The Louvre was the world's most visited museum in 2008, recording 8.5 million visitors, according to an annual ranking from the Art Newspaper.

The Louvre was also in first place in the 2007 ranking, which is based on figures from the museums themselves.

The British Museum placed second with 5.9 million people going through its doors.

Other top museums:

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 4.96 million visitors.
  • Tate Modern, London, 4.95 million.
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 4.82 million.
  • Vatican museums, 4.44 million.

All the most visited museums were in Europe and the U.S.

The most popular exhibitions, as measured by the number of daily visitors, were both in Japan. The 60th Annual Exhibition of Shoso-in Treasures at the Nara National Museum attracted about 17,926 visitors a day, and the National Treasures from Yakushi-ji Temple at the Tokyo National Museum drew about 12,762 viewers a day.