These Were the Most Popular Art Museums in the World in 2015

The Art Newspaper recently revealed the most popular art exhibitions and museums from the past year, based on attendance records supplied by institutions around the world. According to the stats, the Louvre in Paris was the most popular art museum of 2015, with about 8.6 million visitors passing through its doors. 

Much of the top ten list is filled with the usual suspects in major cities, including New York, London, and Washington D.C. In the shadow of the Louvre's pyramid is London's British Museum at number two, with a reported 6.8 million visitors. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is third with around 6.5 million (the only New York museum on the list), the Vatican Museums are fourth with about 6 million, and London's National Gallery closes out the top five with 5.9 million. The Art Newspaper reports that the terrorist attacks on Paris did deter some people from visiting museums last year, but not enough to take away the Louvre's number one spot.

Here is the 2015 top ten list, beginning with the most popular:

1. The Louvre, Paris
2. British Museum, London
3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
4. Vatican Museums, Vatican City
5. National Gallery, London
6. National Palace Museum, Taipei
7. Tate Modern, London
8. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
9. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
10. Museé d'Orsay, Paris