The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has been voted the world’s best museum.
The art museum, in an old railway station on the Seine, is most-loved for its huge collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art.
It came out top in the latest TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards for museums around the world. The review and booking platform calculated the winners based on quantity and quality of reviews and ratings over a 12-month period.
Museums in New York took second and third place, with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum coming in second, followed by the city's landmark Metropolitan Museum of Art. London’s British Museum came fourth; and rounding off the top five was Madrid’s Prado National Museum.
Here's the full list:
Musée d'Orsay – Paris, France
This Parisian art gallery is housed in the former Orsay railway station, which was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. It’s well-known for its collection of impressionist art and Old Masters, including those of Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir.
The National 9/11 Museum and Memorial – New York City, New York
This powerful museum in downtown New York commemorates the people who died in the 9/11 terror attacks. The museum, on the site of the former World Trade Center, tells the story of the attacks through displays, archives and artifacts.
The memorial pool outside, inscribed with the names of everybody who died in the attack, is free; but the museum itself requires a ticket (and likely advance booking as there are long queues).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York City, New York
This landmark art gallery on New York’s Museum Mile has more than 5,000 years of art from across the world in its location on Fifth Avenue.
The British Museum – London, United Kingdom
The UK’s best museum was founded in 1753, the first public museum in the world. It houses a number of antiquities, books, manuscripts and ethnographic material, including some high-profile pieces like the Rosetta Stone. Today it welcomes more than six million visitors.
Prado National Museum – Madrid, Spain
Madrid’s premier art gallery houses work from some of Spain’s best painters such as Goya and Velasquez as well as a number of other masterpieces.
Acropolis Museum – Athens, Greece
This archaeological museum in Greece is focused on the findings from the Acropolis, which includes artifacts from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.
Louvre Museum – Paris, France
It would take years to see everything in the Louvre, Paris’ most well-known art museum. Its most famous painting is probably Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, although there’s an impressive selection of Italian Renaissance art too.
The National WWII Museum – New Orleans, Louisiana
The American experience of the Second World War is explored in this glass and concrete museum in New Orleans. Exhibits include a 4D film, war aircraft and permanent galleries examining the US contribution to the war.
National Museum of Anthropology – Mexico City, Mexico
A national museum of Mexico, the National Museum of Anthropology includes significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from Mexico’s pre-Columbian heritage, such as the Stone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.
War Remnants Museum – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The Vietnam War is examined at this powerful museum in Ho Chi Minh City, through often disturbing images and objects including a guillotine, brought to Vietnam by the French.
