Through their well-curated collections and thought-provoking shows, museums and cultural institutions entice visitors to learn about new cultures and issues. It’s time to reconsider those who have previously characterized visiting museums as uninteresting. Galleries around the globe, from Senegal to Japan, have mastered the craft of producing interesting displays of art, history, and culture that can persuade even the most cynical of critics. The top museums in the world challenge visitors’ perspectives on society, despite the fact that the subjects covered, may differ from one area to another. Also, several of these museums are renowned for their outstanding eateries and picturesque settings, which adds to the enjoyment of a museum visit. Here is a list of some of the best museums in the world.
Best Museums in the World
1. Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg
The Apartheid Museum has earned a reputation as one of South Africa’s most educational attractions ever since it opened its doors in 2008. The 21 exhibition halls at the institution use film, photos, and artifacts to trace the emergence and demise of apartheid in South Africa. Visitors are welcomed by seven columns in the main courtyard that depicts the Constitution’s pillars. The most remarkable display covers Nelson Mandela’s life and wisdom. Mandela was a well-known revolutionary and the first president of South Africa following the end of segregation.
Also Read: 10 Outdoor Ice Skating Rinks Around The World
2. Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, Senegal
The Museum of Black Civilizations, which opened its doors in 2018, serves as a creative center for Senegal and the entire African continent to celebrate their cultures and highlight the hardships that Africans have suffered throughout history. Léopold Sédar Senghor, the first president of the nation, had a dream to create a museum that would celebrate African art and identity. Senghor regrettably passed away prior to the museum’s opening, but his memory is preserved in the carefully chosen artwork and eye-catching installations that fill the halls. The unveiling of the tourist attraction has sparked a dispute in the art world, with many researchers demanding the return of thousands of artifacts taken from Africa during the colonial era and displayed in museums around Europe.
Also Read: 9 Best Whale Watching Tours Around the World
Image Source: Wikimedia
3. War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City
Hidden Amidst the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City, there is a startling sight of fighter jets and tanks lined up, supposedly ready for action. The War Remnants Museum, which accurately captures the tragic consequences and impacts of the Vietnam War through photographs and artifacts, is located in what could initially appear to be an army base. The war museum, a more intense museum visit, provides insight into a pivotal period in American history and how it has shaped the country’s identity to this day.
Image Source: Wikimedia
4. Bangkok National Museum
This cultural marvel in Bangkok, Thailand’s first national museum, is home to the largest collection of Thai artifacts and works of literature. The buildings that make up the museum date back to 1782, when Prince Wang Na, Rama I’s viceroy, used them as his palace. A museum with three galleries, each with a different focus was built on the grounds over a century later: a Thai History Gallery, an Archaeology and Art History Collection, and a Decorative Arts and Ethnological Collection. Visitors can find Phra Phuttha Sihing, one of the most venerated Buddha images, in the Bhuddhaisawan Chapel in addition to the main collections.
Image Source: Wikimedia
5. National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
This Smithsonian establishment, which is the only national museum committed to recording the African American experience, opened its doors in 2016. Yet, Black Civil War soldiers first offered the idea for the museum in 1915, more than a century earlier. The initial plan intended for a monument to be built in the nation’s capital in memory of Black soldiers and sailors, but disagreements over finance and site selection kept delaying the project. A congressional act establishing the institution and the start of construction wasn’t passed until 2003. More than 40,000 items related to African American life, history, and culture are currently housed in the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Image Source: Wikimedia
6. National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa
The first exhibition held by the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa’s historic Clarendon Hotel in 1880 featured largely artwork from the 19th century. More than 140 years later, inside the gallery’s new Moshe Safdie-designed location, a 30-foot bronze spider known as the Maman welcomes guests. There are currently 75,000 works of art housed in the national art museum, ranging from Canadian and Indigenous works to Benjamin West’s neoclassical painting The Death of General Wolfe.
Image Source: Wikimedia
7. Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands
The Mauritshuis, also referred to as the Royal Picture Gallery of the Netherlands, is home to an exceptional collection of Golden Period artwork created by numerous Dutch and Flemish artists. The first national gallery was founded in The Hague in 1816 when King William I donated the treasures that his father, stadtholder Prince William V, formerly possessed to the Dutch government. The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer and The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius are two of the 841 pieces of art in the Mauritshuis.
Image Source: Wikimedia
8. The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo
The Egyptian Museum, one of North Africa’s biggest museums, is home to more than 120,000 ancient Egyptian items, including the largest collection of Pharaonic antiquities in the entire world. The Egyptian government ordered the construction of the museum in 1835 in an effort to halt the looting of numerous historic and archaeological sites. The gold Tutankhamun mask, which weighs 11 kilograms of pure gold, can be seen up close by visitors.
Image Source: Wikimedia
9. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has an astonishing seven floors of galleries with over 33,000 works and a wall seeded with thousands of plants, making it the first museum on the West Coast to focus completely on 20th-century art since 1935. SFMoMA is home to some of the most famous works of modern art, such as Marcel Duchamp’s provocative Fountain and Woman with a Hat by Henri Matisse.
Also Read: 10 Most Amazing Miniature Cities In The World
Image Source: Wikimedia
10. Musée D’Orsay in Paris
The Impressionist and other Western works from 1848 to 1914 are housed in the Musée D’Orsay, which was formerly a train station. The spectacular original edifice was created in 1900 by architect Victor Laloux to welcome guests to the World’s Fair. The Beaux-Arts station closed in 1939 and remained abandoned until President Valery Giscard gave the go-ahead for restorations in the late 1970s. Some of France’s most famous works of art, including sculptures by Auguste Rodin and paintings by Paul Gauguin, are now housed within the walls of the white limestone building, which was inaugurated in 1986.
Image Source: Wikimedia
These are the 10 best museums in the world. Kindly share and do post your comments.
