Michelangelo v Mickey Mouse

By B.R. and L.P.

The most popular museums in the world

MUSEUMS bring to mind hushed, reverential rooms—though not to anyone who has competed to catch a glimpse of the Mona Lisa. Room six at the Louvre can feel more like a Justin Bieber concert, as crowds, mobile phones aloft, jostle to take snaps. The Louvre is the world's most-visited museum; last year more than 9m people paid €12 ($16) to squeeze a peek at La Gioconda's stifled smile. Most of the top museums are free (as is the Met in New York; the $25 it asks for is only a suggested donation). At the Louvre, visits fell slightly from a year earlier. Attendance is growing at the National Museum of China—at the current rate, according to some, it might surpass the Louvre next year as the world’s most-visited museum. The Themed Entertainment Association, which compiled the museum data, also tracks theme parks. The most popular attraction was the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, which received 18.6m visitors, double the Louvre’s figures. In all, 133m tourists visited a Disney theme park in 2013, suggesting that people prefer Mickey to Michelangelo.