Top 100 best museums in London

St Paul's Cathedral, situated on Ludgate Hill in the City of London, serves as the seat of the Anglican Bishop of London. This iconic structure has a rich history and is a significant landmark in the city. Visitors can appreciate the architectural grandeur of the cathedral and learn about its historical significance.

The British Museum is home to one of the largest collections of works and artefacts coming from all over the world. The museum was opened in 1759 and is dedicated to human history, art, and culture. The museum has ten departments with various collections, including artefacts dedicated to indigenous

Also known as Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, The Tower of London was one of the many castles built as part of the Norman Conquest of England. It has been extended several times in the past and has always played a major role in English history. For some time, the Tower was used as a prison.

The National Gallery is an art gallery that is housed in a neoclassical building built in 1838. The gallery holds an art collection of over 2.600 pieces which contains European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The highlights include paintings by El Greco, Jan van Eyck, Rembrandt, Ruben

The Natural History Museum in London is divided into four zones, each with a common theme. Follow the Red Zone if you're interested in geology. Learn about the history of the Earth and the forces that change it. The Green Zone focuses on birds and fossils, while the Blue Zone is devoted to human bio

The Victoria and Albert Museum holds the largest design and decorative art collection in the world, with over 2.27 million objects. The museum houses collections that span 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day. Through these collections, visitors explore historical and contempora

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of British monarchs. Originally built as a townhouse, Buckingham Palace was turned into a private residence for Queen Charlotte in 1761. The palace was reconstructed and enlarged during the 19th century and it has been used as a residence of the British mo

Located in both of the twin towers, the exhibition is dedicated to the history and construction of the well-known suspension bridge the Tower Bridge. Apart from various short films and interactive displays, visitors can also see some of the original designs of the bridge and visit the Victorian engi

In the Churchill War Rooms visitors can discover the original Cabinet War Rooms, the wartime bunker that sheltered Churchill and his government during the Blitz. Explore the historic rooms to experience the secret history that lives on underground. Discover the stories of those who worked undergroun

The Imperial War Museum London was founded in 1917 to show the impact war had on Britain and to show the progress in war-related technology the humanity has created. It tells the stories of people’s experiences of modern war and conflict. The museum has both temporary and permanent exhibitions. Them

Shakespeare's Globe is a modern replica of the theatre where some of Shakespeare's plays were staged for the first time. The original theatre was built in 1599 by the Lord Chamberlain's Men, Shakespeare's playing company. It was located roughly 250 metres from where the Globe Theatre stands now. The

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, is a significant landmark located on the banks of the Thames in the London district of Westminster. This historic building serves as the seat of the British Parliament, making it a central hub of political activity in the United Kingdom. Its location offers visitors a picturesque view of the Thames, adding to the overall appeal of the site.

The Wallace Collection is an art collection that is housed in the Hertford House, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, Marquesses of Hertford. The collection consists of of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Especially the holdings in the collection of 18th-century

At the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew visitors can explore glasshouses, landscapes and 250 years of history. Climb to the treetops on the Xstrata Treetop Walkway, delve into rainforest inside the iconic Palm House or discover more on a guided tour. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew features exhibits related to

The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) was the first portrait gallery in the world when it opened in 1856. The gallery houses a collection of portraits of historically important and well known British people. Works in the National Portrait Gallery include photographs, caricatures, paintings, drawings a

The Courtauld Gallery is situated in Somerset House and houses the art collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art. The collection contains over 500 paintings, over 25,000 drawings and prints, various sculptures and other objects from medieval to modern times. The most famous pieces in the collect

Royal Air Force Museum, London is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to: social history, archives, personalities, costume and textiles, weapons and war, science and technology and aviation.

The HMS Belfas is a light cruiser that has been converted into a museum permanently moored on the Thames. Visitors are invited to explore the warship and learn what it was like to live on board from the Second World War to 1963. Visitors can explore all 9 decks of the ship and the museum includes in

Tate is a collective name for the National Gallery of British and modern art in England. It comprises four museums: Tate Britain, which was opened in 1897 and was previously known as the Tate Gallery; Tate Liverpool, which was opened in 1988; Tate St. Ives, which was opened in 1993; and Tate Modern, which was opened in 2000. In addition to these physical locations, there is also Tate Online, a website created in 1998 that encompasses all the Tate museums.

The Arsenal Museum is situated opposite turnstile E in the Northern Triangle Building. The museum holds many exhibits that were donated by former players who hold a special place in Arsenal’s history. Highlights include Jens Lehmann’s goalkeeper gloves that he wore in the season 2003/4, Michael Thom

Tate Modern is one of the largest modern and contemporary art galleries in the world, housed in a former power station built between 1947 and 1963 that was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Tate (Modern) holds the national collection of British art from 1900 until today as well as international m

The Science Museum in London was founded in 1857 and currently holds over 300 000 exhibits, including famous exhibits as the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, documentation of the first typewriter, the oldest surviving steam locomotive, a working example of Charles Babbage's

Sir John Soane's Museum is a house museum that was formerly the home of the English architect John Soane, who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The museum displays drawings and models of Soane's projects and the collections of paintings, drawings and antiquities collected by Soane.

The Saatchi Gallery is a gallery for contemporary art in London that showcases works by young artists or by established international artists whose work is rarely seen in the UK. Because of this the Saatchi Gallery has provided a springboard to launch careers of these lesser-known artists.

The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is the largest tennis museum in the world and is located on the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The museum contains a large collection of items and clothes, some of which date back to the 16th century. These items, ranging from many famous players from V

The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising is devoted to the history of consumer culture from Victorian times to the present day. The collection of the museum consists of over 12,000 items, including domestic everyday products, such as packaging, toys, posters, games, and more that show how bra

Royal College of Surgeons houses The Hunterian Museum in London. The museum displays thousands of anatomical specimen as well as surgical instruments. It was named after John Hunter, a pioneering surgeon from Scotland. Unfortunately, the museum is now closed due to reconstruction works. It will be r

Journey through memories captured during years of magical filmmaking at the Harry Potter Photographic Exhibition. Housing iconic photographs, the Photographic Exhibition will take fans behind-the-scenes of key moments in the film series, from Harry’s first day at Hogwarts through to the Battle of H

The London Transport Museum conserves and tries to explain the transport heritage of London. The majority of the exhibits in its collection originated in the collection of London Transport (the organisation that was responsible for the public transport network in London). Its collection has however

From Roman settlement to the development of Canary Wharf, the Museum of London Docklands, housed in a 200 year old warehouse, shows the history of London as a port through stories of trade, migration and commerce. Many of the objects it has in its collection are from the museum and archives of the P

National Theatre is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to Performing Arts and World Cultures.

The Charles Dickens Museum is an author's house museum, housed in a typical Georgian terraced house. The house was Charles Dickens's home from 1837 to 1839. The museum features the famous portrait of Dickens known as Dickens's Dream by R. W. Buss, with Charles Dickens surrounded by many of the chara

KIDS GO FREE! Discover the Painted Hall, one of the most iconic sights in London, located at the heart of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site. An awe-inspiring artwork covering more than 3,700m walls and ceiling recounting tales of kings and queens alongside mythological, historical,

Wellcome Collection is a museum and library in London that aims to challenge how we all think and feel about health. The museum lets its visitors think deeply about the connections between science, medicine, life and art, by exhibiting an unusual mixture of medical artefacts and artworks. The perman

The Geffrye Museum of the Home is dedicated to home and home life in England from 1600 to the present day with a series of period room displays. Some of the individual artefacts of The Geffrye Museum are of national importance, but the real significance of the collection lies in its extensive covera

Eltham Palace is an unoccupied former royal residence owned by the Crown Estate that was transformed into an Art Deco mansion by Stephen and Viriginia Courtauld. The Eltham Palace incorporates original medieval features into an otherwise modern 1930s design. Visitors step into the shoes of the lavis

Established as early as in the 17th century, this bank is the central bank of UK. Though you can't actually access the Bank, you can pay a visit to the museum located inside and learn more about the financial system, fascinating history of the Bank, as well as its importance in today's economy.

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret is one of the oldest surviving operating suites (dating from 1822) and a museum of surgical history. The museum consists of the operating suite that was used in the days before anesthetics and antiseptic surgery and the herb garret to store and cure h

Kenwood House is a former stately home that served as a seat for the aristocratic Murray and Guinness families. Famous paintings in its collection include The Guitar Player by Johannes Vermeer, Self Portrait with Two Circles, by Rembrandt, Portrait of Pieter van den Broecke, by Frans Hals, Portrait

The Leighton House Museum is the former home of the Victorian artist Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896). The house features the Arab Hall with its golden dome, intricate mosaics and walls lined with Islamic tiles. The house museum holds a collection of paintings and sculpture by Leighton and his co

The Royal Mews is a mews of the British Royal Family. The state coaches and other carriages are kept at The Royal Mews situated at Buckingham Palace, along with some horses, together with the more modern state motor cars.

Apsley House is a Georgian building and is the London townhouse of the Dukes of Wellington. The house is open to the public as a museum and art gallery which has the Wellington Collection on display, a collection of paintings, other artworks and items of the career of the 1st Duke. The rooms inside

The Horniman Museum and Gardens holds a collection of over 350,000 related to anthropology, natural history and musical instruments. The museum is especially known for its large collection of taxidermied animals. It also features an aquarium.

An intimate window into the life of Englands best known scientist. It was from his study at Down House that Charles Darwin worked on the scientific theories that culminated in a book “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection“ that both scandalised and revolutionised Victorian Britain.

Step aboard a full-size reconstruction of the famous Golden Hinde - the first English ship to circumnavigate the globe. Under the command of Sir Francis Drake, the crew faced considerable challenges along the way including skirmishes, storms and scurvy. Discover more about this incredible journey, a

The Chelsea Physic Garden, originally known as the Apothecaries' Garden, was founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. The purpose of this garden was to cultivate plants that could be used for medicinal purposes. This historical context adds a unique aspect to the garden, making it not just a place of beauty, but also a site of scientific and medicinal significance.

The Grant Museum of Zoology is one of the oldest natural history collections in the UK (dating back to 1828), and is the last remaining university natural history museum in London. It houses a diverse Natural History collection of 68,000 zoological specimens covering the whole of the animal kingdom.

The Foundling Museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, the first home for abandoned children established in Britain. The institution was opened in 1739 by the philanthropist Thomas Coram. The collection the museum holds includes paintings and sculptures by well-known British 18th-century ar

Dennis Severs was an artist who lived in this house (from 1979 to 1999) in much the same way as its occupants in the 18th century (a family of Huguenot silk weavers) would have done. He used his visitors' imagination as his canvas while they are taken on a historical tour around the house.

Founded in 1811, the Dulwich Picture Gallery was England's very first public gallery. The museum houses masterpieces by Rembrandt, Rubens, Watteau, Gainsborough, Van Dyck and many others. Besides these masterpieces, the collection consists of many more French, Italian and Spanish Baroque paintings a

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John H. Watson lived at 221b Baker Street (where the Sherlock Holmes Museum is located) between 1881-1904, according to the stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The house was last used as a lodging house in 1936 and the famous 1st floor study overlooking Baker Street

Wellington Arch is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to: weapons and war, architecture, law and order and fine art.

The Musical Museum contains one of the world's foremost collections of self-playing musical instruments. From the tiniest of clockwork music boxes to the 'Mighty Wurlitzer' the collection embraces a comphrehensive array of sophisticated reproducing pianos, orchestrions, orchestrelles, residence orga

Ham House and Garden is a museum in Richmond-upon-Thames. The museum features exhibits related to: decorative and applied art, architecture, fine art and social history.

Strawberry Hill is a museum in Twickenham, Middlesex. The museum features exhibits related to Literature, Decorative and Applied Art, Architecture and Agriculture.

Guildhall Art Gallery displays the richness of London's history. It is home to the art collection of the City of London, consisting of around 4,000 pieces, of which around 250 are on display at any one time. The Gallery's permanent collection displays works dating from the 1600s onwards, including a

Banqueting House is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to: decorative and applied art and architecture.

The Freud Museum London is housed in the home of the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, who spent the last year of his life there with his family. The main feature of the museum is his intact study with his desk and the famous psychoanalytic couch and many ancient artefacts including his old library

The Queen's Gallery is a public art gallery that rotates pieces from the Royal Collection showcasing numerous exhibits such as paintings and jewelry. Around 450 works are on display at any one time. It is located at the west front of the Buckingham Palace and first opened in 1962. It underwent a rec

Syon Park has been home to the family The Duke of Northumberland for over four hundred years and still owned and looked after by them. It is full of beauty and magnificence, of great paintings and furniture, with perhaps the finest Robert Adam interior in the country. Surrounded by its own parkland

The William Morris Gallery is the only public gallery devoted to the life and legacy of William Morris: designer, craftsman, socialist. The William Morris Gallery features exhibits related to: design, decorative and applied art, fine art, literature, costume and textiles and social history. Key them

The feminine influence of generations of royal women has shaped this stylish palace and gardens. Kensington Palace features exhibits related to: social history, fine art, decorative and applied art and costume and textiles. Key themes, people and exhibits in the museum include: designated collection

Osterley Park and House is a museum in Osterley, Middlesex. The museum features exhibits related to: architecture, social history, fine art and decorative and applied art. Key themes, people and exhibits in the museum include: robert adam.

In the Jewish Museum London visitors learn about the life of British Jews, their history and their culture. The museum was established in 1932 and it comprises of four permanent galleries and two temporary exhibition spaces. The collection includes Jewish ceremonial art, paintings, drawings, photogr

Household Cavalry Museum is the official museum of the Household Cavalry housed in the 18th-century stables. Visitors can explore the informative exhibition full of sometimes rare items, such as ceremonial uniforms, horse furniture and silverware.

The Fan Museum is housed in two grade II* listed houses built in 1721 and is the first museum in the world devoted to the preservation and display of fans. The collection of the museum consists of more than 5,000 fans, fan leaves, and related ephemera with examples from all over the world from the 1

The Guards Museum explores over 380 years of history behind the Foot Guards – the five Regiments of Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards. These Regiments are world-famous for their role guarding the British Monarch and Royal Palaces, but they have always been highly trained, frontlin

Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte's Cottage is a museum in Richmond. The museum features exhibits related to: personalities, coins and medals, architecture and social history.

Chiswick House is a Palladian villa that was built and designed by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, who completed it in 1729. The garden of the house is one of the earliest examples of the English landscape garden, designed by William Kent. Burlington was one of 18th-century Britain's greatest

The ancient Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great was founded by a courtier of Henry I (son of William the Conqueror). It is a good example of Norman architecture which has survived the numerous transformations and upheavals London has undergone over the past 900 years, including the Great Fire

London Museum of Water and Steam is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to: science and technology, land transport and industry. Key themes, people and exhibits in the museum include: metropolitan water board, cornish beam engines, richard trevithick, thomas wicksteed, matthew b

Created by E.A. Bowles (1865-1954), Myddelton House Gardens have been refurbished and offer an impressive range of flora, fauna and historical artefacts. These gardens have a Green Flag Award.

The Florence Nightingale Museum is housed in the St Thomas' Hospital and is devoted to Florence Nightingale, covering her Victorian childhood, her life in the Crimean and her life as an ardent campaigner for health reform. Inthe museum visitors learn more about the legacy of Florence Nightingale and

Clarence House is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to Architecture, Fine Art, Design and Personalities. Key themes, people and exhibits in the museum include English porcelain and silver, Bowes-Lyon family history, Graham Sutherland, Augustus John, John Piper, WS Sickert and

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is part of University College London Museums and Collections and holds around 80,000 objects, including one of the greatest collections of Egyptian and Sudanese archaeology. The Petrie Museum illustrates life in the Nile Valley from prehistory through the ti

The Magic Circle Museum is a museum in London. The museum features exhibits related to: social history and archives.

Dr Johnson's House is a 300-year-old townhouse where Samuel Johnson, the writer and wit, lived and worked in the 18th century, compiling his great Dictionary of the English Language in the Garret. The museum houses a collection relating to Johnson, a research library, restored interiors and original

The Fine Art Society is a renowned gallery with locations in both London and Edinburgh's New Town. Established in 1876, the gallery has a rich history and has been a significant player in the art world for over a century. It has been home to many notable exhibitions and has a focus on British art and design from 1600 to the present day. The Edinburgh branch specializes in Scottish art from the same period.

The Crystal in London is home to the world's largest exhibition on the future of cities. It was opened by Siemens in 2012 as a global hub for debate on sustainable living and development.

The National Army Museum, the premier museum of the British Army, is situated in the Chelsea district in the heart of London. It is conveniently located next to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, making it an accessible destination for tourists exploring the city. The museum offers a deep dive into the history and heritage of the British Army, providing a unique perspective on the country's military past.

The Photographers' Gallery was the first public gallery in the UK devoted solely to photography when it was founded in 1971. Over the years it has introduced such international photographers as Juergen Teller, Robert Capa, Sebastião Salgado, Andreas Gursky and Taryn Simon to British audiences, whils

Red House is a museum in Bexleyheath. The museum features exhibits related to: personalities, architecture, social history, decorative and applied art and design. Key themes, people and exhibits in the museum include: dante gabriel rossetti, edward burne-jones, william morris and philip webb.

The National Army Museum, the premier museum of the British Army, is situated in the Chelsea district in the heart of London. It is conveniently located next to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, making it an accessible destination for tourists exploring the city. The museum offers a deep dive into the history and heritage of the British Army, providing a unique perspective on the country's military past.

Two Temple Place is a museum in London that is dedicated to promoting culture and philanthropy. The museum displays publicly owned art from regional collections in the United Kingdom. It is mostly known for its architecture and its collection includes works of William Silver Frith, Sir George Frampt