List of largest museums

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Museums hold large collections of items relating to their subject, building some of the largest complexes in the world in order to store and exhibit the collection in a controlled environment. The world's most preeminent museums have also engaged in various expansion projects through the years, expanding their total exhibition space.[1]

List

The following is a list of museums ranked according to their floor area where published by reliable sources. Only museums with more than 20,000 square meters (220,000 sq ft) of floor space are included. Entries are not ranked as large museums that do not have reliably-sourced statistics may be omitted; this is not necessarily a complete list.

Building Name City Year
established
Subject Floor area Exhibition space Collection Country
File:Paris 75001 Cour Napoléon Louvre Aile Turgot 02b 20141107 125236.jpg Louvre Paris 1792 Art, architecture, history 758,000 m2
(8,160,000 sq ft)[2]
72,735 m2
(782,910 sq ft)[3]
More than 380,000 (35,000 on display)[4] File:Flag of France.svg France
File:Russia-2767B - Alexander Column (4122823192).jpg State Hermitage Museum Saint Petersburg 1764 Art 233,345 m2
(2,511,700 sq ft)[5]
66,842 m2
(719,480 sq ft)[5]
3,150,428[5] File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia
File:British Museum from NE 2.JPG British Museum London 1753 Archaeology and art 92,000 m2
(990,000 sq ft)[6]
65,752 m2
(707,750 sq ft)[6]
More than 8,000,000 (largest in the world) File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
File:62684-Beijing-Tiananmen-Square (28609003992).jpg National Museum of China Beijing 1959 Archaeology and art 191,900 m2
(2,066,000 sq ft)[7][8]
65,000 m2
(700,000 sq ft)[9]
More than 1.4 million[10] File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
File:Grand Egyptian Museum 2019-11-07j.jpg Grand Egyptian Museum Giza 2024 (projected) Archaeology 81,000 m2
(870,000 sq ft)[11]
38,000 m2
(410,000 sq ft)[11]
over 100,000 artifacts File:Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt
File:Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago).jpg Museum of Science and Industry Chicago 1933 Science and technology 37,000 m2
(400,000 sq ft)[12]
more than 35,000 File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Minneapolis Institute of Art.jpg Minneapolis Institute of Art Minneapolis 1883 Art 50,600 m2
(545,000 sq ft)[13]
32,000 m2
(340,000 sq ft)[14]
More than 100,000[15] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Smithsonian-Museum of Natural History.jpg National Museum of Natural History Washington, D.C. 1910 Natural history 123,000 m2
(1,320,000 sq ft)[16]
30,200 m2
(325,000 sq ft)[16]
(Artifacts not samples) File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Victoria and Albert Museum-1.jpg Victoria and Albert Museum London 1852 Art 30,000 m2
(320,000 sq ft)[17]
2,278,183 (60,124 on display)[18] File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
File:Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) - Central Park, NYC.jpg Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 1870 Art 190,000 m2
(2,000,000 sq ft)[19]
File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Forbidden City Beijing Shenwumen Gate.JPG Palace Museum Beijing 1925 Archaeology and art 150,000 m2
(1,600,000 sq ft)[20][21]
1,862,690[21][22] File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
File:National Museum of Korea.jpg National Museum of Korea Seoul 1909 Archaeology and art 138,156.26 m2
(1,487,101.6 sq ft)[23]
File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea
File:Washington October 2016-12.jpg National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. 1937 Art 120,000 m2
(1,300,000 sq ft)[24]
25,200 m2
(271,000 sq ft)[25]
More than 150,000[26] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Art Institute of Chicago (51575570710).jpg Art Institute of Chicago Chicago 1879 Art 93,000 m2
(1,000,000 sq ft)[27][28]
Almost 300,000[29] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Israel Museum Black and White (6898548048).jpg Israel Museum Jerusalem 1965 Art 80,000 m2
(860,000 sq ft)[30]
19,000 m2
(200,000 sq ft)[31]
File:Flag of Israel.svg Israel

File:National Museum of American History (33519723224).jpg

National Museum of American History Washington, D.C. 1964 History 70,000 m2
(750,000 sq ft)[32]
More than 1.8 million[32] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:MOMAyard.JPG Museum of Modern Art New York City 1929 Art 65,800 m2
(708,000 sq ft)[33]
15,400 m2
(166,000 sq ft)[34]
Almost 200,000[35] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:National Gallery Singapore - Joy of Museums - External.jpg National Gallery Singapore Singapore 2015 Art 64,000 m2
(690,000 sq ft)[36]
More than 9,000[37] File:Flag of Singapore.svg Singapore
File:Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.jpg National Air and Space Museum Washington, D.C. 1946 Aerospace 63,800 m2
(687,000 sq ft)[38]
14,970.9 m2
(161,145 sq ft)[39][40]
More than 60,000[41] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Boston Museum of Fine Artes.jpg Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Boston 1870 Art 57,315.3 m2
(616,937 sq ft)[42][43]
20,556.4 m2
(221,267 sq ft)[43]
Almost 500,000[44] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:MASS MoCA 1.jpg MASS MoCA North Adams 1999 Art 56,000 m2
(600,000 sq ft)[45]
23,000 m2
(250,000 sq ft)[46]
No permanent collection File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:The Henry Ford Museum (53623974456).jpg
The Henry Ford Dearborn 1929 History 48,600 m2

(523,000 sq ft)

File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Galería Nacional, Londres, Inglaterra, 2014-08-07, DD 035.JPG National Gallery London 1824 Archaeology and art 46,396 m2
(499,400 sq ft)[47]
File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
File:3GorgesMuseum.jpg Three Gorges Museum Chongqing 2005 Archaeology and art 45,098 m2
(485,430 sq ft)[48]
23,225 m2
(249,990 sq ft)[48]
File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
File:Museums in the Vatican City.jpg Vatican Museums Vatican City 1506 Art 42,000 m2
(450,000 sq ft)[49][50]
File:Flag of Vatican City (2023–present).svg Vatican City
File:Musee National Anthropologie-Entree.jpg National Museum of Anthropology Mexico City 1825 Archaeology 600,000[51] File:Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico
File:Shandong art museum 20190706 (2).jpg Shandong Art Museum Jinan 1977 Art File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
File:BMA-2010-screen.jpg Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham 1951 Art 17,000 m2
(180,000 sq ft)[52]
27,000[52] File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Venezia-Arsenale.jpg Arsenal (Biennale) Venice 1895 Art File:Flag of Italy.svg Italy
File:Front Façade of the Centre Pompidou 3.jpg Musée National d'Art Moderne Paris 1947 Art File:Flag of France.svg France
File:Musée d'Orsay, North-West view, Paris 7e 140402.jpg Musée d'Orsay Paris 1986 Art File:Flag of France.svg France
File:2017 SFMOMA from Yerba Buena Gardens.jpg San Francisco Museum of Modern Art San Francisco 1935 Art 460,000 sq ft
(43,000 m2)[53]
170,000 sq ft
(16,000 m2)[54]
File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Museo del Prado 2016 (25185969599).jpg Museo del Prado Madrid 1819 Art File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain
File:Denver Art Museum.jpg Denver Art Museum Denver 1918 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:The Egyptian Museum.jpg Egyptian Museum Cairo 1902 Archaeology File:Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt
File:Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo.JPG Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo São Paulo 1951 Art File:Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil
File:Beacon dia entrance.JPG Dia Beacon Beacon 2003 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Dallas Museum of Art.jpg Dallas Museum of Art Dallas 1903 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Edificio Sabatini. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.jpg Museo Reina Sofía Madrid 1992 Art File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain
File:MMCA-Gwacheon.jpg National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Gwacheon 1969 Art File:Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea
File:Detroit Institute of Arts July 2018 1.jpg Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit 1885 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:National Art Center Tokyo 2008.jpg Tokyo National Art Center Tokyo 2007 Art File:Flag of Japan.svg Japan
File:NTMOFA6.jpg National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Taichung 1988 Art File:Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan
File:Praha Veletržní palác jih.jpg National Gallery Prague (Veletržní) Prague 1796 Art File:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic
File:IndianapolisMuseumofArt.jpg Indianapolis Museum of Art Indianapolis 1883 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Bayerisches Nationalmuseum - Muenchen - 2013.jpg Bavarian National Museum Munich 1855 Art File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
File:Capital Museum in Beijing.jpg Capital Museum Beijing 1981 Archaeology and art File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
File:Museum of Fine Arts, main entrance, Montreal.jpg Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Montreal 1860 Art File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
File:National Gallery of Victoria ext 01.JPG National Gallery of Victoria (St Kilda Road) Melbourne 1861 Art File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
File:Palais-de-Tokyo-lumière8.JPG Palais de Tokyo Paris 2001 Art File:Flag of France.svg France
File:Salar jung museum hyderabad.jpg Salar Jung Museum Hyderabad 1855 Art File:Flag of India.svg India
File:E201605 TF 0030.jpg Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Richmond 1934 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Tate Modern - Bankside Power Station.jpg Tate Modern London 2000 Art File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
File:Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland 1913 Art File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Ottawa - ON - National Gallery of Canada.jpg National Gallery of Canada Ottawa 1880 Art File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
File:The Canadian Museum of Civilization (40228035045).jpg Canadian Museum of History Ottawa 1856 History 75,000 m2
(810,000 sq ft)[55]
25,000 m2
(270,000 sq ft)[55]
File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
File:AGO at dusk.jpg Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto 1900 Art File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
File:Hamburger Kunsthalle.jpg Hamburger Kunsthalle Hamburg 1869 Art File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
File:Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland.jpg Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam 1849 Art File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
File:MFAHCarolineWeissLaw.JPG Houston Museum of Fine Arts Houston 1900 Art 27,870 m2
(300,000 sq ft)
~70,000 File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
File:Jaipur House Delhi.jpg National Gallery of Modern Art New Delhi 1954 Art File:Flag of India.svg India
File:Lille palais des beaux arts.jpg Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille Lille 1809 Art File:Flag of France.svg France
File:Pinakothek der Moderne Nord.jpg Pinakothek der Moderne Munich 2002 Art File:Flag of Germany.svg Germany
File:South facade of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (DSCF0528).jpg Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 1800 Art File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
File:Moscow, Krymsky Val Street 10-14 2014 02.JPG Tretyakov Gallery (Krymsky Val) Moscow 1985 Art File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia
File:Artmuzeo Mudam 07.jpg MUDAM Luxembourg City 2006 Art 10,500 m2
(113,000 sq ft)[56]
File:Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg

See also

Notes

References

  1. William Lee Adams (10 April 2014). "From the British Museum to the Tate Modern, mega-museum go big". CNN. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  2. "Rapport d'activités 2019" (PDF). louvre.fr (in français). Louvre. September 2020. p. 15. ISSN 2740-7136. Retrieved 17 January 2021. LE PALAIS 360,000 M2 de planchers... LE DOMAINE DU LOUVRE ET DES TUILERIES 37 hectares de cours et de jardins... COUR NAPOLÉON 28,000 M2 de surface
  3. ""Pyramid" Launch Project" (PDF). Louvre Museum (Press release). 18 September 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  4. "Louvre Museum". museums.eu. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Hermitage in Facts and Figures". hermitagemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
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  12. "Museum Facts". Museum of Science and Industry. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  13. "Policies and Guidelines –– Minneapolis Institute of Art". new.artsmia.org. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  14. "Minneapolis Travel Guide". KAYAK. Retrieved 3 April 2022. Spread over 32,000 square meters of gallery space, admission is completely free, and it's well worth paying a visit.
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  25. Green, Tyler (1 July 2008). "Inside the National Gallery". Washingtonian. Retrieved 28 November 2015. In total, the NGA has 271,000 square feet of exhibition space.
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