20 Interesting Facts About Museums Around the World

Museums worldwide house some of the most incredible exhibits, often leaving visitors in awe and wondering, “Who even thought of this?” While everyone knows about the Louvre in Paris, there are actually many more unusual museums scattered across different cities and countries, dedicated to just about anything.

Facts About Museums Around the World:

1. The word “museum” acquired its modern meaning during the Renaissance. Originally, it comes from the Greek word “mouseion,” meaning “temple of the Muses.”
2. The famous Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is well-known for its lifelike wax figures. Its main collection in London features around 1,000 exhibits.
3. The Louvre in France is the most visited museum in the world, with over 9 million visitors each year.
4. In terms of area, the largest museum in the world is the Louvre in Paris, covering a massive 58,470 square meters.
5. The largest art museum in the world is located in Tokyo, Japan.
6. The oldest public museum in the world still in operation is the Capitoline Museums in Rome, founded in 1471.
7. In Amsterdam, there is the Museum of the Human Body, designed in the shape of a 35-meter-tall human body, where visitors can explore the inside.
8. The American Museum of Natural History in New York has appeared in more films than any other museum in the world.
9. The British Museum in London, the second most visited museum in the world, has a collection of 8 million objects.
10. It would take about 12.5 hours to walk through all the halls of the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg without stopping.
11. In Zagreb, Croatia, there is a Museum of Broken Relationships, dedicated to failed love stories.
12. In Cancún, Mexico, there is a unique underwater museum of sculptures. To see all the exhibits, visitors must dive about 10 meters underwater.
13. The National Museum of Bolivia, Casa de la Moneda, is the highest museum in the world, located at an altitude of about 4,100 meters above sea level in the city of Potosí.
14. Germany has a Museum of Lies, where all the exhibits are fakes. Among its collections are Stalin’s mop, a radio from the Titanic, and Adolf Hitler’s mustache, among other curiosities.
15. The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum in Japan contains exhibits that tell the story of the tragedy that once unfolded there.
16. The Lithuanian village of Bietai is home to the smallest museum in the world, located in the hollow of an old oak tree.
17. Hollywood has a unique Museum of Death, featuring torture instruments and other grim exhibits, including artworks created by serial killers.
18. In New Delhi, India, there is a museum dedicated to toilets.
19. Paris, the capital of France, is home to a sewer museum located in the city’s old sewer system, attracting about 100,000 visitors annually.
20. Japan has a Museum of Snowflakes, where no two exhibits are alike, as every snowflake is unique.