LONDON, UK, 5 Sept 2018 – The British Museum has been crowned the best-rated museum in the UK, #2 in Europe and fourth in the World, TripAdvisor today revealed in its annual Travellers’ Choice^® Awards for Museums. The British Museum beat out more than 600 institutions globally to claim its top five spot.

Housed in a landmark building in the heart of London, The British Museum offers an unparalleled collection of art and antiquities from ancient and living cultures, spanning over two million years of human existence. The British Museum has beaten last year’s UK winner, the V&A Museum, and is the only UK winner ranked among this year’s top 10 winners worldwide.

Hannah Boulton, a spokesperson from the British Museum, said: “This is a wonderful honour, we are delighted that the British Museum has been named the UK Museum of the year in the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice awards. We welcome many millions from across the globe each year to experience the Museum’s world collection, to get this affirmation direct from visitors is especially pleasing.”

London Museums Are Tops in the UK

Around the UK, London came out top again, boasting half the winners awarded across the UK. The National Gallery, home to collections of Western European paintings dating back to the 13^th century, took second place in the UK, while last year’s winner the V&A Museum, rounded out the top three. Other winners from the capital include: Natural History Museum and Churchill War Rooms, which took fourth and sixth place respectively.

UK and Italy are Best for Museums in Europe

This year, five museums in Europe’s top 25 are in the UK, making the UK and Italy – also boasting five winners – the top European countries for museums. The British Museum ranked second best among the Europe top 25, followed closely by the National Museum in sixth place, V&A Museum in 14^th, Natural History Museum in 15^th, and the National Museum of Scotland in 16^th.

Paris’ Musée d'Orsay is #1 Worldwide

Paris’ Musée d'Orsay won the accolade of top museum in the world this year. Once a railway station, the museum now houses a staggering collection of Impressionist art, as well as other items created between 1848 and 1914. New York’s 9/11 Memorial Museum and The Metropolitan Museum of Art followed in second and third place respectively, while the UK’s top winner, The British Museum came closely behind in fourth place.

 “Clearly we’re a nation with a thirst for learning as Brits bookings for museum-oriented experiences has grown a whopping 84% over the last year, compared to global travellers (40%).¹ This year’s award winning museums are a great start for travellers wanting to explore the world’s finest collections of art, culture, design, history and science. Visitors to these world-renowned museums can book tours on TripAdvisor to make the most of their visit. Whether it’s experiencing the V&A Museum with art historian or unlocking the doors to the Vatican Museums with the Clavigero, TripAdvisor has over 121,000 experiences available to book to suit any kind of traveller”, said TripAdvisor spokesperson, Hayley Coleman.

Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews and ratings for museums worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period. 

TripAdvisor has also highlighted bookable experiences for each winning museum.²

Top 10 Museums in the UK:

1. The British Museum — London, England

Travellers can discover over two million years of human history and culture at The British Museum. Some of the world-famous objects include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies.

• Bookable experience: The British Museum Tour - The Ideas That Made Our World on TripAdvisor from £20 per person 

2. National Gallery — London, England

Located at Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries for travellers to enjoy.

• Bookable experience: Small-Group Guided Tour of the National Gallery in London on TripAdvisor from £60.02 per person

3. V&A - Victoria and Albert Museum — London, England

Travellers can experience one of the world’s top museums of art and design at the V&A. The museum takes travellers on a tour of historical and contemporary art and design, including works of art from many of the world's richest cultures. Travellers wanting further insight into the collections can opt for a tour with an art historian to bring their visit to life

• Bookable experience: The Victoria & Albert Museum: The World Greatest Collection of Arts and Crafts on TripAdvisor from £73.87 per person 

4. Natural History Museum — London, England

Travellers can discover more than 80 million specimens spanning billions of years at the Natural History Museum. The museum’s five main collections include: botany, mineralogy, entomology, paleontology and zoology.

• Bookable experience: Natural History Museum London Private Guided Tour on TripAdvisor from £63.72 per person 

5. National Museum of Scotland — Edinburgh, Scotland

Travellers can explore Scotland’s rich history and culture at the National Museum of Scotland. With collections taking travellers through the wonders of art, nature, fashion, design and science and technology, the museum boasts something for everyone to enjoy.

• Bookable experiences available: National Museum of Scotland on TripAdvisor

6. Churchill War Rooms — London, England

Located a stone’s throw away from 10 Downing Street, the Churchill War Rooms – the underground headquarters of the British High Command – served as the nerve centre of Britain's war effort during World War II.

• Bookable experience: Churchill War Rooms Entrance Ticket on TripAdvisor from £21 per person 

7. Titanic Belfast — Belfast, Northern Ireland

The Titanic Belfast visitor attraction extends over nine galleries, with multiple dimensions to the exhibition. Travellers can explore the Titanic story from her conception in Belfast in the early 1900s, through to her construction and launch, to her infamous maiden voyage and catastrophic demise, and continues into the present day in the Ocean Exploration Centre.

• Bookable experience: Titanic Belfast Entrance Ticket: Titanic Visitor Experience Including SS Nomadic on TripAdvisor from £18.50 per person 

8. National Railway Museum — York, England

Travellers can get up close to over 300 years of fascinating railway history at the National Railway Museum. Featuring giant halls full of trains, including railway legends, like the Duchess of Hamilton, Royal Trains and the futuristic Japanese Bullet Train, a visit to this museum is perfect for travellers looking to let off steam.

• Bookable experiences available: National Railway Museum on TripAdvisor

9. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Glasgow, Scotland

Boasting more than 20 themed art galleries and displaying 8,000 objects, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum has a fantastic collection of everything, from art to animals, for travellers to explore.

• Bookable experience available: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on TripAdvisor

10. The Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel — Glasgow, Scotland

Travellers visiting the Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel will be able to feast their eyes on over 3,000 objects displayed, including everything from skateboards to locomotives, paintings to prams and cars to a Stormtrooper.

• Bookable experience available: The Riverside Museum of Transport and Travel on TripAdvisor 

Top 10 Museums in  Europe:

1. Musée d'Orsay — Paris, France​
2. The British Museum — London, England​
3. Prado National Museum — Madrid, Spain​
4. Acropolis Museum — Athens, Greece​
5. Louvre Museum — Paris, France​
6. National Gallery — London, England​
7. Vasa Museum — Stockholm, Sweden​
8. Uffizi Galleries — Florence, Italy​
9. Rijksmuseum — Amsterdam, The Netherlands​
10. The State Hermitage Museum — St. Petersburg, Russia

Top 10 Museums in the World:

1. Musée d'Orsay — Paris, France
2. The National 9/11 Memorial & Museum — New York City, New York
3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art — New York City, New York
4. The British Museum — London, United Kingdom
5. Prado National Museum — Madrid, Spain
6. Acropolis Museum — Athens, Greece
7. Louvre Museum — Paris, France
8. The National WWII Museum — New Orleans, Louisiana
9. National Museum of Anthropology — Mexico City, Mexico
10. War Remnants Museum — Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

For the complete list of winners from the 2018 Travellers’ Choice awards for Museums, as well as reviews and candid traveller photos, go to: TripAdvisor.co.uk/TravellersChoice-Museums.  

Travellers can also follow the conversation on Twitter at #travellerschoice.

Note to editors

¹ Based on year over year TripAdvisor booking data for museum experiences by UK travellers.

²Current bookable experiences, tours and admission prices sourced from TripAdvisor and are current as of 3 Sept 2018. Prices listed on the TripAdvisor site are inclusive of any taxes or service charges that may apply when booking online tickets.

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