When it comes to the fabulous London museums, the city does not fool around — it is home to over 130 incredible museums catering to every interest and curiosity.
Whether you’re seeking to delve deeper into the history of the Second World War, discover precious Islamic and Asian art, or marvel at eye-popping contemporary artworks, you’re sure to find a perfect museum around the corner.
Here’s a curated list of the 14 best London museums worth visiting. Most of them don’t charge an entrance fee, so you can see world-class art and artifacts without breaking the bank!
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Top 14 London Museums
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Natural History Museum
| 📌 Address | Cromwell Rd, South Kensington. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | Mon-Sun: 10 AM – 5:50 PM | Closed 24-26 Dec |
Science buffs will have the best time while exploring London’s Natural History Museum. Located in the South Kensington area, this world-class museum is home to a dazzling collection of 80 million objects dating back from billions of years ago.
Highlights of the Natural History Museum’s collection include Hope, the huge blue whale skeleton in Hintze Hall, fossils in the world-leading Dinosaurs gallery, and meteorites from outer space.
Science Museum
| 📌 Address | Exhibition Road, South Kensington. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 6 PM, daily |
The Science Museum is another must-visit for curious travelers seeking to discover the innovations that shaped the modern world. Founded in 1857, the museum is a major institution and one of London’s top tourist attractions, attracting over 1 million visitors annually.
While browsing through the museum’s two buildings, visitors will discover an array of precious objects of scientific achievement. These include Helen Sharman’s Space Suit, dating back to 1991, the Wells Cathedral clock, one of the world’s oldest clocks, from 1390, and a Pilot ACE computer, from 1950.
British Museum
| 📌 Address | Great Russell Street. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 5 PM, daily |
Founded in 1753, the British Museum was the first national museum to cover all fields of human knowledge and is one of the most memorable London museums. There, visitors will be happily surprised to find a dazzling permanent collection featuring eight million objects that document two million years of human history and culture.
Snoop around the museum’s considerable galleries to marvel at world-famous relics such as the Rosetta Stone — a dark-colored granodiorite stela carved during the Hellenistic period — and the Parthenon sculptures and mummies from Ancient Egypt.
London Transport Museum
| 📌 Address | Covent Garden Piazza. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 6 PM, daily |
Want to learn about the fascinating link between transportation and the growth of London? Then, be sure to check out the Transport Museum. There, you’ll come across more than 500,000 objects, including more than 80 vintage vehicles covering 200 years of London’s history,
Some of the museum’s treasures are a red Routemaster bus, the world’s first Underground steam train, and the padded cell, a train carriage dating back to the 1890s.
Victoria And Albert Museum
| 📌 Address | Cromwell Road. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 5:45 PM, daily | Fri: 10 AM – 10 PM |
London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is the world’s largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts, and design. This well-loved institution is home to a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects, from ancient Chinese ceramics to Alexander McQueen evening dresses.
Highlights of the Victoria and Albert Museum include paintings by Raphael, sculptures by Auguste Rodin, and Queen Victoria’s glistering sapphire and diamond coronet.
National Gallery
| 📌 Address | Trafalgar Square. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 6 PM, daily | Fri: until 9 PM |
The National Gallery is one of the most spectacular museums in London. Nestled in the heart of Trafalgar Square, this prestigious institution houses a treasured collection of over 2,300 paintings by brilliant artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Van Gogh, Diego Velázquez, Sandro Botticelli, and Johannes Vermeer.
Some of the masterful works you’ll get the chance to see in the National Gallery are “The Arnolfini Portrait”, by Jan van Eyck, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and “The Water-Lily Pond”, by Claude Monet.
Imperial War Museum
| 📌 Address | Lambeth Road. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 6 PM, daily |
Located in what was once a hospital, the Imperial War Museum in London was founded to record the extraordinary experiences of people caught up in WWI and WW2.
In the museum’s award-winning galleries, visitors will discover archives of personal and official documents, photographs, oral history recordings, an extensive library, a large art collection, and examples of military vehicles, aircraft, and equipment.
Some of the museum’s must-sees are two giant naval guns built for two different British naval ships during the First World War, a rampaging Russian T34 tank, and the Spitfire – one of the most celebrated fighter aircraft of World War II.
Fashion And Textile Museum
| 📌 Address | 83 Bermondsey Street. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | Tue-Sat: 11 AM – 6 PM |
The Fashion and Textile Museum is the only museum in the UK dedicated to showcasing contemporary fashion and textile design. Founded by the British designer Zandra Rhodes, the museum does not have a permanent collection — instead, it hosts colorful temporary exhibitions centered around famous creatives from around the world.
From 31 March to 10 September 2023, the museum will hold an exhibition exploring the eye-catching and fascinating textile designs by the influential pop artist and icon Andy Warhol. A must-visit!
Design Museum
| 📌 Address | 224 – 238 Kensington High Street. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | Sun-Thu: 10 AM – 6 PM | Fri & Sat: 10 AM – 9 PM |
Founded by Sir Terence Conran in 1989 and relocated to Kensington in 2016, The Design Museum is the world’s leading museum devoted to contemporary design in every form.
The museum is set within a renovated building, formerly occupied by the Commonwealth Institute, and harbors a world-class collection made up of over 3000 objects. These relics range from the early Modernism of the 1900s to the cutting edge of contemporary design and span all aspects of design such as architecture, fashion, furniture, product, and graphic design, digital media, and transport.
Aside from 1 permanent collection display, the museum features 2 spaces dedicated to incredible temporary exhibitions. Until the 30th of July 2023, the Design Museum will host
“Ai Weiwei: Making Sense”, the artist’s first exhibition focusing on design, will mix recent works with commissioned pieces.
Royal Air Force Museum
| 📌 Address | Grahame Park Way. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 5 PM, daily |
Beautifully set within the former Hendon Aerodrome, the Royal Air Force Museum (RAF) includes five buildings and hangars showing the history of aviation and the Royal Air Force.
The museum plays host to around 1.3 million objects that document the history of the United Kingdom’s air and space force, which was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918.
While exploring the museum, you’ll see the original Battle of Britain fighter aircraft, Avro Lancaster S-Sugar, which flew 137 sorties, and the Westland Sea King helicopter.
Sir John Soane’s Museum
| 📌 Address | 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | Wed-Sun: 10 AM – 5 PM |
Sir John Soane’s Museum is a house museum located in the building that was formerly the home of neo-classical architect and avid book collector, John Soane.
While exploring Soane’s extraordinary house, you’ll come across a glittering collection of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, and architectural models, as well as jaw-dropping paintings by artists like Hogarth, Turner, and Canaletto.
You’ll also find 30,000 architectural drawings, which can be seen by appointment at the Research Library.
Tate Modern
| 📌 Address | Bankside. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | Sun-Thu: 10 AM – 6 PM | Fri & Sat: 10 AM – 10 PM |
Tate Modern is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the world. With a total internal floor area of 371,350 sq ft, the museum comprises an amazing collection of artworks by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, and Andy Warhol.
When exploring the museum’s permanent galleries, be sure to check out the iconic “Marilyn Diptych” painting, by Andy Warhol, Picasso’s “Nude Woman With Necklace”, and “Seagram Murals” by Mark Rothko.
Charles Dickens Museum
| 📌 Address | 48-49 Doughty Street. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | Tue-Sun: 10 AM – 5 PM |
Welcome to one of London’s most fascinating places. The museum is located at 48 Doughty Street, Dickens’s London home from 1837-1839 and the place in which the author wrote Oliver Twist.
In this fairly typical middle-class Victorian home, fully set up as though Dickens himself had just left, visitors will get the chance to learn about one of England’s most famous and best-loved writers.
Precious relics found within the museum include a portrait of Dickens known as Dickens’s Dream by R. W. Buss, several first editions, original manuscripts, original letters by Dickens, and many personal items owned by Dickens and his family. The only known item of clothing worn by Dickens still in existence is also displayed at the museum.
Horniman Museum And Gardens
| 📌 Address | 100 London Road, Forest Hill. Get Directions |
| ⏰ Opening Hours | 10 AM – 5:30 PM, daily |
The Horniman Museum and Gardens is an inspiring, family-friendly museum in South London’s Forest Hill. Open since Victorian times, the museum holds an award-winning collection of around 350,000 objects covering natural history, cultural artifacts, and musical instruments.
There, visitors will stumble upon 80,000 objects from around the world, a large collection of taxidermied animals, around 4,700 butterflies, and a pair of bone clappers in the form of human hands made in Egypt around 3,500 years ago.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most popular London museums?
The “big three” are usually considered to be the British Museum (history and artifacts), the National Gallery (Western European art), and the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs and nature). Other frequently visited options include the Victoria and Albert Museum (decorative arts and design), Science Museum (technology and inventions), and Tate Modern (modern and contemporary art).
Do any London museums have free entry?
Yes, several London museums are free to enter, including the National Gallery, Tate Britain, British Museum, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, and V&A. Special exhibitions within these museums may have fees. Explore our cuddly list of free museums in London.
How much time do I need for each London museum?
It depends on your interests! Each major museum is vast and could take a full day to explore comprehensively. If you’re short on time, you can focus on specific exhibits or collections within a museum. Most museums provide suggested itineraries for shorter visits on their websites.
Which London museums are good for children?
The Natural History Museum is a popular choice for children with its dinosaur skeletons and interactive exhibits. The Science Museum offers hands-on experiences related to technology and space, and the Horniman Museum has a good mix of natural history and cultural artifacts.
Are there any London museums that are hidden gems?
Absolutely! For history buffs, the Museum of London Docklands explores London’s maritime history. The London Mithraeum is a fascinating Roman temple hidden beneath the city. Art lovers might enjoy the Sir John Soane’s Museum with its eclectic collection.
