As of 2026-10-12, National Museum of Natural History tops the list with 6,900,000 visitors/year.
- #1 National Museum of Natural History — 6,900,000 visitors/year
natural history museum in Washington, D.C.
The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. It received 3.3 million visits in 2025. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #2 American Museum of Natural History — 5,000,000 visitors/year
natural history museum in Manhattan, New York
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconnected buildings housing 45 permanent exhibition halls, in addition to a planetarium and a library. The museum collections contain about 32 million specimens of plants, animals, fungi, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, human remains, and human cultural... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #3 Muséum national d'histoire naturelle — 1,900,000 visitors/year
natural history museum in Paris, France
In France, the National Museum of Natural History is the national natural history museum of France and a grand établissement of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Jardin des Plantes on the left bank of the River Seine. It was formally founded in 1793, during the French Revolution, but was begun even earlier in 1635 as the royal garden of medicinal plants. The MNHN now has 14 sites throughout France. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #4 Natural History Museum — 1,571,413 visitors/year
museum in London, England, UK
The Natural History Museum in London, England, is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Natural History Museum's main frontage, however, is on Cromwell Road. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #5 Field Museum of Natural History — 1,385,255 visitors/year
natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, United States
The Field Museum of Natural History is a private–public natural history museum in Chicago, Illinois, and is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for the size and quality of its educational and scientific programs, as well as its extensive scientific specimen and artifact collections. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #6 Royal Ontario Museum — 1,309,345 visitors/year
museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest museum in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year, making it the most-visited museum in Canada. The 74,000-square-metre (800,000-square-foot) museum building is located north of Queen's Park, in the University district, with its main entrance on Bloor Street West. Museum subway station is named... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #7 California Academy of Sciences — 1,000,000 visitors/year
natural history museum in San Francisco
The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research. The institution is located in Golden Gate Park on the West Side of San Francisco. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #8 Grand Gallery of Evolution — 838,586 visitors/year
natural history museum in Paris, France
source Wikidata - #9 Great North Museum — 638,454 visitors/year
visitor attraction in Newcastle upon Tyne in North East England
The Great North Museum: Hancock is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #10 Great North Museum: Hancock — 638,454 visitors/year
natural history museum in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
The Great North Museum: Hancock is a museum of natural history and ancient civilisations in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata