was visited by 4.88 million people. Tate Modern, opened in May 2000, has given away works dating back to 1900. The gallery is housed in a former power plant, remodeled by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The total area is 34.5 thousand square meters. m.

The Tate Modern gallery has become one of the main attractions of the British capital in a few years. In 2013 it was visited by 4.88 million people.

The gallery is part of a museum group founded in 1897 by industrialist Henry Tate and includes three more galleries (the total number of works of art is about 70,000). Tate Modern, opened in May 2000, has given away works dating back to 1900. The gallery is housed in a former power plant, remodeled by architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The total area is 34.5 thousand square meters. The redevelopment cost £134 million. In 2009, a £215 million modernization project was launched, exhibition space will increase by 60%.

A feature of the Tate Modern is a 99-meter brick chimney and a turbine hall (3.3 thousand square meters), used to demonstrate large objects. For example, the famous installation of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei "Sunflower Seeds" was exhibited here - 100 million porcelain seeds made and painted by hand. The exhibitions in the Turbine Hall were sponsored by Unilever in 2000-2012, spending £4.4 million for this purpose.

Entrance to the Tate Modern is free, with the exception of a number of paid exhibitions. The largest source of funding is a grant from the government (£34.9m in the 2012/2013 financial year). Ticket and merchandise sales brought in £28.4m in the reporting period, with around the same amount coming in through donations and gifts.

The recent hit was a video installation by South African William Kantridge, which gathered 781.9 thousand viewers in two months (11.67 thousand per day). It was shown in the underground space of the gallery, where there used to be an oil reservoir.

Imperial Palace Museum, Taipei

The world's largest collection of Chinese art in 2013 was visited by 4.5 million people. The gallery was founded in March 1937 by the US Congress. At the heart of her collection is a collection of 126 paintings and 26 sculptures donated to the nation by ex-Treasury Secretary and billionaire Andrew Mellon.

The world's largest collection of Chinese art in 2013 was visited by 4.5 million people.

The decision to establish the museum was made at the end of the reign of the last imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). The exposition of treasures accumulated by the rulers of China opened to the public on October 10, 1925 on the territory of the Forbidden City in Beijing. In 1948-1949, the Kuomintang, fleeing the army of Mao Zedong, transported the most valuable part of the collection to Taiwan - about 3 thousand boxes with 240 thousand items. By 1965, a building in the national style was built for them in the suburbs of Taipei. Since then, the complex has gone through several renovations. In 2011, a new modernization plan was announced, according to which the exhibition area will increase to 30.7 thousand square meters. m. Construction of a branch worth $263 million has also begun.

Now on an area of ​​9.5 thousand square meters. m, up to 3 thousand objects can be exhibited, and most of them are stored in storerooms. The entire collection has 696.3 thousand items, including 6.5 thousand paintings, 25.5 thousand ceramics and 13.5 thousand jade, 6.2 thousand bronze sculptures, 3.6 thousand calligraphic works, 211.2 thousand rare books and 6.9 thousand coins.

A regular ticket costs NT$250 ($8.3), a group ticket is $7.7, and a student ticket is $5. The museum's expenses, including reconstruction, in 2013 amounted to $55.2 million. The money comes from the state budget, through the sale of reproductions, souvenirs and tickets, as well as in the form of private donations.

In 2013, the Western Zhou Dynasty Treasure Exhibition attracted a record number of visitors - more than 1 million (10.9 thousand per day), the Lingnan Painting Exhibition - 921 thousand (10.7 thousand per day).

National Gallery of Art, Washington

Considered the world's largest marble building, the museum was visited by about 4 million people in 2013. The gallery was founded in March 1937 by the US Congress. At the heart of her collection is a collection of 126 paintings and 26 sculptures donated to the nation by ex-Treasury Secretary and billionaire Andrew Mellon.

Considered the world's largest marble building, the museum was visited by about 4 million people in 2013.

The gallery was founded in March 1937 by the US Congress. At the heart of her collection is a collection of 126 paintings and 26 sculptures donated to the nation by ex-Treasury Secretary and billionaire Andrew Mellon. In particular, it included masterpieces from the Hermitage sold to the West in the 1920s and 1930s. For 21 works of art, including works by Raphael, Titian, Perugino, he paid $ 6.654 million. Mellon also provided funds for the construction of a neoclassical museum (now a western building), which was opened in 1941 by President Franklin Roosevelt. In 1971-1978, with the money of the heirs of Andrew Mellon, a second, eastern building was built in modern style. The buildings are connected by an underground passage. In 1999, a sculpture garden with an area of ​​25 thousand square meters was added. m. In 2013, a project was launched to reconstruct the eastern building, which will add 1.1 thousand sq. m. m of exhibition space. At present, the museum's collection contains 130,000 items, including more than 4,000 paintings from the Renaissance to the present day, 3,000 sculptures, 31,000 drawings and over 12,000 photographs.

Entrance to the gallery is free. Its activities are financed by the state budget and private philanthropists, as well as investment income. In 2013, total funding was $145.9 million, of which more than $100 million came from the government. $12.4 million came in the form of donations, $9.77 million came from the sale of souvenirs.

In 2013, the museum organized 13 temporary exhibitions. The most popular are "Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design" (250.9 thousand visitors, 2.7 thousand per day) and "Diaghilev and the Russian Ballet" (227.66 thousand, 1.6 thousand per day ).

Center Pompidou, Paris

Most unusual museum contemporary art 3.75 million people visited in 2013. The total number of visitors for more than 30 years of work has exceeded 150 million. The center was opened on January 31, 1977 at the initiative of French President Georges Pompidou. The authors of the high-tech building project with communications brought out to decorate the facade are Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini. He was chosen for international competition out of 681 works from representatives of 49 countries.

The most unusual museum of modern art in 2013 was visited by 3.75 million people. The total number of visitors over more than 30 years of operation has exceeded 150 million.

The center was opened on January 31, 1977 at the initiative of French President Georges Pompidou. The authors of the high-tech building project with communications brought out to decorate the facade are Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini. It was selected in an international competition out of 681 entries from 49 countries. In a building with a total area of ​​103.3 thousand square meters. m seven levels. It took 15 thousand tons of steel and 11 thousand square meters to build it. m glass. The cost of the project was estimated at 993 million francs. In 1997, the museum was closed for reconstruction, which lasted 27 months, added 8 thousand square meters. m of exhibition space and cost the budget 576 million francs. Currently, the museum's collection includes more than 60 thousand works created in XX-XXI centuries. In 2010, a branch was opened in Metz (project cost - €86 million), in the first year it was visited by 650 thousand people.

Most of the museum's expenses are covered by the state. In 2013, with a total budget of €119.9 million, €67 million was received in the form of state subsidies. The rest comes from the sale of tickets and souvenirs, and the help of philanthropists. Price entrance ticket- up to €13, you can buy an annual subscription for €50. Tickets for film screenings, concerts, performances and guest exhibitions are paid separately.

The main hit among temporary exhibitions in 2013 is the exhibition of Salvador Dali, which attracted 790 thousand visitors (7.36 thousand per day). At the end of the year, it became the most visited in Europe. Another major event is the exhibition American artist Roy Lichtenstein (546.2 thousand visitors, 5.1 thousand per day).

OLGA SHKURENKO


TripAdvisor, a popular resource for travelers, named the best museums in the world.

In total, there are 591 museums in the TripAdvisor ranking, of which 25 of the best in the world were selected. It is noteworthy that the Hermitage is ahead of such treasures as the National Gallery in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Vasa Museum in Stockholm and the National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.

About what masterpieces can be seen in the collections of these museum collections in our review.

1st place. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

It features one of the largest collections of art in the world, with over two million pieces dating back to ancient culture and Ancient Egypt and ending with the canvases of almost all contemporary masters painting. The entire collection of the museum today is divided into 19 independent sections. The largest in terms of the number of exhibits is the section "Art of Asia", where more than 60 thousand items are exhibited, reflecting the entire history Central Asia. Another "celebrity" of the museum is the "Egyptian section", whose collection is one of the richest in the world: according to experts, it is second only to Egypt itself with its pyramids. For example, one of the halls exhibits a whole ancient Egyptian temple of Dendur.
Perhaps, almost the greatest interest visitors enjoy the section “Arms and Armor”, which has absorbed weapons from all over our planet, from the fifth to the nineteenth century. The volume of the collection is about 14 thousand items, among them there are many things that were used by persons of royal blood, including the armor of King Henry VIII of England, King Henry II of France and Emperor Ferdinand I.

2nd place. Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

These are three floors of unique collections, mostly impressionists and post-impressionists. About 4000 exhibits. So here is the scandalous work of the French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Carpeau - the sculpture of Count Ugolino, created by him under the impression of reading Dante's Divine Comedy. One of the most terrible characters of the work is depicted in an agonizing expectation of the death of his children. Another pearl of Orsay - the canvas "Olympia" - one of early work Edouard Manet, one of the founders of impressionism. Also exhibited in Orsay is his "Breakfast on the Grass".

A separate room is dedicated to the work of Gustave Courbet: one of the most famous works artist - "Funeral in Ornan" and another equally famous canvas, "The Origin of the World", which today is able to shock the viewer.
In Orsay, one can trace the formation of another great artist - Claude Monet. Several works of the great impressionist are exhibited here at once: “Women in the Garden”, “Magpie”, “Rouen Cathedral in the Sun”.

3rd place. Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is also known for its French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, as well as American art. These are dozens of paintings by Claude and Edouard Monet, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre Auguste Renoir. Masterpieces of the collection: paintings by Van Gogh "Bedroom in Arles" and "Self-portrait", "Two Sisters" by Pierre Auguste Renoir, "At the Moulin Rouge" by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, "Paris Street in Rainy Weather" by Gustave Caillebotte.
In addition to painting, the Art Institute of Chicago houses samples of textiles and photographs that characterize the culture early period history of almost all of North America. AT museum halls also exhibited late medieval furniture from Europe and Asia, armor of European knights and coats of arms famous families Old World, porcelain, glass and silver handicrafts brought here from different corners planets.

4th place. Prado Museum in Madrid.

Opened in 1819, the museum has one of the largest collections in the world. European art. Today, its collection consists of more than 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints, 8,000 drawings and a vast array of decorative arts and historical documents. permanent exhibition The museum has about 1300 art objects. To date, Prado has the most complete collection of works by Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Diego Velasquez, Goya. Here you can see paintings by such masters as Raphael, van Eyck, Rubens, Dürer, Titian and other significant artists.

5th place Louvre in Paris.

Another museum with an exclusive collection of European paintings, sculptures and other types visual arts from the Middle Ages to the birth of Impressionism, as well as an unsurpassed collection of antiquities from the Middle East, Egypt, Rome and Greece. The most famous paintings of the Louvre: "Gioconda" by Leonardo da Vinci, "The Beautiful Gardener" by Raphael, "The Little Beggar" by Murillo, "The Lacemaker" by Vermer, "Self-Portrait with Thistles" by Dürer.
Most famous sculptures museum - Venus de Milo, found in 1820 and then acquired by the French ambassador from the Turkish government, and Nike of Samothrace, found in parts in 1863 on the island of Samothrace.

6th place. State Hermitage.

The museum presents the entire retrospective of world art - from the Stone Age to the end of the 20th century. enjoys great popularity picture gallery"old masters": here and the Florentines High Renaissance, Bolognese school, "small Dutch", paintings by Rubens and Tiepolo, french classicism and rococo. There are Italian and Old Dutch "primitives", Spanish and English schools. Among the pearls of the collection of old European paintings are "Madonna Benois" by Leonardo da Vinci, "Judith" by Giorgione, " Female portrait» Correggio, «St. Sebastian" by Titian, "The Lute Player" by Caravaggio, "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Rembrandt, "The Lady in Blue" by Gainsborough. The museum has rich collections of paintings by Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Poussin, Titian, Veronese, Claude Lorrain and others.

7th place. London National Gallery.

Is one of the best collections Western European painting, which contains the canvases of almost all the great artists, as well as all schools of European painting. To date, the gallery holds about 2,500 paintings that date back to the period of the 13th-20th century. Feature of the exposition: all paintings in the gallery are exhibited in chronological order. Here are exhibited such masterpieces as "The Resurrection of Lazarus" by Sebastiano del Piombo, "Venus and Adonis" by Titian, "The Rape of the Sabine Women" by Rubens, Canaletto's landscape "The Stonemason's House", "St. George" by Tintoretto, "Holy Family" by Titian, "Holy Family" by Andrea del Sarto, Rembrandt's Woman Bathing in a Stream.

8th place. Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The unique collection of the museum, accumulated over the centuries, contains many masterpieces of Dutch and world art. Here you can see the magnificent "Night Watch" by Rembrandt, several paintings by Vermeer, Van Dyck and Jan Steen. The museum has a rare collection of Asian art, an extensive collection of prints, drawings and classical photography.

9th place. Vasa Museum in Stockholm.

The ship-museum Gustav Vasa (Vaza) is created around a Swedish ship, which became famous for its stupidity, as the story goes. A very curious incident happened to him: he, being the royal flagship, sank after swimming only 1 mile! Many attempts were made to raise Vasa's ship. In the end, in 1961, it was nevertheless raised, restored for 30 years, and in 1990 a museum was put together around it. Today, the exposition presents items raised from the bottom in different parts of the world's oceans.

10th place. National Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.

Collected here unique collection archaeological and anthropological exhibits of the pre-Columbian era found in Mexico. This is evidence of the culture of the Mayan peoples, the Aztecs, the Olmecs, the Toltecs and other indigenous peoples of the American continent.
The museum includes 23 permanent exhibition halls. The most famous exhibit is an Aztec artifact, the "stone of the Sun", also called the Aztec calendar. The diameter of the stone circle is 3.35 m, the thickness is -1.22 m, it was found in the center of Mexico City on Zocalo Square in 1790.

Close the rating of 25 best museums the National Gallery of Art in Washington (USA, DC), the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, the Terracotta Warriors and Kin Horse Museum in Xi'an (China), the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires and the Museum of New Zealand (Te Papa Tongareva) in Wellington.

As a reminder, the Travelers' Choice awards are awarded to the best tourist sites in the world based on the analysis of millions of reviews and opinions of travelers. To determine the winners, an algorithm is used that takes into account the quality and quantity of reviews about museums around the world collected over the past 12 months.

The Louvre, invariably for many decades the most visited museum in the world, is famous for its wonderful collection of masterpieces. But the vast majority of tourists travel to the Louvre from all over the world, only to personally see the two great works of art of our world. First of all, this is the great work of Leonardo de Vinci "Mona Lisa", and then they go to look at ancient Greek sculpture"Venus Milo", a statue of Alexander of Antioch (presumably), which dates from the 1st century BC and only then follow the rest of the masterpieces of this wonderful museum.

2. American Museum of Natural History, USA

American Museum natural history, which is located inNew York, wasFounded in 1869, the American Museum of Natural History is largest museum natural history in the world. He represents himself25 buildings containing 46 exhibition halls containing more than 32 million samples and objects from various fields of science,including geology, zoology, astronomy, ecology, biology and anthropology.The museum has both classicas well as interactive exhibits,including the famous fossil collection, where you can seemassive dinosaur skeletons.


Founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great, the Hermitage is a huge museum of art and culture. The highlights of the collection include over 3 million works of art and world culture, thispaintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological artifacts and numismatic items. The Hermitage is the most popular tourist attraction in Saint Petersburg andone of the largest and most prestigious museums in the world


The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo contains the most complete and important collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the world, with over 100,000 items and artifacts on display and in the museum's storerooms. From small items such as coins and pieces of papyrus to statues of pharaohs and entire rooms with eleven mummies. Here you cansee some of the most significant finds among the archaeological sites in Egypt.Perhaps the most famous partCairoMuseum of Egyptian Antiquities is its collection of Tutankhamen.


The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest research and museum complex, it includes 19 museums and galleries, as well as the National Zoological Park and various research stations. The Smithsonian contains over 137 million items mostly related to the history of the United States of America.



The Uffizi Gallery is art museum inFlorence, which has one of the best collections Italian painting Renaissance, especially the Florentine school. Even during the tour of the museum you will see a uniqueantiques, sculptures and over 100,000 drawings and prints. The pearls of the museum are the works of Leonardo de Vinci,Titian, Venetian works by Bellini and Michelangelo's portrait of the holy family.


The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the most big museum in the Western Hemisphere. Its collection of more than two million exhibits covers the whole world, from antiquity to the present. It is worth noting the work of European masters, the stunning works of Botticelli, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, Rodin and other geniuses. An excellent Egyptian collection, showcasing the tomb of Pernb (c. 2440 BC) and the exquisite Temple of Dendur (c. 23-10 BC). The American Wing contains one of the finest collections of American art.


The Vatican Museum exhibits works from the huge collection amassed by the popes over the centuries, including some of the most famous classical sculptures and the most important masterpieces of Renaissance art in the world. The museum contains about 70,000 works, of which 20,000 are on display and the rest in storerooms.

Pope Julius II founded the museum in the early 16th century. The Sistine Chapel, with a ceiling by Michelangelo and frescoes by Raphael, is on the visitor's path through the Vatican Museum. It had 6 million visitors in 2013, making it the 6th most visited art museum in the world.


Spanish The Royal Family over the centuries, she has collected a collection of masterpieces with passion and good taste. In addition to the stars of Spanish painting such as Velázquez, Goya, Ribera and Zurbarana, the Prado Museum has large collection Italian (including Titian and Raphael) and Flemish artists. Fernando VII opened the museum to the public in 1819, in the same neoclassical building where it is now, designed by Juan de Villanueva. The main attraction of the Prado Museum: "Three Graces" by Rubens.


The largest museum in the UKhas a magnificent collection in the field of archeology and ethnography, more than eight million objects,ranging from prehistoric bones, parts of the Athenian Parthenon, and Assyrian palace chambers to exquisite gold jewelry.
The main attractions of the museum:Egyptian Gallery, the world's finest collection of Egyptian antiquities outside of Egypt, inincluding the Rosetta Stone of 196 B.C.