The Best Sports Museums in the World

Sports museums are perfect to see something different on your trips or vacations. Of course, you can also learn about a certain sport or sports history.

Are you such a huge sports fan that you organize a trip where you can learn about your passion? If so, don’t miss this article where we’ll tell you about the best sports museums in the world.

What are the best sports museums?

Some are centered around a specific disciple, others an event- such as the Olympics- and others pay tribute to athletes and sports in general. Pay attention to the best sports museums in the world… and plan a trip to see them!

1. Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum (England)

This is the largest tennis museum on the planet, and it was inaugurated during the 1977 Wimbledon tournament. However, it was renovated in 2006. In the Wimbledon museum- on the cover- you can learn about the history of the sport from 1555 to the present day. Also, their rooms are very interactive.

For example, some of the must-sees of this museum are the “ghost” of John McEnroe, the collection of uniforms and outfits that the best tennis players wore, the exhibit of rackets and balls, the library and the store. You can take a guided tour in English, or choose audio guides in different languages.

2. Sports Museum of Finland

Founded in 1930 inside the Helsinki Olympics Stadium, it’s one of the oldest museums related to the Olympics Games and sports in general. With more than 3,000 objects on display, it’s a great place to stop if you’re passing through the Finnish capital.

For example, you can find the golden boot of Paavo Nurmi- the flying Finn-, an old collection of skis from the 5th century BC, the stopwatch used during competitions at the Paris 1924 Games and hundreds of posters. It has two floors and is divided into Finnish sports and Olympics sports.

3. Sports museums: Automobile Museum (France)

The small town of Le Mans in western France changed dramatically when it started hosting one of the most important motorsport races in the world. Here, the top drivers compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At the main entrance of the circuit, you’ll find an exceptional museum, inaugurated in 1961. Here, you can see all the races that were held since 1923 (with breaks during the World Wars) all displayed in chronological order. You can see car models of the most emblematic brands, such as Ferrari, Jaguar and Porsche, among others.

4. Joan Antonio Samaranch Olympic and Sports Museum (Spain)

If you’re a sports fan and you’re going to Barcelona, you can’t miss out on Montjuic, the site of the 1992 Olympics and current sports district with different facilities. Besides visting the Lluys Companys Olympic Stadium or the Palau Saint Jordi, you can check out the Olympic museum.

At 12,000 square feet, it’s one of the largest Olympic museums in the world. It lets you learn about each sport, there are objects and explanations for each discipline, games, interactive screens, and even an area where you can become an athlete for a few minutes. In turn, one room holds treasures from Barcelona ’92, and you can see replicas of all the Olympic torches.

5. National Sports Museum (China)

This is another of the best sports museums that you can’t miss if you’re in Asia. It’s in Beijing, and it opened in 1990. Here, there’s more than 21,000 square feet of space and huge rooms to learn about Chinese sports history, from ancient times to the present day.

6. Sports museums: Lausanne Olympic Museum (Switzerland)

Switzerland is a very important country for sports because there are the headquarters of different federations, including the International Olympic Committee, FIFA and UEFA. In particular, Lausanne is the Olympic city par excellence and it’s a museum worth visiting.

In its rooms, you can find objects from each of the modern editions, from 1896 to 2016. On the other hand, in the garden, there are sculptures from the ancient Olympics. In addition, this museum is in the Ouchy neighborhood, on the shores of Lake Geneva, and it has impressive natural views.

Finally, other sports museums worth visiting are: the Basketball Museum in Springfield, United States; the Sports and Olympic Museum of Cologne in Germany; the National Sports Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Olympic Museum in Thessaloniki, Greece.