Check out the full nominees list for best museums in the world

Attention art aficionados, the time has come to crown the finest museum of them all!

This year's list has been lauded for including more than a few surprises such as Benin Republic's Ouidah Museum of History which got the nod for Leading Culture Destinations 2015 (Africa).

Aside from exhibitions and programming, this year's entries were also judged on architecture and spatial design, digital experience, shopping, and eating and drinking.

Check out the full list of nominees below:

Best exhibitions & programming

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Museum of Modern Art, New York (US)

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)

New Museum, New York (US)

Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)

Best architecture & spatial design

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France)

Guggenheim Bilbao, Bilbao (Spain)

State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (Russia)

Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (Qatar)

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (US)

Best digital experience

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Museum of Modern Art, New York (US)

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)

Getty Center, Los Angeles (US)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (US)

Best eat & drink

Centre Pompidou, Paris (France)

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Serpentine Gallery, London (UK)

Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)

Somerset House, London (UK)

Best shop

Victoria & Albert Museum, London (UK)

Museum of Modern Art, New York (US)

Palais de Tokyo, Paris (France)

Tate Modern, London (UK)

Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris (France)

The shortlist for the Best Emerging Culture Destination of the Year includes:

Europe

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

The Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris (France)

Barcelona Design Museum, Barcelona (Spain)

Whitworth Gallery, Manchester (UK)

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (Russia)

Fondazione Prada, Milan (Italy)

Asia

Museum SAN, Wonj (South Korea)

Asia Modern, Wufeng, Taichung (Taiwan)

Sifang Art Museum, Nanjing (China)

Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita (Japan)

Pinacotheque De Paris (Singapore)

Africa

Museum Mohammed VI, Rabat (Morocco)

Museum MMP +, Marrakech (Morocco)

Ouidah Museum of History (Benin)

Thread by Foundation Annie & Josef Albers, Sinthian (Senegal)

North America

Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Winnipeg (Canada)

Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York (US)

The Aspen Art Museum, Aspen (US)

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (US)

Mana Contemporary, New Jersey (US)

South America

The Biomuseo, Panama City (Panama)

Museum of Memory and Tolerance, Mexico City (Mexico)

Museo Soumaya, Mexico City (Mexico)

La ene -- Nuevo museo energia de arte contemporaneo, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Museu de Arte do Rio (MAR), Rio de Janerio (Brazil)

Gran Museo del Mundo Maya de Merida, Merida (Mexico)

Middle East

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, (Qatar)

Oman National Museum, Muscat (Oman)

Design Museum, Holon (Israel)

Dubai Moving Image Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

Salsali Private Museum, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)

The Traveler's Award shortlist:

Best art experience in a hotel

La Colombe d'Or, Saint-Paul-de-Vence (France)

Gramercy Park Hotel, New York (US)

Rome Cavalieri Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resort, Rome (Italy)

Gladstone Hotel, Toronto (Canada)

Swatch Art Peace Hotel, Shanghai (China)

Palace Hotel Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

Best emerging city for culture

Manchester (UK)

Oslo (Norway)

Palma de Mallorca (Spain)

Mexico City (Mexico)

Venice (Italy)