International Museum Day 2019: Top Five Museums Around the World

International Museum Day is celebrated annually on May 18 to raise awareness about the importance of museums as “means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.”

Events and activities related to International Museum Day can last a day, a weekend or an entire week, according to the International Council of Museums, which organized the first International Museum Day in 1977. In line with the theme of International Museum Day 2019— “Museums as Cultural Hubs: The future of tradition”— here is a look at some of the most prominent museums around the world.

LOUVRE, PARIS

The medieval fortress, and palace of many French kings, was turned into a museum two centuries ago. Paris’ most well-known art museum boasts of an impressive collection including Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa besides thousands of other historical treasures from Egypt, Asia, ancient Greece and Rome.

BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

Founded in 1753, the world’s first public museum houses more than eight million items ranging from antiquities, books, manuscripts and ethnographic material. Major attractions include the Rosetta stone, carved in 196 B.C, and Elgin Marbles that once decorated the Parthenon in Athens.

EGYPTIAN MUSEUM, CAIRO

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, has a lot to offer if you are interested in Egyptian art, history, and mummies. It is home to 120,000 items, some of which are housed in the fabled Mummy Room.

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK

The largest museum in the Western Hemisphere, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a collection of more than two million items including some stunning European works by Botticelli, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, Rodin, and other luminaries. The Egyptian collection showcases the tomb of Perneb (circa 2440 B.C.) and the exquisite Temple of Dendur (circa 23-10 B.C.) Other attractions include “Adam and Eve,” the well-known engraving by Albrecht Dürer.

ACROPOLIS MUSEUM, ATHENS

The archaeological museum was built to house every artefact found on the site of the Acropolis of Athens, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens.