Most-visited museums in 2025: global ranking and highlights from Italy

Global ranking for 2025

The visitor data for 2025 indicate a recovery for museums worldwide, totalling more than 200 million admissions. Although figures are improving, overall attendance remains below the 2019 peak.

• The Louvre (Paris): around 9,000,000 visitors
• Vatican Museums (Vatican City): close to 7,000,000 visitors
• National Museum of Korea (Seoul): about 6,500,000 visitors
• British Museum (London): around 6,400,000 visitors
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York): approximately 5,900,000 visitors
• State Russian Museum (Saint Petersburg): over 5,000,000 visitors
• National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City): around 5,040,000 visitors
• Uffizi Galleries and Florence sites: collectively about 5,000,000 visitors
• Shanghai Museum East: around 4,500,000 visitors

The ranking highlights how institutions with renowned permanent collections and high-profile temporary exhibitions continue to attract large audiences.

Italian museums to watch

Italy maintains a strong cultural appeal with several leading institutions:

• Uffizi Galleries (Florence): the combined Florence sites reach roughly 5 million admissions.
• Egyptian Museum (Turin): over 1,270,000 visitors, a notable result for a specialist museum.
• Capitoline Museums (Rome): about 860,000 visitors, confirming their importance in the capital's cultural circuit.

Exhibition topics that draw audiences

Shows focused on Impressionism and ancient civilizations remain particularly popular, as do blockbuster retrospectives of major artists. These formats continue to generate significant visitor interest across different countries.

Implications for museums

The return of visitors underlines the importance of combining quality temporary programming with improved digital services, online ticketing and efficient visitor-flow management. Although recovery is underway, museums are adapting strategies to meet changing visitor expectations.

Practical tips for visiting busy museums

• Buy tickets online and choose less busy time slots (early morning or late afternoon) to minimise queues.
• Check internal routes and temporary exhibitions on official websites to plan your visit efficiently.
• Visit off-season or midweek to find quieter conditions.
• Look for combined tickets that cover multiple sites to save time and money.
• Confirm accessibility and family services if you are visiting with children or people with specific needs.

This summary offers an updated snapshot of museum attendance in 2025 and practical advice to help plan comfortable, informed visits to Italy's top cultural institutions and major international museums.