Summary
- Total attendance at the world’s top 100 art museums exceeded 200 million in 2025, reflecting a continued recovery from pandemic lows despite falling short of the 230 million recorded in 2019
- The Musée du Louvre in Paris maintained its position as the world’s most-visited museum with over 9 million visitors, while the Metropolitan Museum of Art remained the most popular US institution
- South Korea experienced a dramatic surge in museum attendance, led by the National Museum of Korea in Seoul which saw a 70% year-over-year increase to reach 6.5 million visitors
Global museum attendance is officially bouncing back, but the recovery landscape is far from a straight line. Total visits to the top 100 art institutions cracked the 200 million mark in 2025, climbing out of pandemic-era lows though still trailing behind the 230 million peak set in 2019. Paris’s storied Musée du Louvre kept its crown as the undisputed heavyweight globally, clocking over 9 million attendees. Stateside, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held its top spot with roughly 6 million visitors, fueled heavily by the massive reopening of its revamped Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.
The latest figures also signal a major cultural pivot toward Asia’s booming institutional scene. The National Museum of Korea in Seoul experienced a massive 70% year-over-year spike, pulling in an unprecedented 6.5 million visitors to solidify its global footprint. Conversely, some of the West’s most established hubs are still struggling to close the gap on their pre-2020 highs.
While London’s British Museum managed a solid 6.4 million visits, the Tate Modern remained 26% behind its 2019 benchmark. In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art took a sharp 28% hit in attendance, proving the post-pandemic art world rebound remains a deeply uneven mixed bag.
