Intl Museum Day: world's 10 most popular art museums

Editor's Note:

The year 2020 was like no other. The COVID-19 crisis swept the whole world, affecting every aspect of our lives. With cultural sector among the most affected, museums were no exceptions to these changes.

Museums first appeared in human civilization 2,500 years ago, with the Ennigaldi-Nanna's Museum from around 530 BCE reportedly the first museum in the world. Since then, museums have kept reinventing themselves to become an interactive cultural hub where creativity combines with knowledge.

This Tuesday, International Museum Day marks an annual celebration for heritage lovers worldwide. Coordinated by the International Council of Museums since 1977, the event opens up more communications between museum professionals and the public.

In 2020, despite the limitations imposed by a digital-only format, the IMD activities reached 83 million people on social media.

The Art Newspaper, an online and print publication that covers the international art world, listed the 10 most visited art museums based on attendance figures before the pandemic. How many of these places have you visited? Let's take a "cyber trip" to these places!

1. The Musée du Louvre, Paris, France.

It is the world's largest art museum and a historical landmark of Paris. Housed in the Louvre Palace, the museum has been extended many times since its opening in 1793. Its glass pyramid in the main courtyard was designed by Chinese American architect Ieoh Ming Pei, and it later became a signature design of the museum, appearing in the hit thriller The Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou.