These are the world's busiest museums -

Museum allow visitors to travel in time. By curating exhibits of selected artworks and historical artifacts, museums offer a unique opportunity to take us back centuries, and even millennia. For these and many other reasons, these institutions attract millions and millions of visitors each year. 

Browse the gallery and check out a ranking of the world's most visited museums.

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59. Museum of Fine Arts, USA - Located in Boston, the museum received  1.22 million visitors in 2017.

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58. Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brazil - The Brasilia branch received more than 1.22 million visitors in 2017.

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57. Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations, France - Located in Marseilles, the museum devoted to European and Mediterranean civilizations received more than 1.25 million visitors in 2017.

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56. National Portrait Gallery, England - Housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British figures, this London museum 1.27 million visitors in 2017.

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55. National Museum in Krakow, Poland - Home to art pieces spanning from classical archaeology to modern art, the museum received 1.28 million visitors in 2017.

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54. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Russia - The largest museum of European art in Moscow saw more than 1.3 million visitors in 2017.

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53. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Scotland - Located in Glasgow, the museum received more than 1.3 million visitors in 2017.

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52. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, USA - The largest art museum in the western United States received more than 1.3 million visitors in 2017.

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51. SAAM/National Portrait Gallery, USA - Located in Washington D.C., this historic art museum part of the Smithsonian Institution received more than 1.31 million visitors in 2017.

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50. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain - The modern and contemporary art museum designed by the iconic Frank Gehry received more than 1.32 million visitors in 2017.

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49. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada - Montreal's largest museum received more than 1.32 million visitors in 2017.

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48. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia - Located in Sydney, the museum received nearly 1.35 million visitors in 2017.

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47. Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Australia - The museum of film, video games, digital culture, and art received more than 1.35 million visitors in 2017.

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46. Royal Ontario Museum, Canada - The museum of art, world culture, and natural history received nearly 1.39 million visitors in 2017.

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45. Louis Vuitton Foundation, France - Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the art museum and cultural center located in Paris received more than 1.4 million visitors in 2017.

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44. Grand Palais, France - Constructed in the late 1800s as part of the preparation works for the Universal Exposition of 1900, the museum received more than 1.41 million visitors in 2017.

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43. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Austria - Housing notable works by the likes of Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Titian, Jan van Eyck, among others, the museum located in Vienna received more than 1.42 million visitors in 2017.

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42. Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, Australia - Located in Brisbane, the art museum received more than 1.42 million visitors in 2017.

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41. Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Austria - Housed in the Belvedere palace in Vienna, the museum received more than 1.42 million visitors in 2017.

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40. National Museum of Western Art, Japan - Located in Tokyo, this museum dedicated to western art received more than 1.43 million visitors in 2017.

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39. Getty Center, USA - Located in Los Angeles, California, this campus of the Getty Museum received more than 1.45 million visitors in 2017.

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38. National Gallery Singapore, Singapore - Housing the world’s largest public collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian art, this museum received more than 1.54 million visitors in 2017.

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37. Acropolis Museum, Greece - This archaeological museum located in Athens received more than 1.59 million visitors in 2017.

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36. Scottish National Gallery, Scotland - Home to Scotland's national collection of fine art, the museum located in Edinburgh received more than 1.6 million visitors in 2017.

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35. Art Institute of Chicago, USA - Among the oldest and largest art museums in the United States, the Art Institute received more than 1.6 million visitors in 2017.

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34. Galleria dell'Accademia, Italy - Best known for being home to Michelangelo's 'David,' the museum located in Florence received more than 1.62 million visitors in 2017.

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33. Tate Britain, England - The oldest gallery in the Tate network received more than 1.77 million visitors in 2017.

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32. Saatchi Gallery, England - This London gallery for contemporary art received more than 1.8 million visitors in 2017.

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31. National Folk Museum of Korea, South Korea - This national museum in Seoul received more than 1.81 million visitors in 2017.

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30. Tretyakov Gallery, Russia - This art gallery in Moscow that houses artworks ranging from 'Theotokos of Vladimir' to Kazimir Malevich's 'Black Square' received more than 2 million visitors in 2017.

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29. Shanghai Museum, China - This museum of ancient Chinese art received nearly 2.1 million visitors in 2017.

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28. Rijksmuseum, Netherlands - Housing masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer, this museum in Amsterdam received more than 2.1 million visitors in 2017.

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27. National Museum of Scotland - Located in Edinburgh, this museum of Scottish antiquities, culture, and history received more than 2.16 million visitors in 2017.

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26. Tokyo National Museum, Japan - Located in Tokyo, Japan's oldest national museum received more than 2.17 million visitors in 2017.

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25. Galleria degli Uffizi, Italy - Housing a long list of major artworks by famous artists ranging from Sandro Botticelli and Caravaggio to Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, this museum located in Florence received more than 2.23 million visitors in 2017.

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24. Van Gogh Museum, Netherlands - Located in Amsterdam, the museum dedicated to the famous Dutch painter and his contemporaries received more than 2.25 million visitors in 2017.

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23. Smithsonian American Art Museum, USA - Located in Washington, D.C., this museum received more than 2.36 million visitors in 2017.

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22. Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Japan - This popular museum received more than 2.7 million visitors in 2017.

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21. Moscow Kremlin Museums, Russia - Dating back to the early 1800s, this major state-run museum in Moscow received more than 2.74 million visitors in 2017.

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20. Museum of Modern Art, USA - Housing masterpieces like Pablo Picasso's 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' and Vincent van Gogh's 'Starry Night,' New York's MoMA received more than 2.75 million visitors in 2017.

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19. National Gallery of Victoria, Australia - Located in Melbourne, Australia's oldest museum received more than 2.81 million visitors in 2017.

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18. Museo del Prado, Spain - Home to memorable works by Francisco Goya and Diego Velázquez, the museum located in Madrid received more than 2.82 million visitors in 2017.

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17. The National Art Center, Japan - Housed in a building designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa, the museum received more than 2.98 million visitors in 2017.

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16. Musée d'Orsay, France - Housing the world's largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces, including works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh, this Parisian museum received more than 3.1 million visitors in 2017.

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15. Somerset House, England - The historic home located in London received more than 3.2 million visitors in 2017.

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14. Centre Georges Pompidou, France - Housed in a building designed by Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, along with Gianfranco Franchini, the museum received more than 3.37 million visitors in 2017.

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13. National Museum of Korea, South Korea - Located in Seoul, the flagship museum of Korean history received more than 3.47 million visitors in 2017.

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12. Victoria and Albert Museum, England - Located in London, the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design received nearly 3.8 million visitors in 2017.

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11. Museo Reina Sofía, Spain - Home to Pablo Picasso's iconic 'Guernica,' the museum of 20th-century art located in Madrid received more than 3.88 million visitors in 2017.

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10. State Hermitage Museum, Russia - Located in Saint Petersburg and housing artworks by major artists ranging from Canova to Rubens, the second-largest art museum in the world received more than 4.2 million visitors in 2017.

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9. National Palace Museum, Taiwan - Home to almost 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks, this Taipei museum received more than 4.4 million visitors in 2017.

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8. National Gallery, England - Home to major artworks like Velázquez 's 'Rokeby Venus' and Titian's 'Diana and Actaeon,' the museum received more than 5.2 million visitors in 2017.

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7. National Gallery of Art, USA - Located in Washington, D.C., and home to works by Raphael, El Greco, Delacroix, among others, the National Gallery of Art received more than 5.23 million visitors in 2017.

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6. Tate Modern, England - Located in London and including works by Paul Klee, Georges Braque, and Pablo Picasso, among others, the modern art gallery received more than 5.8 million visitors in 2017.

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5. British Museum, England - Located in London, the museum of human history, art, and culture received more than 5.9 million visitors in 2017.

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4. Vatican Museums, Vatican City - Home to some of the world's most renowned Roman sculptures and most important masterpieces of Renaissance art, the complex received more than 6.4 million visitors in 2017.

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3. Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA - Housing art from classical antiquity and ancient Egypt, to works from nearly all the European masters, and extensive American and modern art, the Met received more than 7.35 million visitors in 2017.

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2. National Museum of China - Located in Beijing on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square, the arts and history museum received more than 8 million visitors in 2017.

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1. Musée du Louvre, France - Home to iconic pieces such as Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa,' the museum and central landmark of Paris received more than 8.1 million visitors in 2017.

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