DISCOVER LONDON MUSEUMS WITH US
London is a mecca for museums lovers. The city has all kind of museums, from history, art, war and even one dedicated to Jack The Ripper. And not only some of them are between the best of its kind in the world; there is another thing: most of them are for free!
There are museums for everybody and almost everywhere. You can visit the Tate Modern or Tate Gallery, or dive into the historic collections of the Natural History Museum or the British Museum, or learn and experiment at the Science Museum. Some of them are based on the United Kingdom, or England, or London itself (London Transport Museum, National Army Museum and the Museum of London), while other, with an educative projection, have a wider spectrum, open to international topics and affairs like politics, arts and history.
You can also find specialized, curious or even individual museums, like The Sherlock Holmes Museum or the one dedicated to Jack The Ripper.
To help you in your London’s museum route, we have some useful tips and recommendations for you
LONDON MUSEUMS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
If you don’t have much time and are willing to visit as many museums as you can we recommend you to take a map and mark out the closer ones or, even better, the closest to each other, so you can cover the route in one day or two.
Fortunately, some of the best museums in the city are really close to each other, like the National Army Museum, the Albert Museum, the Natural History Museum and The Science Museum. Other, like he Museum of London Docklands, the Royal Observatory or the National Maritime Museum are far away from central London, but if you are interested you can easily get there by public transportation.
You can include some museums in your way to London’s monuments and attractions. For example, The Household Cavalry Museum or the Churchill War Rooms are close to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, and so are Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. In another circuit, if you visit St. Paul’s Cathedral or The Gherkin you can find the Museum of London in that area.
Close to Camden Markets, Madame Tussauds and The Regent’s Park are the Sherlock Holmes Museum and the British Museum, and in the way to Greenwich Park and Cutty Sark you will find the National Maritime Museum.
PRICES
One of the greatest good things in London is the free entry to many gorgeous museums, like the Natural History Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the V&A Museum and the Science Museum, among many others; but you will need to pay a fee for other. Those fees are usually among £10 to £15, like Sherlock Holmes Museum and Jack The Ripper Museum, or even less, between £5 to 10, for nice places such as the Royal Observatory Greenwich. Generally, as we have mentioned before, you can save some money if you previously buy your tickets online.
Among the more expensive museums in London are The Churchill War Rooms (£18 with donation), the London Transport Museum, costing £16 to £17, but with the advantage of unlimited entry to all its galleries and exhibitions in 12 months.
There is the possibility to take an annual membership in museums like the Natural History Museums so you can visit it for free for a year, as well as its events, lectures and temporary exhibitions. Similarly, you will find museums that hosts different attractions or temporary exhibitions inside that you will need to pay to enjoy them. Such is the case of the Science Museum and its flight simulators or IMAX Theatre.
It’s common that museums ask for donations, but in all cases they are optional.
LONDON MUSEUMS’ SCHEDULES
Generally, London Museums open at 10.00 and close from 17:00 to 18:00, anyway, we recommend you to visit the museum of your choice’s website to check it.
You will need to consider that some museums will not let you enter if you arrive only half an hour before the closing time or similar, and some other could be open until later, specially in summer months or holidays.
As most of London attractions and places, most of the museums will be close on December 24th and 25th, and probably on New Year’s Day. Again, check it on the website.
VALUABLE TIPS
Museums’ cafes and restaurants use to be expensive.
Video and pictures use to be allowed inside but, off course, only for personal, touristic use. Anyway, if you’re visiting a gallery or similar, it can happen that cameras are not allowed to be used. Just read the signs carefully, because in some places, for example, even when you can make photographs or videos, flashes and tripods are forbidden.
As in any other place or attraction, during a holiday, museums tend to be crowded. So, if it’s the case that you’re in London during a holiday, you should better get there really early to avoid queues and crowds.
If you are in London for only a few hours and you’re planning to visit a museum carrying your luggage, you should know in many of them there aren’t luggage facilities, so is better to let your bags in the train or bus stations, or in the airport, if the case.