The Art Institute of Chicago
Photo via: Vagary.tv

Forget the Louvre, the Met, the British Museum—according to TripAdvisor, the world’s most popular museum is The Art Institute of Chicago, winner of the site’s “Traveler’s Choice Award.”

The well-loved institution’s collection features over 300,000 artworks, including Claude Monet’s Stack of Wheat (1890-91) and Grant Wood’s American Gothic (1930).

The astronomical visitor numbers scored by some of the Institute’s better known counterparts are irrelevant here. In a press release quoted by CBS Chicago, TripAdvisor states that “award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews for museums worldwide, gathered over a 12-month period.”

On this basis, the Louvre doesn’t even make it to the top 10 (below). It might be time for them to rethink their online strategy.

TOP TEN IN WORLD

1. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (6,512 reviews)

2. National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropología), Mexico City, Mexico (3,906 reviews)

3. State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia (5,851 reviews)

4. The Getty Center, Los Angeles, California (4,470 reviews)

5. Galleria dell’Accademia/Statue of David, Florence, Italy (10,024 reviews)

6. Musee d’Orsay, Paris, France (20,408 reviews)

7. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, New York (14,999 reviews)

8. The Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece (6,617 reviews)

9. Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain (12,061 reviews)

10. Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, Jerusalem, Israel (2,556 reviews)