The annual overview of all things people are curious over is now here – Google’s Year in Search 2023 is a series of lists featuring the top-trending searches in various categories. From moments that drew the world’s attention to the many queries we shared, from famed names to spectacular locations, the search engine shares it all. A fun fact: Google receives around 99,000 search queries per second!
Google Maps has of course chipped in, compiling the global destinations that have received the most love. In today’s spotlight, we have museums – house to of objects significant to art and history, these institutions are typically renowned tourist attractions. Museums are captivating spaces established all around the world, immortalising bygone eras. It comes as no surprise that these places are staples on travel itineraries – whichever knowledge you seek, museums are ever prepared to sate your curiosity.
Behold, the top 5 museums that have ruled Google’s search lists this year – and ones you must visit at least once:
1. Louvre Museum, Paris, France
A signature stalwart in the realm of museums, Le Louvre demands no introduction. Flaunting over 7.8 million visitors last year, the museum is the world’s most visited one. Once a palace for France’s royalty, it presently houses some of the most illustrious masterpieces of Western art, including Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Theodore Gericault’s The Raft of the Medusa. The instalment of its glorious pyramid entrance enhanced the museum’s exterior – built from glass and metal, it stands as a proud Parisian landmark.
With more than 380,000 objects and displays 35,000 works of art in eight curatorial departments, the Louvre’s incredible aesthetics and profound appreciation of art is sure to leave you in awe.
2. The British Museum, London, United Kingdom
A grand public museum nestled in borough of Camden on Great Russell Street, The British Museum dedicates itself to the chronicles of human history, culture and art. The museum boasts a massive collection of over 8 million artefacts (making it the largest one to exist). From the key which unlocked ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone, to the stellar Parthenon Sculptures sculpted more than 2,500 years ago, the British Museum holds within it some unmissable gems.
3. Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
Another illustrious manifestation of art, Musée d’Orsay specialises in French artwork dating from mid 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Uniquely raised in the former Olsay railway station, the building’s very existence marks the first piece on exhibit. The ground floor where the platforms once lay now boasts a nave for sculpture collections and decorative arts spaces. The art museum is lauded for its extensive collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionists paintings, notably the largest worldwide. If you’re one who seeks the brilliance of artists such as Monet and van Gogh, Musée d’Orsay is the slice of paradise.
4. Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
Unveiling an odyssey through 4.6 billion years of Earth, the Natural History Museum is the abode to a melange of life and earth science specimens across five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology. The number goes up to a massive 80 million items that have been accrued across the world. Visitors can find specimens cumulated by Charles Darwin as well as witness the museum’s celebrated exhibition of dinosaurs – just picture how cool that is! The Natural History Museum promises a once-in-a-lifetime experience of our planet’s marvels.
5. teamLab Planets, Tokyo, Japan
Picture this: You walk into a museum but instead, you end up taking a stride through water and then into a garden of flowers. This innovative art facility is created by art collective teamLab – the museum contains 4 large-scale artwork spaces and 2 gardens (one even has giant silver acorns!) Designed to allow visitors to immerse their whole bodies in the expansive artworks with others, teamLab Planets seamlessly erases the line that separates people with art – rather, it promotes that they are one. A must-visit, this modernistic digital museum is where a sensory adventure of dreams awaits.
Feature image by Guillaume Maurice on Unsplash.