Museums · London · United Kingdom
7 best museums in London
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: ThatsTheBoss, CC0
Quick answer
Start with British Museum, National Gallery and Natural History Museum. Together the 7 picks below take roughly 13–15 hours across 6 areas; 6 are free.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 7
- Free entry
- 6
- Time to see them all
- 13–15 hours
- Areas
- Bloomsbury, Trafalgar Square and South Kensington
Museums in London
Museum · Bloomsbury
1.British Museum
Two million years of human history fill the British Museum, from the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies to the Parthenon sculptures and the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo helmet.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
Gallery · Trafalgar Square
2.National Gallery
Western European painting from the 13th to the early 20th century hangs in the National Gallery on the north side of Trafalgar Square: Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Turner's The Fighting Temeraire, Constable's The Hay Wain, Velázquez's Rokeby Venus and Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait among them.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Iconic
- Rainy day
Museum · South Kensington
3.Natural History Museum
Alfred Waterhouse's terracotta building, decorated with carved animals and plants, holds some 80 million specimens.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Rainy day
- Iconic
- Nature
Gallery · Bankside
4.Tate Modern
Britain's national museum of modern and contemporary art fills the former Bankside Power Station, with its 99-metre chimney and a vast Turbine Hall used for large-scale commissions.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · South Kensington
5.Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
The V&A covers 5,000 years of art and design: fashion from the 17th century to today, the Cast Courts with full-size plaster copies of Trajan's Column and Michelangelo's David, Raphael's tapestry cartoons and rooms of jewellery and silver.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Art
- Free
- Rainy day
- Architecture
Museum · Westminster
6.Churchill War Rooms
Beneath Whitehall, the bunker from which Winston Churchill and his staff directed the Second World War is preserved much as it was left in 1945, including the Map Room with its pinned charts and the Cabinet Room.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
.jpg){kind=link}
Museum · Holborn
7.Sir John Soane's Museum
The architect Sir John Soane arranged for his house on Lincoln's Inn Fields to be kept as he left it, and it has barely changed since his death in 1837.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Art
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Bloomsbury | British Museum | 2–3 hours |
| Trafalgar Square | National Gallery | 2 hours |
| South Kensington | Natural History Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) | 2–3 hours + 2 hours |
| Bankside | Tate Modern | 2 hours |
| Westminster | Churchill War Rooms | 1.5–2 hours |
| Holborn | Sir John Soane's Museum | 1 hour |
Booking and timing
Of these 7, 6 free, 1 mid-priced. Book ahead for British Museum, Natural History Museum and Churchill War Rooms. The longest visit is British Museum; group the rest by area to save travel time.
- British Museum: Entry is free, but booking a free timed slot online helps at busy times such as school holidays.
- Natural History Museum: Free entry, but booking a timed slot online is advised during school holidays.
- Churchill War Rooms: Timed tickets often sell out in summer and school holidays; book online in advance.
How to fit them into 4 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Bloomsbury and Trafalgar Square): British Museum → National Gallery, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (South Kensington): Natural History Museum → Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Bankside and Westminster): Tate Modern → Churchill War Rooms, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 4 (Holborn): Sir John Soane's Museum, at least 1 hour.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 9°C (48°F), about 9 rainy days, quiet crowds. Still chilly and grey, but hotel prices are among the year's lowest outside the school half-term week in mid-February.
- January: highs of 9°C (48°F), about 11 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold and short days with sunset around 4pm, but post-Christmas sales and quiet museums make it a good-value month.
- March: highs of 12°C (54°F), about 9 rainy days, moderate crowds. Daffodils and blossom appear in the royal parks, and the clocks go forward on the last Sunday, adding evening light.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Covent Garden and Soho — Theatreland, the market piazza and late-night restaurants in the West End
- South Bank and Bankside — Riverside arts quarter from the London Eye to Borough Market
- South Kensington — Museum quarter, white stucco terraces and Hyde Park on the doorstep
- Bloomsbury and King's Cross — Georgian squares, the British Museum and Eurostar on the doorstep
More of London
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in London?
British Museum. Two million years of human history fill the British Museum, from the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies to the Parthenon sculptures and the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo helmet.
+Which of these are free in London?
British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and Sir John Soane's Museum.