World's Most Beautiful Museums

Museums are known as centers of culture and history. Many cultural institutions are works of art in themselves, from significant architectural structures to groundbreaking futuristic masterpieces.

01) Natural History Museum, London

One of the three major museums on London's Exhibition Road, the Natural History Museum is home to around 80 million life and earth science specimens including Hope, the blue whale skeleton suspended dramatically over Hintze Hall. Designed by civil engineer Captain Francis Fowke with revisions by Alfred Waterhouse, the Romanesque-style building opened in 1881.

02) Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

A landmark building designed by one of the 20th century's most important architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Guggenheim has been a New York City icon since it opened in 1959. Its most notable feature remains the cylindrical gallery with a ramp inside that extends from ground level up to the ceiling skylight in a long, continuous spiral. 

03) Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, USA

The Fort Worth's Modern Art Museum is recognized as having one of the foremost collections of international modern and contemporary art in the US. Designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and opened to the public in 2002, the museum building consists of five large pavilions set into a reflecting pond. 

04) Musee du Louvre, Paris, France

The Louvre is the world's largest museum and is instantly recognizable with its signature glass pyramid and Baroque facade. Originally built as the Louvre Castle in the late 12th century under the instruction of Philip II, it was decided by the National Assembly during the French Revolution that the building should instead be used as a museum to display the nation's masterpieces. 

05. Erawan Museum, Samut Prakan, Thailand

Located inside a three-headed elephant statue, the Erawan Museum covers three levels that represent the underworld, Earth, and heaven. The 250-tonne structure is cast in pure green-hued copper and is 95 feet high. Inside, the museum's collection includes rare pieces of Chinese porcelain, Vietnamese vases, and Chakri Dynasty tea sets. 

06) National Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington

Solely dedicated to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016 and its striking, shimmering bronze exterior has already become a recognizable landmark. 

07) Acropolis Museum, Greece

Athens’ Acropolis Museum, designed by Bernard Tschumi, is a remarkable example of how old and new can exist side by side. Built over large parts of Roman and early Byzantine Athens, the museum has transparent floors in parts to reveal the excavations below. 

08) Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil

Overlooking Guanabara Bay, the Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum looks like something out of a science fiction film when viewed from afar. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer – a well-known Brazilian architect key to the development of modern architecture – the museum is notable for more than its contemporary art collection. 

09. Fondation Louis Vuitton, France

The Louis Vuitton Foundation (as it's known in English) is a museum and cultural center dedicated to the legendary French fashion designer and created to support the contemporary arts, and it's suitably well-dressed for its role. The renowned architect behind the project, Frank Gehry, took inspiration from the clouds when designing the building. 

10. Milwaukee Art Museum, , USA

Milwaukee Art Museum is comprised of three separate buildings and it's the Quadracci Pavilion that's the most noteworthy. Although it holds one of the largest collections of works by Wisconsin native Georgia O'Keeffe, the building itself receives just as much attention.