The 10 Largest Museums in the World: Record-Breaking Spaces and Their Treasures
The Louvre, located in Paris and covering 780,000 square feet, was inaugurated in 1793 with a collection of 537 paintings, and today it boasts over 600,000 works, including the famous Mona Lisa. Established in 1764, Russia's State Hermitage Museum houses more than 3 million artifacts. The Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum complex in the U.S., comprises 21 museums with over 155 million items. The National Museum of China, which opened in 2003, is the largest museum in a single building, containing 1.4 million objects. The British Museum, opened in 1759, has over 8 million items, while the Vatican Museums feature 54 galleries. The Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, set to fully open in November 2025, cost $1 billion and will showcase the complete Tutankhamun treasure. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, founded in 1870, spans 2.2 million square feet.
Key facts
- The Louvre in Paris is the largest museum by gallery space, covering 780,000 square feet.
- The Smithsonian Institution consists of 21 museums and holds more than 155 million items.
- The State Hermitage Museum in Russia has a collection of over 3 million objects.
- The National Museum of China is the largest single-building museum in the world.
- The Grand Egyptian Museum opened its full display in November 2025 and shows Tutankhamun's complete treasure.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the largest museum in the Americas, covering 2.2 million square feet.
- The Vatican Museums have a visitor route of about seven kilometers and include the Sistine Chapel.
- The British Museum, opened in 1759, is the world's first national public museum and holds over 8 million objects.
Entities
Artists
- I.M. Pei
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Théodore Géricault
- Eugène Delacroix
- Catherine the Great
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Titian
- Francisco Goya
- Pablo Picasso
- Vincent van Gogh
- Ramesses II
- Khufu
- Tutankhamun
- Antonio Canova
- John Singer Sargent
- Anna Wintour
- Michelangelo
- Raphael
- Moctezuma
- Pakal the Great
Institutions
- Louvre
- Smithsonian Institution
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- National Museum of Natural History
- National Museum of African Art
- National Air and Space Museum
- State Hermitage Museum
- National Museum of China
- Museum of Chinese History
- Museum of the Chinese Revolution
- Grand Egyptian Museum
- Giza Pyramid Complex
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Anna Wintour Costume Institute
- Vatican Museums
- Pio-Clementino Museum
- Gregorian Egyptian and Etruscan Museum
- Sistine Chapel
- Vatican Historical Museum
- Carriage Pavilion
- Tokyo National Museum
- Hōryū-ji temple
- Museo Nacional de Antropología
- Weltmuseum Wien
- British Museum
- Natural History Museum
- British Library
- Roman Catholic Church
Locations
- Paris
- France
- United States
- Russia
- Beijing
- China
- Giza
- Egypt
- New York
- Vatican City
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Ueno Park
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Chapultepec Park
- London
- Kazan
- Athens
- Greece
- Nara
- Austria
- Tiananmen Square
- Eurasia
- Orient
- Black Sea Littoral