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List of largest museums

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This article is about list of largest museums by floor space. For list of museums by number of visitors, see List of most visited museums.

Museums hold large collections of items relating to their subject, building some of the largest complexes in the world in order to store and exhibit the collection in a controlled environment. The world's most preeminent museums have also engaged in various expansion projects through the years, expanding their total exhibition space.[1]

List

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The following is a list of museums ranked according to their floor area where published by reliable sources. Only museums with more than 20,000 square meters (220,000 sq ft) of floor space are included. Entries are not ranked as large museums that do not have reliably-sourced statistics may be omitted; this is not necessarily a complete list.

Building Name City Year
established 		Subject Floor area Exhibition space Collection Country
Louvre Paris 1792 Art, architecture, history 758,000 m2
(8,160,000 sq ft)[2] 		72,735 m2
(782,910 sq ft)[3] 		More than 380,000 (35,000 on display)[4]  France
State Hermitage Museum Saint Petersburg 1764 Art 233,345 m2
(2,511,700 sq ft)[5] 		66,842 m2
(719,480 sq ft)[5] 		3,150,428[5]  Russia
British Museum London 1753 Archaeology and art 92,000 m2
(990,000 sq ft)[6] 		65,752 m2
(707,750 sq ft)[6] 		More than 8,000,000 (largest in the world)  United Kingdom
National Museum of China Beijing 1959 Archaeology and art 191,900 m2
(2,066,000 sq ft)[7][8] 		65,000 m2
(700,000 sq ft)[9] 		More than 1.4 million[10]  China
Grand Egyptian Museum Giza 2024 (projected) Archaeology 81,000 m2
(870,000 sq ft)[11] 		38,000 m2
(410,000 sq ft)[11] 		over 100,000 artifacts  Egypt
Museum of Science and Industry Chicago 1933 Science and technology 37,000 m2
(400,000 sq ft)[12] 		more than 35,000  United States
Minneapolis Institute of Art Minneapolis 1883 Art 50,600 m2
(545,000 sq ft)[13] 		32,000 m2
(340,000 sq ft)[14] 		More than 100,000[15]  United States
National Museum of Natural History Washington, D.C. 1910 Natural history 123,000 m2
(1,320,000 sq ft)[16] 		30,200 m2
(325,000 sq ft)[16] 		(Artifacts not samples)  United States
Victoria and Albert Museum London 1852 Art 30,000 m2
(320,000 sq ft)[17] 		2,278,183 (60,124 on display)[18]  United Kingdom
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 1870 Art 190,000 m2
(2,000,000 sq ft)[19] 		 United States
Palace Museum Beijing 1925 Archaeology and art 150,000 m2
(1,600,000 sq ft)[20][21] 		1,862,690[21][22]  China
National Museum of Korea Seoul 1909 Archaeology and art 138,156.26 m2
(1,487,101.6 sq ft)[23] 		 South Korea
National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. 1937 Art 120,000 m2
(1,300,000 sq ft)[24] 		25,200 m2
(271,000 sq ft)[25] 		More than 150,000[26]  United States
Art Institute of Chicago Chicago 1879 Art 93,000 m2
(1,000,000 sq ft)[27][28] 		Almost 300,000[29]  United States
Israel Museum Jerusalem 1965 Art 80,000 m2
(860,000 sq ft)[30] 		19,000 m2
(200,000 sq ft)[31] 		 Israel

National Museum of American History Washington, D.C. 1964 History 70,000 m2
(750,000 sq ft)[32] 		More than 1.8 million[32]  United States
Museum of Modern Art New York City 1929 Art 65,800 m2
(708,000 sq ft)[33] 		15,400 m2
(166,000 sq ft)[34] 		Almost 200,000[35]  United States
National Gallery Singapore Singapore 2015 Art 64,000 m2
(690,000 sq ft)[36] 		More than 9,000[37]  Singapore
National Air and Space Museum Washington, D.C. 1946 Aerospace 63,800 m2
(687,000 sq ft)[38] 		14,970.9 m2
(161,145 sq ft)[39][40] 		More than 60,000[41]  United States
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Boston 1870 Art 57,315.3 m2
(616,937 sq ft)[42][43] 		20,556.4 m2
(221,267 sq ft)[43] 		Almost 500,000[44]  United States
MASS MoCA North Adams 1999 Art 56,000 m2
(600,000 sq ft)[45] 		23,000 m2
(250,000 sq ft)[46] 		No permanent collection  United States
National Gallery London 1824 Archaeology and art 46,396 m2
(499,400 sq ft)[47] 		 United Kingdom
Three Gorges Museum Chongqing 2005 Archaeology and art 45,098 m2
(485,430 sq ft)[48] 		23,225 m2
(249,990 sq ft)[48] 		 China
Vatican Museums Vatican City 1506 Art 42,000 m2
(450,000 sq ft)[49][50] 		 Vatican City
National Museum of Anthropology Mexico City 1825 Archaeology 600,000[51]  Mexico
Shandong Art Museum Jinan 1977 Art  China
Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham 1951 Art 17,000 m2
(180,000 sq ft)[52] 		27,000[52]  United States
Arsenal (Biennale) Venice 1895 Art  Italy
Musée National d'Art Moderne Paris 1947 Art  France
Musée d'Orsay Paris 1986 Art  France
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art San Francisco 1935 Art 460,000 sq ft
(43,000 m2)[53] 		170,000 sq ft
(16,000 m2)[54] 		 United States
Museo del Prado Madrid 1819 Art  Spain
Denver Art Museum Denver 1918 Art  United States
Egyptian Museum Cairo 1902 Archaeology  Egypt
Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo São Paulo 1951 Art  Brazil
Dia Beacon Beacon 2003 Art  United States
Dallas Museum of Art Dallas 1903 Art  United States
Museo Reina Sofía Madrid 1992 Art  Spain
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Gwacheon 1969 Art  South Korea
Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit 1885 Art  United States
Tokyo National Art Center Tokyo 2007 Art  Japan
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Taichung 1988 Art  Taiwan
National Gallery Prague (Veletržní) Prague 1796 Art  Czech Republic
Indianapolis Museum of Art Indianapolis 1883 Art  United States
Bavarian National Museum Munich 1855 Art  Germany
Capital Museum Beijing 1981 Archaeology and art  China
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Montreal 1860 Art  Canada
National Gallery of Victoria (St Kilda Road) Melbourne 1861 Art  Australia
Palais de Tokyo Paris 2001 Art  France
Salar Jung Museum Hyderabad 1855 Art  India
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Richmond 1934 Art  United States
Tate Modern London 2000 Art  United Kingdom
Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland 1913 Art  United States
National Gallery of Canada Ottawa 1880 Art  Canada
Canadian Museum of History Ottawa 1856 History 75,000 m2
(810,000 sq ft)[55] 		25,000 m2
(270,000 sq ft)[55] 		 Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario Toronto 1900 Art  Canada
Hamburger Kunsthalle Hamburg 1869 Art  Germany
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam 1849 Art  Netherlands
Houston Museum of Fine Arts Houston 1900 Art 27,870 m2
(300,000 sq ft) 		~70,000  United States
National Gallery of Modern Art New Delhi 1954 Art  India
Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille Lille 1809 Art  France
Pinakothek der Moderne Munich 2002 Art  Germany
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam 1800 Art  Netherlands
Tretyakov Gallery (Krymsky Val) Moscow 1985 Art  Russia
MUDAM Luxembourg City 2006 Art 10,500 m2
(113,000 sq ft)[56] 		 Luxembourg

See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ^ William Lee Adams (10 April 2014). "From the British Museum to the Tate Modern, mega-museum go big". CNN. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Rapport d'activités 2019" (PDF). louvre.fr (in French). Louvre. September 2020. p. 15. ISSN 2740-7136. Retrieved 17 January 2021. LE PALAIS 360,000 M2 de planchers... LE DOMAINE DU LOUVRE ET DES TUILERIES 37 hectares de cours et de jardins... COUR NAPOLÉON 28,000 M2 de surface
  3. ^ ""Pyramid" Launch Project" (PDF). Louvre Museum (Press release). 18 September 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Louvre Museum". museums.eu. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Hermitage in Facts and Figures". hermitagemuseum.org. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Institute of Historic Building Conservation".
  7. ^ Wu, Yanxi (February 2018). "The National Museum of China". researchgate.net. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.31874.32963. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  8. ^ "National Museum of China". Architizer. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Aufklärung im Dialog – National Museum of China". Aufklaerung-im-dialog.de. 28 February 2003. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  10. ^ "About the NMC | National Museum of China". en.chnmuseum.cn. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum has been kicked-off | Technical Cooperation Projects | JICA". www.jica.go.jp. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Museum Facts". Museum of Science and Industry. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Policies and Guidelines –– Minneapolis Institute of Art". new.artsmia.org. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Minneapolis Travel Guide". KAYAK. Retrieved 3 April 2022. Spread over 32,000 square meters of gallery space, admission is completely free, and it's well worth paying a visit.
  15. ^ "WILLIAM M. GRISWOLD APPOINTED NEW DIRECTOR OF THE MINNEAPOLIS INSTITUTE OF ARTS". new.artsmia.org. 21 July 2005. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  16. ^ a b "National Museum of Natural History". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  17. ^ Allen-Greil, Dana; Colleen Dilenschneider; Janet Petitpas (Spring 2014). "The British Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum" (PDF). Exhibition. American Alliance of Museums. Retrieved 27 December 2019. In 2001, the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum in London opened renovations to their British Galleries, which cover over 32,000 square feet of exhibition space and comprise 10% of the Museum's overall exhibition floor.
  18. ^ "Size of the V&A Collections". www.vam.ac.uk. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  19. ^ "MET Fifth Avenue - The Metropolitan Museum of Art | New York". Inexhibit. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang - China.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  21. ^ a b "About the Palace Museum|The Palace Museum". en.dpm.org.cn. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  22. ^ "Palace Museum has 1,862,690 registered cultural relics - Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  23. ^ "Architecture and Design". museum.go.kr. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  24. ^ "National Gallery of Art Appoints Sheila McDaniel as Administrator". www.nga.gov. Retrieved 9 January 2021. In addition to overseeing the hundreds of Gallery staff who care for the 1.3 million square feet of space, including the iconic, architecturally significant buildings and landscapes...
  25. ^ Green, Tyler (1 July 2008). "Inside the National Gallery". Washingtonian. Retrieved 28 November 2015. In total, the NGA has 271,000 square feet of exhibition space.
  26. ^ "About the National Gallery of Art". www.nga.gov. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  27. ^ Rosenbaum, Lee (2 June 2009). "A Modern Wing Takes Flight". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  28. ^ "The Art Institute of Chicago Inaugurates Modern Wing Designed By Renzo Piano" (PDF). Art Institute of Chicago. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  29. ^ "History". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Israel Museum - Jerusalem Al Mansfeld and Partners". אדריכלים מנספלד קהת בע"מ. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  31. ^ Leichman, Abigail Klein (19 February 2015). "Israel Museum celebrates 50". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Mission & History". National Museum of American History. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  33. ^ "MoMA reopens with a $450 million mega-expansion and slick renovation". The Architect's Newspaper. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  34. ^ Kennicott, Philip. "Review | The new MoMA is a lot bigger. But you may not learn as much about the art". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  35. ^ "The Collection | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  36. ^ "About the Gallery". National Gallery Singapore. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  37. ^ "About Our Collections". National Gallery Singapore. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  38. ^ "Modernizing the National Air and Space Museum". www.phcppros.com. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  39. ^ "National Air and Space Museum and Udvar-Hazy Center". Smithsonian Institution Archives. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  40. ^ "GAO-19-78, NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM: Smithsonian's Efforts to Improve Reliability of Its Revitalization Project's Cost Estimate Are Ongoing" (PDF). gao.gov. United States Government Accountability Office. October 2018.
  41. ^ "About the Collection". National Air and Space Museum. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  42. ^ "The New MFA". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  43. ^ a b "MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON BUILDING EXPANSION AND RENOVATION FACTS AND FIGURES" (PDF). November 2010.
  44. ^ "About the MFA". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  45. ^ "Massive Undertaking: MASS MoCA's Phase III". The Collaborative. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  46. ^ "Mass MoCA Just Became One of America's Largest Museums". artnet News. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  47. ^ "About the building | History | National Gallery, London". www.nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  48. ^ a b Page, Intern; Martini (6 September 2019). "Chongqing Three Gorges Museum". iChongqing. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  49. ^ "Vatican Museums - Useful Information - Rome & Vatican Museums". www.rome-museum.com. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  50. ^ "The Vatican Museums, ItalyGuides.it". ItalyGuides.it. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  51. ^ "National Museum of Anthropology | museum, Mexico City, Mexico". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  52. ^ a b "About the Museum | Birmingham Museum of Art". Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  53. ^ "SFMOMA Architectural Fact Sheet" (PDF). SFMOMA. 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  54. ^ "SFMOMA Architectural Fact Sheet" (PDF). SFMOMA. 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  55. ^ a b Pontbriand, Pierre; Yarhi, Eli (24 July 2015). "Canadian Museum of History". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Historica Canada. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  56. ^ "Musée d'Art Moderne". www.pcf-p.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
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