London named museums capital of the world

London has been named the museums capital of the world after topping a chart of the most visited global exhibition venues.

The report by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and the economics practice at global infrastructure services company AECOM listed the 20 most visited museums around the globe from 2016 and found four of London's attractions made the cut - tying the city in first place with Washington DC which also bagged four spots on the table.

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Drawing in the crowds were the British Museum at number six with 6,420,000 visitors, The National Gallery at eight with 6,263,000, Tate Modern at 10 with 5,839,000, and The Natural History Museum in 13th place with 4,624,000.

First place on the 2016 TEA/AECOM Museum Index went to the National Museum Of China in Beijing, which saw 7,550,000 visitors through its doors last year.

Washington DC's National Air And Space Museum made second place with 7,500,000 visits and the Louvre in Paris was in third place with 7,400,000 visits.

Behind London and Washington DC with their four museums apiece were New York, Paris and Beijing which each got two entries in the global league, while Madrid, Seoul, Shanghai, St Petersburg, Taipei, and the Vatican all had one listing.

In a separate list of the 20 most visited museums for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, London racked up seven listings by adding in the Science Museum, Victoria And Albert Museum, and National Portrait Gallery.

Another report of the most visited theme parks around the world did not place the UK on a global scale, but did see four attractions listed in the top 20 for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA).

The 2016 TEA/AECOM Theme Index (EMEA) placed Legoland Windsor at 10 with 2,183,000 visits, Alton Towers in Staffordshire at 13 with 1,980,000, Thorpe Park in Chertsey at 17 with 1,800,000, and Chessington World Of Adventures at 18 with 1,670,000.

The top 20 museums worldwide according to the 2016 TEA/AECOM Museum Index were:

1. National Museum Of China, Beijing

2. National Air And Space Museum, Washington DC

3. Louvre, Paris

4. National Museum Of Natural History, Washington DC

5. The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, New York

6. British Museum, London

7. Shanghai Science & Technology Museum, Shanghai

8. National Gallery, London

9. Vatican Museums, Vatican

10. Tate Modern, London

11. American Museum Of Natural History, New York

12. National Palace Museum (Taiwan), Taipei

13. Natural History Museum, London

14. National Gallery Of Art, Washington DC

15. State Hermitage, St Petersburg

16. China Science Technology Museum, Beijing

17. National Museum Of American History, Washington DC

18. Reina Sofia, Madrid

19. National Museum Of Korea, Seoul

20. Centre Pompidou, Paris