The World’s Busiest Museum Draws More Than Twice the Louvre’s Crowds

The Louvre may be the museum most people picture first, but it is not the busiest. In the latest Themed Entertainment Association index, covering 2025 visitor numbers, Beijing’s Palace Museum takes the top spot with 19 million visitors, more than double the Louvre’s total.

China dominates the list, claiming 12 of the top 20 places. The TEA attributes that partly to free entry: 91 percent of the country’s 7,188 registered museums do not charge admission, which helps keep attendance high.

Europe holds five slots. The Louvre in Paris is the top European museum and fourth overall with 9,046,000 visitors, followed by Versailles at 8.4 million in fifth place. The Natural History Museum in London ranks seventh with 7,117,000, the Vatican Museums eighth with 6,934,000, and the British Museum 13th with 6,440,000.

The report describes attendance across continental Europe as remaining at high and relatively stable levels. For travelers, the numbers are a reminder that the best-known museums are also the most crowded, so timed tickets and off-peak visits remain the practical way to avoid the biggest queues.

Sources: Euronews