Bihar Museum in Patna Outshines the Louvre and the Met

Didarganj Yakshi in Bihar Museum

The Bihar Museum has secured ninth place in the 2026 list of the world's 100 best museums, published by travel guide Worth a Journey. It is the only Indian institution to feature in the global rankings and the only museum from Asia to make it into the top 10.

The Patna-based museum has outperformed two of the world's best-known museums, Paris's Louvre and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, popularly known as The Met, which occupy 31st and 10th positions, respectively.

Bihar Museum/ Image credit: wikimedia commons

The top five positions are occupied by Mexico City's Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid's Museo del Prado, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, Saint Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum and Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum.

The Bihar Museum is spread across more than 13 acres and is distinguished by its striking contemporary architecture. Its design was conceived by renowned Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki, winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, in collaboration with a Mumbai-based architectural firm.

The museum houses an extensive collection of archaeological artefacts spanning ancient history to 1764, offering visitors insights into Bihar's rich historical and cultural heritage.

One of its most celebrated exhibits is the Didarganj Yakshi, a sculpture dating to the Mauryan period. Widely regarded as one of the finest examples of ancient Indian sculpture, the sculpture was discovered near Patna in 1917.

Visitors planning a trip should note that the museum remains open from Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Public visiting hours are from 10 am to 5 pm.

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