Ringling Museum listed as one of the top 39 museums in the world

Sarasota natives and frequent tourists know full well the artistic and circus splendors of the Ringling Museum. And now Buzzfeed’s Internet community ranks it among the best museums in the world.

A diverse institution that houses the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, the Circus Museum, the Ca’ d’Zan, the Historic Asolo Theater, an education center and the Bayfront Gardens, the Ringling Museum was selected in an open poll on the viral news and pop culture website Buzzfeed as one of the essential museums of the world.

Listed with the Ringling Museum as one of the “39 Museums Around The World to Visit Before You Die” include such famous and lauded museums like the Musei Vaticani in Vatican City, Rome; the Tate Modern in London and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. In addition to the more traditional museums, others on the list include the quirky yet important Experience Music Project Museum in Seattle; the Newseum in Washington, D.C.; and the neighboring The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL.

Below is the complete list of Buzzfeed’s essential museums in the world. How many have you spent time with and visited?

Experience Music Project Museum, Seattle

Newseum, Washington, D.C.

The Mütter Museum, Philadelphia

The Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco

Museo Picasso Málaga, Spain

Ringling Museum, Sarasota, FL

Lennusadam, Estonia

Canadian War Museum, Ottawa

The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA

Oregon Museum of Science & Industry, Portland, OR

National Museum of Crime and Punishment, Washington, D.C.

The Dali Museum, St. Petersburg, FL

The Field Museum, Chicago

Musei Vaticani, Rome

Tate Modern, London

The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN

The National WWII Museum, New Orleans

Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas

House on the Rock, Spring Green, WI

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Bakken Museum, Minneapolis

Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Titanic Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Shedd Aquarium, Chicago

The Henry Ford, Dearborn, MI

California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

City Museum, St. Louis

The National Museum of History, Mexico City

Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA

The Frick Collection, New York City

International Spy Museum, Washington, D.C.

Museum of Broken Relationships, Zabreb, Croatia

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C.

American Visionary Art Museum, Baltimore

Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh

Musée de la Renaissance, Écouen, France

Museum Island, Berlin.