The world's top museums revealed - with five European spots making the list, including two UK favourites

The world's best museums have been revealed – and five European galleries have made the top 20 list for this year.According to the 2025 TEA Global Experience Index, which documents the leading attractions around the world, museums grew in popularity over the last 12 months.Indeed, the top 20 museums globally welcomed 161.4 million visits in 2025, up 5.4 per cent from 153.2 million for the same institutions in 2024. The rankings reflect an expanded definition that includes historic palaces and sites with curated collections.Here's a rundown of the top museums around the world to inspire your next cultural day out... Musée du Louvre, Paris, France The highest-ranked European museum is the Musée du Louvre, Paris, FranceThe Musée du Louvre remained the most visited museum outside China, with nine million visits.It ranked fourth on the TEA list overall, and the highest of any European attraction. The Louvre, one of Paris's most popular tourist attractions, is currently housing an exhibit on photography.This unique exhibition project focuses on the Louvre as a model, subject, source of inspiration, object of reinterpretation, or muse. It will present more than 300 photographs, from the first image taken by Louis-Jacques Daguerre in 1839 to the present day. Palace of Versailles, France Also in France, the Palace of Versailles scores highlyThe index has widened the definition of museums – allowing the Palace of Versailles to join for the first time.Currently, the lavish French palace is hosting an exhibition celebrating Sofia Coppola’s landmark 2006 film Marie Antoinette to mark its 20th anniversary.The exhibition retraces the entire creative process behind the work and highlights the elements that enabled Coppola to bring together her interpretation of 18th-century France.Working documents, the director's early mood boards, costumes and accessories, as well as set elements and reconstructed spaces, will be on display.Natural History Museum, London, UK The highest UK spot on the list is the Natural History Museum in South KensingtonAs winter finally descends on the UK, why not stay warm and check out the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, which ranks seventh on the index.Last year, 7.1million visitors explored its vast range of exhibits – a record-breaking number for any museum or gallery in a year.Guests to the Natural History Museum can wonder at the impressive 25-metre blue whale skeleton named Hope which is suspended in the central hall.Entry is free.Vatican Museums, Vatican City Joining the list is Vatican Museums, Vatican CityUp next are the Vatican Museums, located in Vatican City in Italy.The huge public art collection and gallery complex displays works collected by the Catholic Church and papacy, and has some of the most significant Renaissance works of art in existence.One visitor wrote: 'Honest to God, this is one of the best museums I have ever visited.'The place is absolutely massive, and it will take hours to see everything. We spent almost five hours there without a tour guide, and I still feel like there was so much to take in.'One of the main reasons I wanted to visit was to see Michelangelo's masterpiece, The Creation of Adam, in the Sistine Chapel.'British Museum, London, UK The final European attraction is the British Museum, London, UK The top 20 most visited museums 1. Palace Museum, Beijing, China2. Summer Palace, Beijing, China 3. Museum of Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, Xi’an, China4. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France 5. Palace of Versailles, France 6. Shenzhen Nanshan District Museum, Shenzhen, China7. Natural History Museum, London, UK8. Vatican Museums, Vatican City9. Opium War Museum, Dongguan, China10. National Museum of China, Beijing, China 11. Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, South Korea 12. National Museum of Korea, Seoul, South Korea 13. British Museum, London, UK 14. Prince Kung’s Mansion Museum, Beijing, China 15. Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan, China 16. Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum, Chengdu, China17. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, US18. Nanjing Museum, Nanjing, China 19. Shenyang Palace Museum, Shenyang, China20. China Science and Technology Museum, Beijing, China The British Museum has hit the headlines as of late for its new Bayeux Tapestry exhibition.The exhibition at the London museum has been met with a huge surge of interest from people wanting to see the woven record of the Norman Conquest, which has returned to the UK for the first time in almost 1,000 years.The British Museum said the response to the Tapestry going on display last month has been 'extraordinary', leading it to make changes to address lengthy queues among ticket-holders, including banning visitors from taking photos.