The Sunday Times placed the Acropolis Museum third in a list of the best 50 museums of the world. The British newspaper has asked ”inveterate” museum-goers to compile a list of top spots one should take the time to visit while travelling. Topping the list is the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, while the British Museum in London was ranked at the second place.
Under each selected museum, there is a short explanatory text. The text about the Acropolis Museum reads: “The Acropolis Museum, a shiny new home for the host of the most important legacies of classical civilization, is located on the ancient road that leads to the Holy Rock, on which the majestic Parthenon rises above Athens. Hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive every year to see the cultural wonders of a glorious past, which stand flooded with natural light, having the admirable view of the original temple as its evocative background.”
In the intro text the newspaper stresses that “museums are not musty repositories of outmoded relics. They are vivid compendiums of our cultural life.”
The list contains museums with emphasis on historical, cultural and scientific works.
This is a high distinction for the Acropolis Museum, as it is ranked among museums with a big variety of exhibits. It should also be noted that the Acropolis Museum was ranked higher than world renowned museums.
The full list:
1. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
2. British Museum, London.
3. Acropolis Museum, Athens.
4. Sir John Soane’s Museum, London.
5. American Museum of Natural History, New York.
6. Imperial War Museum.
7. Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul.
8. Palace of Versailles, France.
9. Victoria & Albert Museum, London.
10. National Museum of China, Beijing.
11. Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
12. Science Museum, London.
13. Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
14. Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site museum, Xian, China.
15. Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons, London.
16. Jewish Museum, Berlin.
17. Canadian Museum of Civilisation, Ottawa.
18. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
19. Neues Museum, Berlin.
20. Centrale Montemartini Museum, Rome.
21. Natural History Museum, London.
22. Museum of the Moving Image, New York.
23. Musée national du Moyen Age, Paris.
24. Museum of Jurassic Technology, LA.
25. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai.
26. Die Neue Sammlung, Munich.
27. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
28. Pergamon Museum, Berlin.
29. Museum of Natural History, Vienna.
30. Egyptian Museum, Turin.
31. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, England.
32. Vasa Museum, Stockholm.33. Bob Marley Museum, Kingston, Jamaica.
34. Australian Museum, Sydney.
35. Museo dell’ Automobile, Turin.
36. Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad, India.
37. Boerhaave Museum, Netherlands.
38. Luxor Museum, Egypt.
39. Zeugma Mosaic Museum, Turkey.
40. Coleridge Cottage, Somerset, England.
41. Museum of Wellington City & Sea, New Zealand.
42. Robben Island Museum, South Africa.
43. Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico City.
44. Viking Ship Museum, Oslo.
45. Grande Galerie d’evolution, Paris.
46. Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, New York.
47. National Museum of Ireland.
48. River and Rowing Museum, Henley on Thames.
49. Ghibli Museum, Tokyo.
50. Country Music Hall of Fame, Nashville.
