Prix Versailles announces the 2026 list of the World’s Most Beautiful Museums!

Images from / Prix Versailles

Key takeaways

Prix Versailles recently announced its list of the “World’s Most Beautiful Museums 2026.”
This year’s list includes 7 museums across Japan, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Lithuania, and Uzbekistan.
From Kengo Kuma’s greenery-filled architecture to Zaha Hadid Architects’ futuristic spaceship-like exterior, each museum tells its own story through architecture.

While some museums are worth visiting for their exhibitions, these belong on your travel list for their architecture alone. Prix Versailles recently announced its 2026 list of the “World’s Most Beautiful Museums,” with the 7 selected buildings using distinct architectural languages to show how contemporary museums can go beyond their role as exhibition spaces. Take a look at this year’s selections!

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01 Japan｜MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives

MoN Takanawa, which opened in Tokyo this March, is one of Kengo Kuma’s latest signature works. Spiraling timber structures and glass exterior walls create an open space, while more than 200 plant species inside make the museum feel like a forest growing in the city.

Images from / Prix Versailles

02 China｜Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum

Designed by renowned architecture firm Zaha Hadid Architects, the museum’s streamlined form creates a futuristic silhouette. Its facade is clad in around 95,000 irregular stainless-steel panels, whose deep-blue-to-silver-gray hues shift with the light, making the building resemble a spaceship moving through the city.

Images from / Prix Versailles

03 China｜Xuelei Fragrance Museum

As the world’s largest fragrance museum, the building consists of 8 red-brick cylinders inspired by traditional perfume-making processes such as distillation and extraction. Inside, around 300 scent stations lead visitors through the origins and evolution of fragrance via layered exhibition areas and interactive experiences.

Images from / Prix Versailles

04 United Arab Emirates ｜Zayed National Museum

Five steel towers stretching skyward define the building, inspired by the wings of a falcon in flight. Beyond serving as a visual focal point, the spires incorporate principles of natural ventilation to improve comfort indoors in the hot desert climate, striking a subtle balance between aesthetics and sustainable design.

Images from / Prix Versailles

05 Uzbekistan｜Islamic Civilization Center

A massive 65-meter dome serves as the building’s focal point, inspired by the traditional architecture and decorative motifs of the Timurid era. Inside, the signature Quran Hall weaves together light and sound to create a tranquil atmosphere, leading visitors into the history and spiritual world of Islamic civilization.

Images from / Prix Versailles

06 United States｜National Medal of Honor Museum

This museum was designed by the late architect Rafael Viñoly and was the last project he completed during his lifetime. Its distinctive structure is supported by 5 massive pillars, representing the five branches of the U.S. military, while the circular skylight at its center symbolizes the subsequently established Space Force and brings natural light into the space, creating a solemn atmosphere.

Images from / Prix Versailles

07 Lithuania｜Lost Shtetl Museum

Inspired by Lithuania’s former Jewish settlements, several house-shaped exhibition buildings stand side by side to form the outline of a small village. The museum does more than present history; through its architecture, it seeks to revive memories that were lost to war.