Which is the best museum in London? The city has such a bounty of world-renowned museums that it can be hard to know which to visit first. This comprehensive guide will help you navigate London’s museum scene and make the most of your visit.
Are Tickets Needed for All the Museums in London?
Tickets are required for most museums in London, with each institution having its own admission policies. While many museums offer free entry to their permanent collections, special exhibitions and events may require access tickets. It’s advisable to check the official website of the museum you plan to visit for detailed information on ticket pricing, opening hours, and any current promotions or discounts. Planning and securing tickets in advance can help enhance your museum experience and ensure you make the most of your visit.
20 Best Museums in London
London, a city steeped in history and culture, is home to some of the most fascinating museums in the world. It isn’t easy to decide which is the best museum in London. Whether you’re a history buff, an art enthusiast, or a curious traveller, London’s museums offer something for everyone. We have listed the 20 best museums in London, England.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is not only one of the best free museums in London but also a world-class research institution. The vast Gothic building looks more like a cathedral than a museum. Its pale blue and terracotta façade just about prepares you for the natural wonders within. Inside the striking building, favourites include the Dinosaur Gallery, the blue whale model, and the state-of-the-art Darwin Centre. The museum is home to around 80 million plant, animal, fossil, rock, and mineral specimens, including a life-sized blue whale, a 40-million-year-old spider, a human-sized model of a foetus, and a giant sequoia tree.
Tate Modern
Location: Bankside, Southwark
A visit to London is not complete without a trip to Tate Modern. Located on the south bank by the Thames, Tate Modern, a gallery transformed from a power station, is a great place to experience modern and contemporary art. The awe-inspiring Turbine Hall runs the length of the entire building. You can admire works by Picasso, Bourgeois, Warhol, Rothko, Bonnard, Matisse, Pollock, Cézanne, and more. On a viewing platform on the top level of the Blavatnik Building, you can see the London panoramas, some of the best you’ll find anywhere in the city.
British Museum
Situated in central London, the British Museum, the world’s first national museum, is open to the public and celebrates all things of human history, art, and culture. It is, of course, one of the best museums in London. Its permanent collection comprises 8 million works, making it one of the largest in history. The museum is one of the world’s most popular attractions, with six million visitors annually. The galleries are divided by location and historical periods – Ancient Iran, Greece, China, Roman Britain and so on. You will come across artefacts ranging from the Rosetta Stone and an Easter Island basalt carving to the Parthenon sculptures and treasures from the Sutton Hoo ship burial.
Victoria and Albert Museum
The V&A is the largest and one of the best art museums in London and the eighth-biggest art museum in the world. It has more than 100 galleries over seven floors and a permanent collection of 2.3 million objects. The museum’s collection includes examples of architecture, painting, sculpture, fashion, textiles, ceramics, and jewellery from around the world, from ancient Chinese ceramics to South Asian and Middle Eastern artefacts. You will be dazzled by the eclectic art and design on offer at the V&A. Some of the highlights of the museum include the Photography Centre and the Cast Courts.
Science Museum
The Science Museum is the most visited science and technology museum in Europe. Over 15,000 objects are on display, including world-famous objects such as the Apollo 10 command module, 600 kg Spacelab 2 X-ray telescope, and a real piece of the Moon. The museum’s in-house IMAX cinema, with a screen taller than four double-decker buses, shows scientific films in 3D, allowing visitors to be surrounded by space or submerged in the ocean’s depths. Tickets to the cinema start at £11 for adults and £23 for a family of three, and pre-booking is required.
Tate Britain
National Portrait Gallery
After a three-year hiatus for renovation, the iconic National Portrait Gallery re-opened its doors to the public in summer 2023. With a refurbished, light-filled café, glitzy underground basement bar Larry’s, and rooftop restaurant Portrait, the National Portrait Gallery’s hospitality offering might be in a league of its own. The NPG is home to a carefully curated collection of portraits of Britain’s most essential and famous people. The portraits of musicians, scientists, artists, philanthropists and celebrities are spread across the building.
National Gallery
Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum, which was once the site of Bethlem Royal Hospital and is flanked by naval guns, is the world’s leading museum of war. Founded during the First World War, it gives voice to the extraordinary experiences of ordinary people forced to live in a world torn apart by conflict. Its permanent displays include Peace and Security, The Holocaust Exhibition, and the First World War Galleries. The museum’s vast collections encompass a wealth of objects from uniforms to photographs, vehicles to films, weapons to works of art.
London Transport Museum
In the heart of Covent Garden is The London Transport Museum, where you can look back on the history of London transport and explore how London’s growth, culture, and society have been intertwined with its transport system from 1800 to today. This museum is among the best museums in London and is fun for vehicle enthusiasts of all ages. Here, you can see the original artwork for Harry Beck’s Underground map, the world’s first Underground steam engine, old London Routemaster buses and more.
Design Museum
Founded by Sir Terence Conran in 1989 and relocated to Kensington in 2016, the Design Museum hosts cutting-edge contemporary exhibitions, from fashion to architecture and product and industrial design. Its almost 1,000 items reveal the history of modern design through the perspectives of designer, maker, and user, while its line-up of talks and events complements the stunning visual displays. The museum has designers in residence and several dedicated exhibitions worth keeping an eye on.
The Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts was founded in 1768. It is surely one of the best art museums in London and has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate. Highlights of the permanent collection span more than two centuries, from William Turner to Tracey Emin. They have had the iconic Summer Exhibition every year since 1769 and display all kinds of art, from modern to classic.
Wellcome Collection
The Wellcome Collection connects science and medicine with art and culture. You’ll find over 250,000 items, including paintings, drawings, prints, photos, stamps and more, alongside audio-visual material such as television programmes and public health information films. Don’t miss the impressive selection of books and contemporary journals covering topics ranging from modern medicine to anatomy, alchemy, and witchcraft. They also have exhibitions, live events, gallery tours, and a great café and library.
Horniman Museum and Gardens
The Horniman is an anthropological museum in an eccentric-looking art nouveau building with extensive gardens. Founded in 1901 by Frederick John Horniman, a tea merchant who wanted a space to display his private collection of natural history, the Horniman Museum is a nature lover’s dream. The Natural History Gallery is dominated by an ancient walrus and ringed by glass cabinets containing pickled animals, stuffed birds and insect models. A permanent gallery is dedicated to African, Afro-Caribbean and Brazilian art and a collection of around 1,600 musical instruments. The museum’s famous showpiece aquarium consists of tanks and rock pools covering seven distinct aquatic ecosystems.
Wallace Collection
Wallace Collection, one of London’s best art galleries, is a historic London townhouse whose 28 elaborate rooms are decorated with outstanding art. Fine art from the 15th to 19th centuries is displayed at the townhouse of Sir Richard and Lady Wallace, who collected fine paintings, porcelain, artefacts and furniture over generations. The museum is perfect if you like old art and artefacts, plus, it has the cutest pink café to treat yourself to.
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum is at the heart of the Royal Museums Greenwich, charting Britain’s rich naval history. The collection at the National Maritime Museum is an unparalleled treasure trove of artefacts, models, maps, art and memorabilia. From Nelson’s heroics to ocean-liner glamour to pirate escapades, this museum fascinates people of all ages. Among the museum’s free galleries, you can explore Polar Worlds, go on Pacific Encounters, see Turner’s Battle of Trafalgar Gallery, and find unique exhibits such as Nelson’s uniform at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Postal Museum
One of Britain’s most significant inventions was the postal system—the very first social network, which has been around for 500 years. The Postal Museum showcases how sending, delivering and receiving messages via post revolutionized our lives. Visitors can take a ride on the Mail Rail through the stations and tunnels of London’s 100-year-old postal railway, see the unchanged station platforms below Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant sorting office, hear from the people who worked on the railway and learn about the parts of it that kept the postal system moving through London over the years.
Museum of Brands
One of the best museums in London, England, is located around the corner of Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill. The Museum of Brands is an immersive visual journey from the Victorian era to the present day and shows the impact of social and cultural changes on everything from consumer society right down to a chocolate bar’s wrapper. You can also journey through the Time Tunnel to see how brands evolved and how we evolved with them. There are more than 12,000 original items, from motor cars, music and television to sweets and household goods.
Sir John Soane's Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum, another of the best free museums in London, was the former residence of Sir John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. In the nineteenth century, he turned his house into a museum to which, he said, “amateurs and students” should have access. Over 20,000 architectural drawings, antiquities and works by Turner, Canaletto and Piranesi, and two sets of paintings by William Hogarth and the Egyptian Sarcophagus of Seti Ⅰ can be found here. Visitors paying a visit to the fully restored model room, bedroom, bathroom, book passage, oratory, and morning room will get a glimpse of London’s past.
Jewish Museum
Following the atrocities of the Second World War and the placement of Jewish people across London, two museums came together in the early 1980s—The London Museum of Jewish Life and The Jewish Museum. In what is now known as the Jewish Museum once again, a showcase of Jewish life, culture, heritage and identity awaits. Temporary exhibitions sit alongside permanent galleries on the Holocaust, Jewish ceremonial art and the history of Jewish life in Britain. Regular events include community kitchen sessions, talks, and events for friends of the museum, while children often attend in groups to learn about Jewish practices.
Find a Hotel Near the Best Museum in London
When enjoying your museum day in London, you may need to find a place to stay nearby. Here are some suggestions for you to find a suitable hotel near one of the best museums in London.
- Based on your interests, decide which museum in London you want to stay near, such as the British Museum, the National Gallery, or the Tate Modern.
- Visit popular online booking platforms. For instance, uhomes.com offers various accommodations, including apartments, hotels and student accommodation in London. Professional services and safe, convenient options are provided on this website to help find your ideal accommodation.
- Search by landmark and look for hotels with positive reviews and high ratings. Think about amenities important to you, such as free breakfast, Wi-Fi, air condition, parking, or proximity to public transportation. The distance between the hotel and your destination is important to ensure convenience during your visit.
- Book in Advance, especially during peak tourist seasons, to guarantee availability and potentially benefit from discounts.
Best Museums in London for Kids
There are plenty of museums in London that host interactive exhibitions and educational activities to inspire the curious minds of kids, making them the perfect day out in the big city with your little ones.
Young V&A
Young V&A is part of the Victoria & Albert Museum and was known as the V&A Museum of Childhood until its recent refurb. It has been amassing childhood-related objects since 1872 and is home to one of the world’s finest collections of children’s toys, doll’s houses, games and costumes. The museum has lots of hands-on stuff for kids dotted about the many cases of historic artefacts. Spending a day at East London’s Young V&A is a favourite with children and young people looking to discover their inner artist.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in London is one of the most child-engaging museums in the world. Many highlights of this museum are especially attractive for kids, such as riding the earthquake simulator, seeing a life-sized model of a blue whale, and playing with forces on giant slides. There’s even a life-size moving model of a T-rex and plenty of interactive displays to keep the kids entertained. There are plenty of magical things to experience, especially on a rainy day.
Science Museum
The Science Museum is one of the best museums in London for kids as there are loads of interactive exhibits and educational games, from a space gallery and aviation centre to a thrilling flight simulator and an incredible virtual-reality trip into space. Pattern Pod introduces under-eights to the importance of patterns in contemporary science, and Launchpad is a popular hands-on gallery where children can explore basic scientific principles. And don’t forget the huge IMAX cinema.
London Transport Museum
Explore the history of London and its transport system over the last 200 years at this interactive, family-friendly museum. Kids can climb aboard vintage buses, trains, taxis and, of course, the world’s first underground railway. Try your hand at driving or fixing a modern tube train, learn how to signal a train and play in the museum’s dedicated play zone for children under seven, All Aboard. No child can resist this temptation!
Museum of London Docklands
Located in an old warehouse on the waterfront and close to public transport links, the Museum of London Docklands tells the stories of London as a port through stories of trade, migration, and commerce from 1600 to the present day. There are daily family tours, Explorer Back Packs, family trails, and a family map to help you make the most of your visit. Booked for 40-minute slots at a fee of £3, Mudlarks is the museum’s popular children’s gallery and play space for under eights.
Best Small Museums in London
London is a real treat for museum lovers. Alongside the big names, there’s also a trove of smaller, more eclectic museums in London to explore.
Sherlock Holmes Museum
The Sherlock Holmes Museum is a wonderful little museum that covers the legendary career of one of Britain’s most beloved fictional characters, the detective Sherlock Holmes. Every room is recreated in loving detail, with authentic Victorian items. Fronting onto Baker Street is a Victorian-era study, and beside it is a bedroom exhibited as if Holmes was in residence. Watson’s bedroom is on the second floor, while Mrs Hudson’s room is at the back of the house. On the third floor is an exhibition showing wax models of scenes from the Holmes stories. If you grew up following the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, come and explore this excellent small museum!
Hunterian Museum
The Hunterian Museum, dedicated to honouring the legacy of surgeon John Hunter, recently reopened following significant redevelopment in May 2023. It is a museum of anatomical specimens and a member of The London Museums of Health & Medicine group. Showcases over 2,000 anatomical preparations from Hunter’s collection, offering insights into the surgical history and the evolution of medical practices, including robot-assisted surgeries. It stands as England’s most extensive public showcase of human anatomy.
Foundling Museum
Opened in 2004 on the site of the original Foundling Hospital, the Foundling Museum tells the story of England’s first hospital for abandoned children, founded by philanthropist and campaigner Thomas Coram in 1739. The Foundling Hospital operated for over 200 years and looked after over 25,000 children, and the museum tells the story of these children through a wonderful collection of prints, sculptures, paintings, manuscripts, clocks, and furniture with ties to the hospital. It also houses a collection relating to the life and works of the composer George Frederick Handel, one of the original Governors of the Foundling Hospital.
Charles Dickens Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum hosts the world’s most extensive collection relating to Dickens, including letters, pictures, first editions, furniture, memorabilia, and lovingly restored rooms. Visitors are taken back in time and glimpse Victorian London in the home of one of England’s greatest authors. The famous novelist lived here from 1837 to 1839, and it was in this house, he wrote his masterpiece Oliver Twist, achieving international recognition as one of Britain’s best storytellers.
Garden Museum
The redundant 13th-century church of St Mary at Lambeth stands beside Lambeth Palace, the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The church is now the home of the Garden Museum, covering the history of gardening in Britain. Displays include items from 16th-century naturalist John Tradescant’s collections, new garden-inspired art from contemporary and historical artists, and stories behind famous gardens. When you’ve done exploring the history of English gardens and gardeners, you can climb to the church’s medieval tower for exceptional views across the River Thames and over the rooftops of Lambeth Palace.
FAQ
What is the biggest museum in London?
The British Museum is London’s largest museum, housing a vast collection spanning centuries and continents, offering a remarkable journey through diverse cultures and histories.
Why are so many museums free in London?
In London, many museums offer free admission as a testament to promoting accessibility to culture and knowledge, enriching lives without financial barriers, fostering inclusivity, and celebrating the universal value of art and history.
What is the coolest thing at the British Museum?
One of the coolest and most iconic treasures at the British Museum is the Rosetta Stone, a renowned artefact that unlocked the secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Its historical significance and enigmatic aura make it a must-see highlight for visitors seeking a glimpse into ancient civilizations.
