Museums & Galleries
Museums & Galleries - Background
Few major capitals can rival London's range of world class museums and galleries. Most of these charge no admission.
Some of the Best:
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The British Museum
(pictured) is quite simply a historical treasure house that shouldn't be missed. Free at all times (except for special exhibitions), the British Museum is still much to absorb in one visit. Highlights include the Elgin Marbles, the Great Court, Reading Room, and massive collections of antiquities from civilisations around the world.
Holborn or Russell Square Tube.
- The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square possesses one of the world's finest collections of medieval and Renaissance art - a 'must see'. Canaletto, Rembrandt, Holbein, and Gainsborough are all represented. Admission is free.
Leicester Square Tube.
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The National Portrait Gallery (Charing Cross Road) is a who's who artistic showcase of British history, ancient and modern. Check out www.npg.org.uk.
Leicester Square Tube.
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The Geffrye Museum (off Kingsland Road) is an East London museum that consists of living rooms furnished and decorated with original period pieces - a slice of London life throughout the centuries. Check out www.geffrye-museum.org.uk.
Liverpool Street Tube.
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The Imperial War Museum is by far the most impressive war history museum in London. Housed in the once-infamous 'Bedlam' lunatic asylum in Lambeth, the IWM has made a conscious effort to make the museum much more than a specialist house for those interested in militaria, focusing as much on the human experience and tragedy of conflict. Wide-ranging exhibits include reconstructed World War One trenches, a harrowing Holocaust Exhibition, and (of course) some impressive planes, tanks and other survivors of the nations wars. Check out www.iwm.org.uk.
Lambeth North or Elephant & Castle Tube.
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The Natural History Museum is one of South Kensington's vast edifices to Victorian science and discovery, but thankfully the museum directors have adopted a mixture of 21st century and traditional methods to display its great treasures of the natural world. Straddling the need to provide interesting exhibits - such as the animatronic dinosaurs and pyrotechnics of the Earth Galleries - and to be a place of scientific and academic endeavour, the Natural History Museum does a commendable job. Visit www.nhm.ac.uk.
South Kensington Tube.
- Don't let the ugly, modern exterior of the Museum of London put you off. The museum is now free, and this - coupled with the vast and interesting collection - makes it an ideal venue for repeat visits. Focusing on the history of the city - Roman, Viking, Medieval, Victorian, and 20th century - the Museum of London also has regular special exhibits. The new World City Galleries tell the fascinating story of London between 1789 and 1914, when the capital was the most important city in the world. Visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk.
St. Paul's Tube.
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The Tate Modern (now spectacularly housed in the Bankside Powerstation) houses a vast collection of twentieth century art, and is the largest modern art gallery in the world. Warhol, Hirst, and Dali jostle for space with more 'challenging' works that visitors will either love or hate. Check out www.tate.org.uk.
Southwark or Blackfriars Tube.
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The Tate Britain now has exclusive use of the Pimlico site, and showcases British art from 1500 to the modern day. A wonderful Turner gallery is one particular highlight. Visit www.tate.org.uk.
Pimlico Tube.
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The Photographers Gallery (off Charing Cross Road) hosts free exhibitions. Check out www.photonet.org.uk.
Leicester Square Tube.
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The Wallace Collection is an amazing assorted collection of treasures housed in a converted chateau just north of Oxford Street. Check out www.wallace-collection.org.uk.
Bond Street Tube.
- Kenwood House (pictured above) on Hampstead Heath contains an impressive collection of paintings, including a number of genuine masterpieces. A great place for a picnic.
Hampstead or Highgate Tubes.
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The Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington is a treasure house that is hard to define - galleries include artwork, curiosities, dresses, Indian and Oriental art, slightly bizarre plaster casts of famous statues and monuments, sculpture, and objects d'art. With seven miles of corridors, this is one museum where it is simply Impossible to fully appreciate the collection in one visit. The new British Galleries are stunning. Check out www.vam.ac.uk.
South Kensington Tube.
- The Science Museum is the place to go if you want to know, see, and do things which relate to space travel, time, computing, chemistry, telecommunications, transport, and photography. Seven floors of exhibits. Check out www.nmsi.ac.uk.
South Kensington Tube.
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Cool deals
London Pass
To view many more museums and London sightseeing - the London Pass is a must, offering entry to your choice of 55 of the best charging tourist attractions in London with one very affordable ticket. Traveling To London? Check How to Save Money on London Sightseeing
The Great British Heritage Pass
A must for your Britain Visit! Britain boasts some of the richest history in the world, and the abundance of magnificent, olde world properties throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are testament to this.
With the Great British Heritage Pass you can visit them all – just buy an affordable one-off pass, and you will be granted free entry to over 580 UK heritage properties.
Designed exclusively for the overseas international visitor, the Great British Heritage Pass takes you to world renowned properties as well as hidden gems under the care of National Trust, English Heritage, National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, and Cadw, all together for one price on one pass! Please note that the pass can only be sold to non-UK residents with an address outside of Great Britain.
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