6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
One-star reviews of world-class museums: ‘It felt more like an airport'
If art really imitates life then the masterpieces at many of the world's most renowned museums should depict long lines, jam-packed galleries, dirty bathrooms, rude employees and miserable visitors.
Iconic cultural institutions from Cairo to Paris to New York have earned a permanent slot on sightseeing itineraries. But popularity does not always equal impeccable performance.
On review sites such as Tripadvisor and Yelp, travelers gripe about all aspects of the museum experience, from the 'chaotic ticketing and queuing arrangements' at the Louvre to the 'undrinkable coffee and inedible chips and dip' at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Overcrowding is one of the biggest complaints, a downside to the rebound in visitation after the height of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a 2024 survey by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), half of the 464 respondents — all AAM members — have fully recovered or exceeded their pre-pandemic attendance levels. In the United Kingdom, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions ranked the British Museum as the most-visited site last year, with nearly 6.5 million guests, an increase of about 240,000 from 2019. About 9 million people annually walk through the doors of the Louvre (2020 excluded).
In all fairness, the majority of reviewers post glowing remarks. There are also strategies for ensuring an exceptional experience. Natanya Khashan, an AAM spokesperson, recommends using the advance ticketing systems, avoiding the busiest times of the day or week, and visiting museums that cap the number of entries.
'That's a good option for people who can't be in a hyperstimulating or overcrowded space but really want to see the museum,' Khashan said.
But you can't please everyone. So we scoured Tripadvisor and Yelp for some of the best one-star reviews. Here are excerpts from the winners.
You can't see anything. You can just struggle for air and exit. — 432dijanam, April 2025
It felt more like an airport than a place to enjoy culture. — Gizzardsface, February 2025
Bad organization, 1 bathroom for 3,000 visitors. Dirty, no directions. Surface security checks. WiFi connection nonexistent and employees unable to speak English. Bad museum! — Daniela Di Salvo Pavone, Italy, February 2025
Glass pyramid is an eyesore and does not match the architecture. Shame on them. Toilets filthy. Sandwich at cafe was really good. Never again. Makes you angry with the millions they make they cannot move lines like at Disneyland. — Div L., California, March 2024
My ultimate tip for this place, look for the air conditioning vents on the floor. They are brass looking vents. Just find them and stand on top of them. Enjoy. — Nathan K., Chicago, August 2023
Nowhere to sit down. Cloakrooms with attitude. — AntiRagby582, London, October 2024
Honestly, the art on display is so avant-garde that it is not art, it is paper bags and well-placed chairs. Some other shovel and bicycle wheel. Honestly, I would pay for 100 museums in Europe before this one. — Lucia V., Spain, January 2025
If you want to end the afternoon with a pit in your stomach the size of a black hole and an utter hatred of humanity, I recommend a visit to MoMA. — Natalie V., July 2023
I've no idea what the museum is like as I am still in a queue despite having booked a timed entry ticket. — Amy, United Kingdom, May 2025
Worst scam ever, 34€ to see a staircase with 15 statue (yes I counted them) and three unimportant sarcophagus of minor kings and queens. — Riccardo Sabbadini, Rome, May 2024
Nothing more to see other that people made of clay. … I don't recommend. — puneetmehra, May 2019
Silly Walmart-like chrysanthemum display in sunken garden area. … Just a sad mishmash of objects pilfered by a bored aristocrat with daddy's money to burn. Skip it. — Henny855, Massachusetts, December 2023
There was one room that was just an assortment of junk. It ranged from a Speak and Spell to one of the muppets. Really a muppet. — Donnie C., Indianapolis, September 2019
If you like evolution, dinosaur skeletons, taxidermy and preservation of animals, fossils, and ancient Egyptian mummies and artifacts you'll like this place. We don't. — Allyson H., Indiana, June 2024
The exhibits are like a dark maze. Think Ikea but with wayyyyy less lighting. … I really don't recommend this museum if you love animals, have asthma, or claustrophobia. — Allison P., Indianapolis, April 2024
A total waste of time to drive up from Orange County to see this crap. The only thing somewhat interesting was album covers of music that many I have at home. — ccbillsfan, May 2021
Half the paintings are just some person scribbling with no meaning. — GoPlaces51355181444, June 2024
I felt I like was being served prison food. In fact, I have never seen any self-respecting organization sell such awful stuff. The museum doesn't sell meals anymore, now they sell expensive dog food to people who are visiting from out of town. — Ron L., July 2021
Stick to the copy of David exhibited in the open air in front of the town hall. It is the size of the original and above all it is free. — Pascal B., October 2023
Undoubtedly the worst tourist attraction I've visited in the world. Likened more to a conveyor belt being pushed through at a chook raffle, with nothing to see other than a bunch of old delapidated wooden buildings. Definitely a money grab on all fronts. — Nomad Traveller, Australia, August 2019
It is forbidden, it seems, to enter. — Ellipse, Johannesburg, April 2024
You have to queue up 30 min. for a bottle of water, 45 min. to access toilets. Just horrible, how can you even dare call this a museum! — Flo, Spain, January 2025
I would never come here again. They do not let you take photos of anything within the museum, not even of the information boards next to artifacts or paintings. — Rebecca-Bonnici, Malta, November 2024
We did not see everything, as we eventually got bored and decided to bail on this place. What is worthwhile is the nearby park. — Kyle F., Dallas, August 2024
