London’s British Museum is now one of three in the UK capital to be among the 10 most visited museums in the world, alongside the National Gallery and the Tate Modern.

6.7 million people came through the British Museum’s doors in 2013 – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year – which has now overtaken New York’s Metropolitan Museum of art, only beaten by Paris’ Louvre that saw 9.3 million people visit the attraction.

It should also be noted that the several of the attractions – particularly those listed in London – offer free entry, while others listed are able to draw in huge crowds despite charging notable entrance fees. For example, a visit to the Louvre can range from between €12-16 ($16-22, £10-13) per person.

London and Paris are on equal footing in terms of attractions in the top ten – both having three – with the French landmarks being the aforementioned Louvre, Centre Pompidou and Musée d’Orsay.

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has dropped back to third place despite seeing its numbers rise to 6.2 million while the National Gallery came in just behind with 6 million visits.

Others to feature in the list include the Vatican Museums in fifth place, the National Palace Museum in Taipei in seventh, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC in eighth place.

The top ten in order are:

1)LOUVRE, Paris – 9,334,435
2) BRITISH MUSEUM, London – 6,701,036
3) METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, New York – 6,226,727
4) NATIONAL GALLERY, London – 6,031,574
5) VATICAN MUSEUMS, Vatican City – 5,459,000
6) TATE MODERN, in London – 4,884,939
7) NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM, Taipei – 4,500,278
8) NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, Washington DC – 4,093,070
9) CENTRE POMPIDOU, Paris – 3,745,000
10) MUSEE D'ORSAY, Paris – 3,500,000