London has cause for celebration today as it’s revealed that the capital boasts five of the UK’s ten best rated museums in the 2015 Travellers’ Choice awards for Museums, four of which are in the top five.
The National Gallery, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and Churchill War Rooms have been awarded first, second, third, fourth and seventh place in the UK, making London the UK’s biggest winning city.
The awards, announced by TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, honour top travel spots worldwide based on the millions of valuable reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers. Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for museums worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.
Chris Gottlieb, CMO of London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s official promotional company for the capital, said: “London’s museums and galleries are among the most googled and visited in the world. It comes as no surprise that they have been recognised by the 2015 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards, with four of the city’s iconic cultural institutions in the UK top five.”
It’s not just London that reigns supreme this year – the UK has a whole has cause for celebration too. With seven museums ranking in Europe’s top 25, the UK is home to more Travellers’ Choice award winners than any other European country.
The National Gallery and British Museum take fifth and ninth place in Europe respectively. They’re also named seventh and twelfth best rated museums in the world top 25. Fifteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth place go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, Natural History Museum and The Roman Baths Museum in Bath, while the National Museum of Scotland and Churchill War Rooms take their place at twenty-second and twenty-fifth respectively.
Other winners include York’s National Railway Museum, Titanic Belfast and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow which are named eighth, ninth and tenth best rated museums in the UK.
“This year’s triumph for the UK, winning more awards than any other European country, goes to prove what fantastic museums we have right on our doorstep. And with many of this year’s winners offering free admission, it is easy to see why UK museums continue to attract large visitor numbers,” commented TripAdvisor spokesperson, James Kay.
The title of world’s best rated museum goes to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Since 1870, this iconic institution on Manhattan’s Upper East Side has strived to “connect people to creativity, knowledge and ideas” through art. Visitors can view the most extensive display of 17th century Dutch art in the Western Hemisphere, with masterpieces by Frans Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer.
Europe’s best rated museum is revealed as Paris’ Musee d'Orsay. Housed in the former Gare d'Orsay railway station built between 1898 and 1900, the museum boasts the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world, by painters including Monet, Manet, Renoir and Van Gogh.
See below for top 10 winners in the UK, Europe and the world:
Top 10 Travellers’ Choice Museums in the UK
1. National Gallery, London - Admission cost1: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby2: Tune Hotel – Paddington - £105.16/night
2. British Museum, London - Admission cost: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: Jesmond Dene Hotel - £103.09/night
3. Victoria and Albert Museum, London - Admission cost: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: Lancaster Hall Hotel - £96.77/night
4. Natural History Museum, London - Admission cost: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: London Visitors Hotel - £80.80/night
5. The Roman Baths, Bath - Admission cost: Adult £14.00, Child (6-16 years) £9.00
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: The Lansdown Grove Hotel - £107.46/night
6. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh - Admission cost: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: Tune Hotel Haymarket, Edinburgh - £64.00/night
7. Churchill War Rooms, London - Admission cost: Adult £18.00, Child (5-15 years) £9.00
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: Travelodge London Vauxhall Hotel - £111.79/night
8. National Railway Museum, York - Admission cost: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: Wheatlands Lodge Hotel - £83.41/night
9. Titanic Belfast, Belfast - Admission cost: Adult £15.50, Child (5-15 years) £7.25
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: Etap Hotel Belfast - £46.20/night
10. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow - Admission cost: Free
Highly-rated TripAdvisor hotel nearby: The Heritage Hotel - £64.21/night
Top 10 Travellers’ Choice Museums in the world
1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York
2. Musee d'Orsay,Paris, France
3. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
4. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
5. Musee du Louvre, Paris, France
6. State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia
7. National Gallery, London, England
8. The Rijksmuseum (National Museum), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
9. Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
10. National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropologia), Mexico City, Mexico
Top 10 Travellers’ Choice Museums in Europe
1. Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France
2. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain
3. Musee du Louvre, Paris, France
4. State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace, St Petersburg, Russia
5. National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
6. The Rijksmuseum (National Museum), Amsterdam, The Netherlands
7. Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden
8. The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece
9. British Museum, London, United Kingdom
10. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
For the complete list of winners from the 2015 Travellers’ Choice Museums, as well as reviews and candid traveler photos, go to: www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravellersChoice-Museums.
Notes to editors:
1Admission costs were sourced from the museums’ respective websites.
2Highly-rated hotels on TripAdvisor are located within five miles of the respective museums. Average nightly rates are based on TripAdvisor data for 1 September through 31 December, 2015, aggregated from booking partners including online travel agencies and direct hotel suppliers. Hotel prices were converted from US dollars using xe.com on 10th September 2015.
