Bihar Museum ranked ninth in world's best museums list 2026
The museum in Patna is the highest-ranked institution in Asia, according to the Worth a Journey travel guide.
The Bihar Museum in Patna has been ranked ninth globally and first in Asia in the 'World’s 100 Best Museums 2026' list, according to The Indian Express and The New Indian Express.
The list, published by the Munich-based travel guide and digital magazine Worth a Journey, placed the museum ahead of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Paris’s Musée du Louvre.
The museum's collection traces Bihar’s history from the Stone Age to modern times through manuscripts, coins, folk art, and sculptures.
The facility features the 2,300-year-old Didarganj Yakshi, a Mauryan era sculpture carved from Chunar sandstone, alongside Kurkihar bronzes and Buddhist sculptures.
Designed by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki and Mumbai's Opolis Architects, the 13-acre campus became fully operational in 2017 on Bailey Road.
A 1.4-km underground heritage transit tunnel is currently being built to connect the Bihar Museum with the older Patna Museum.