National Museum of Scotland top 20 world attraction

SCOTLAND’S busiest visitor attraction has made the top 20 of the world’s most popular museums and galleries, according to new figures.

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh has joined the likes of the Louvre in Paris and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art flagship league table after its busiest ever year.

The news, revealed in the Art Newspaper’s annual audit, has emerged just weeks after latest figures showed the museum, on Chambers Street, was the ninth most popular attraction in the UK last year.

The museum, which has now been visited by almost 3.5 million people since a multi-million pound overhaul was completed, has claimed 20th place in the Art Newspaper survey.

Almost 1.9 million visitors were lured to the attraction in 2012, the first full year following its £47 million revamp. The number was more than double what it was in 2007, the last year the museum was fully open prior to the redevelopment work starting.

Dr Gordon Rintoul, director of National Museums Scotland, said: “We were absolutely delighted with the recent news that the National Museum of Scotland was the first Scottish attraction to make the UK top ten, but for a Scottish museum to be in the top 20 most visited museums and galleries in the world is nothing short of remarkable, particularly when you consider the population of Edinburgh in comparison to the other cities and attractions on the list.

“This success underlines the fact that redevelopment has put National Museum of Scotland firmly on the global stage as a museum and visitor attraction of international significance.”