Louvre retains 'top museum' status in 2008

The Louvre in Paris remained the world's most popular museum in 2008, according to annual rankings published by the Art Newspaper.

With 8.5 million visitors, the Paris institution retained first place ahead of London's British Museum, which welcomed more than 5.9 million guests.

The top five was completed by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, London's Tate Modern and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Other institutions in Europe and the USA rounded off the top ten, while the National Art Centre in Tokyo was the highest ranked museum in Asia.

The most visited museum display last year was found to be the 60th Annual Exhibition of Shoso-in Treasures at the Nara National Museum in Japan, which welcomed an average of 17,926 daily visitors during its run.

Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is the most famous part of the Louvre's collection, which also includes ancient Greek, Roman and Egyptian relics.

Posted by Penny, 01 April 2009 14:20

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