Last Updated on 26th November 2025 by admin
Museums provide a special place to explore and learn about the world around us. A wide range of art, culture, history, technology, science, education are displayed here, and that provides an endless source of inspiration. These special buildings are also home to some of the most precious artifacts from prehistoric times. Museums come in all shapes and sizes, with very different collections where you can see many specimens of art from the historical era to modern times.
Here, at World Famous Things we are listing the top 10 largest museums in the world, with a brief summary of museum information along with location, gallery space, and year of establishment. So, let’s know about the biggest museums from around the world!
10. National Museum of Korea
Gallery Space: 27,090 sq. m (291,600 sq. ft)
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Constructed: 1909
The National Museum of Korea is the biggest museum of South Korea and one of the most important museums of Asia which is in the Yongsan Family Park of Seoul. It was founded in 1909 and has been the central museum of preserving and displaying the rich Korean heritage.
The grandiose of modern architecture used in the museum is in perfect harmony with the traditional Korean and modern design, which provides a calming and uplifting atmosphere to the visitors. The museum contains more than 310,000 artifacts covering thousands of years, both of the prehistoric era and the modern one.
It not only has a large collection of ancient pottery, Buddhist sculptures, calligraphy, paintings, metalwork, and royal treasures that beautifully portray Korean artistic and historical history. Having an enormous gallery area of more than 27,000 square meters, the National Museum of Korea can be regarded as a national pride, which provides the visitor with the most profound understanding of cultural development and artistic success of Korea.
9. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Gallery Space: 28,000 sq. m (300,000 sq. ft)
Location: Houston, Texas, USA
Constructed: 1900
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is an art museum is also called MFAH located in the Museum District of Houston, Texas, United States. MAFIA’s institutional record dates back to 1900, but after several years of planning by the museum’s founding organization, the Houston Art League, the building officially opened on April 12, 1924.
The original building was designed in the early 1920s by Houston architect William Ward Watkin. The museum houses of permanent collection from 6,000 years of history, with approximately 70,000 pieces of art works from around the world.
After the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building in 2020, it became one of the largest art museums in the world, according to Gallery Space in over 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2). MFAH’s encyclopedic collection is particularly strong in pre-Columbian & African gold, Renaissance & Baroque painting, photography, European & American painting, and Latin American & Latino art. Museum also houses the collection of decorative arts, craft, and design from 17th to 20th century.
8. Rijksmuseum
Gallery Space: 30,000 sq. m (323,000 sq. ft)
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Constructed: 1800
The Rijksmuseum is the biggest and most respectable art museum in the Netherlands, and it is situated in the heart of Amsterdam. It was founded in 1800 and in 1885 it moved to its present neo-Gothic building, designed by architect Pierre Cuypers.
The museum boasts of having a great collection of Dutch Golden Age masterpieces and this is a museum that displays the brilliance of Dutch masters like Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Jan Steen. The large galleries of the museum exhibit a collection of more than 8,000 artworks and historical objects and provide a trip back in time, through 800 years of Dutch history and culture.
Among the most popular ones, there are The Night Watch by Rembrandt, The Milkmaid by Vermeer, and numerous other masterpieces of European art. The Rijksmuseum is now one of the most beautiful and visited museums in Europe after a 10-year renovation was done and the museum reopened in 2013 in a spectacular blend of classical architecture and modern design.
7. Victoria and Albert Museum
Gallery Space: 30,000 sq. m (320,000 sq. ft)
Location: London, United Kingdom
Constructed: 1852
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is the largest museum of art, design and performance in the world located at Cromwell Road, Kensington and Chelsea in the capital of England, London. The V&A is the largest museum in the United Kingdom, covering approximately 12.5 acres of land with 145 galleries.
The museum has a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects of decorative arts and designs, including apparel, pottery, glass, textiles, silver, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints, ironwork, jewellery, drawings, photographs and many more.
Its collection includes more than 5000 years of art in Europe, North America, Asia and North African cultures from ancient times to the modern era. The Victoria and Albert Museum is also one of the most famous tourist attractions in England. The architectural collection at the V&A Museum is one of the world’s most comprehensive architectural resources, which making it an important museum in the world.
6. Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
Gallery Space: 38,000 sq. m (409,000 sq. ft)
Location: Giza, Egypt
Constructed: 2023
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is currently one of the most expected cultural sites in the entire world and is only two kilometers away from the Great Pyramids of Giza. It is regarded as the Largest archeological museum in the world, fully devoted to the ancient Egyptian civilization.
The Irish architectural firm Heneghan Peng designed the eye-catching modern building, which is situated on the Giza Plateau and has a large glass facade where one can see the pyramids. The museum also houses more than 100,000 artifacts, including the entire collection of treasures of the tomb of King Tutankhamun, exhibited in one place.
The exhibition will showcase the 5,000 years of Egyptian history which are full of giant statues, royal mummies and jewelry and numerous ancient artifacts. The GEM has a massive gallery space of 38,000 square meters, which will make it one of the biggest and most significant museums in the world, where ancient tradition will be mixed with new technologies to make the great Egypt’s glorious past life of the present.
5. Vatican Museums
Gallery Space: 43,000 sq. m (460,000 sq. ft)
Location: Vatican City
Constructed: 1506
The Vatican Museums is the public museum of Vatican City, it is actually a group of art and Christian museums. It was founded by Pope Julius II in the early 16th century and continually expanded by the Pontiff, the Vatican Museums are home to one of the world’s greatest art collections.
The Vatican Museums are filled with artistic and historical art pieces by some greatest artists from around the world. It houses vast collections collected by the Catholic Church and papacy over the centuries, including some of the world’s most famous Roman sculptures and many of the most important works of Renaissance art.
The Vatican Museums is one of the oldest museums in the world, the Vatican houses about 26 museums and many galleries with the most valuable collections. The museum is one of the biggest museums in the world and welcomes over 6 million visitors each year, the Vatican Museums being one of Rome’s most famous tourist attractions. It ranks fourth in the list of the most visited art museums in the world, with a collection of more than 70,000 paintings and sculptures.
4. Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gallery Space: 58,820 sq. m (633,100 sq. ft)
Location: New York City, USA
Constructed: 1870
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York City is the largest museum in the United States and one of the most visited museums in the world. The Metropolitan founded in 1870 and opened in February 1872 when Robert Lee Jenkins donated his personal collection.
He has since grown his collection to over 2 million items. The museum’s collection ranges from ancient to contemporary, originating around the world. The museum has long preserved high conservation standards of cultural artifacts.
The Met is truly an excellent museum, which houses everything from Egyptian, Greek, Islamic, Indian art and also kept famous European paintings. It houses the works of famous painters such as Rembrandt, Rodes Botticelli, Vermeer and Gass, as well as other publishers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of New York City’s most famous landmarks, as well as one of the 10 most visited museums in the world. The museum has over 6 million annual visitors.
3. National Museum of China
Gallery Space: 65,000 sq. m (700,000 sq. ft)
Location: Beijing, China
Constructed: 2003
The National Museum of China is the largest comprehensive museum in China. It is an art museum located on the east side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the adjacent former Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. The museum is a comprehensive museum with equal emphasis on history and art.
The most important item in the National Museum of China is the “Haumwu Ding” which is from the Shang Dynasty. It is the heaviest piece of ancient bronze ware in the world, with a total weight of 833 kg.The National Museum of China has a collection of more than 1.4 million pieces, including ancient cultural relics, modern cultural relics, ancient books, rare books, works of art and other categories.
The National Museum of China not only collects, preserves and displays China’s outstanding cultural achievements, but also displays the world’s outstanding civilizational achievements. The National Museum of China is not only the largest museum in the country, even in the continent of Asia, and also one of the largest museums in the world. This is a great place to learn about Chinese culture and the history of the various long-hidden dynasties.
2. State Hermitage Museum
Gallery Space: 66,842 sq. m (7719,480 sq. ft)
Location: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Constructed: 1764
The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture situated on the banks of the Neva River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the world’s second largest museum, and a trip to Russia is certainly not complete without a visit to the famous State Hermitage Museum.
Did you know, the Hermitage began its existence as a private art collection of Catherine the Great? It was founded in 1764 when Empress Catherine the Great bought over 200 works of an impressive collection of paintings from Berlin. The museum’s collection is represented by over 3 million works of art from the Stone Age to the present day.
State Hermitage is recognized as the best museum in Russia and Europe and named among the three most important museums in the world. The most interesting fact about the museum is that the Hermitage is the legal home of over 50 cats. They are all museum employees, named Hermitage Cat. Yes, it’s true, the museum has been hiring cats since the time when it wasn’t a museum, people needed to protect the residents from rats and mice. Even today, it is believed that cats still take care of masterpieces of art.
1. The Louvre Museum
Gallery Space: 72,735 sq. m (782,910 sq. ft)
Location: Paris, France
Constructed: 1793
The Louvre Museum is the largest museum in the world located in Paris, the capital of France. The Louvre Museum is so large that it covers a total area of 72,735 square meters (782,910 sq. ft) of gallery space, which makes it very difficult to see in a day. The Museum was inaugurated in the year 1793. About 10 million tourists visit the Louvre every year in Paris, which makes it one of the most famous tourist attractions in France. The Louvre is called the Museum of Museums, and most of the information about Western art is found here.
The Louvre was actually a palace whose construction began in the 12th century. At that time, it was a fort. The rooms were renovated and by the 17th century, the building had taken the shape of a large palace. The special attraction of this museum is one of the most famous paintings of the Mona Lisa which was made by Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century.
Many pictures have been stolen from here before. Even the Monalisa was stolen from the museum by someone. A large pyramid of glass has been built in front of the Louvre, which has now become the hallmark of this museum. Apart from this, many objects of Egyptian, Greek and Islamic culture have been kept in the exhibition.
