There are over 250 museums in London and a number of the large national museums and smaller specialist museums are free of charge to enter. They may occasionally charge for special exhibitions, but you can see all the main exhibits.
Here are just ten of the museums that you can visit for free in London:-
1. The British Museum
The British Museum houses a vast collection of ancient artefacts from around the world, including Egyptian mummies.
The British Museum was founded over 250 years ago. Its aim was to show everything as an encyclopaedia of nature and of art. Today it no longer houses collections belonging to natural history as these are kept at the Natural History Museum.
The extensive volumes of books it had are now with the British Library. The Museum still represents the cultures of the world with over 13 million artefacts.
2. The Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum houses the world-famous collection of dinosaur skeletons, among thousands of other exhibits from the natural world.
There are 30 permanent galleries covering history and architecture and earth’s ecology. There is the Darwin Centre and area for Teachers’ Resources, Family Activities and Community Groups.
More than 300 scientists work at the Museum and tackle a diverse range of global problems. Research is organised around 6 major challenges covering such topics as biodiversity, evolution and the ecosystem.
3. The Science Museum
The Science Museum is a leading technological museum, with impressive exhibits including the Apollo 10 spacecraft.
The Science Museum was founded in 1857 with objects shown at the Great Exhibition held in the Crystal Palace. Today the Museum is world renowned for its historic collections, awe-inspiring galleries and inspirational exhibitions. There are hundreds of thousands of objects ranging from aircraft to microchips.
4. The V & A Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum is a major museum of art and design.
It includes exhibits covering ceramics, fashion jewellery and accessories, furniture, glass, metalworks, paintings and drawings, photography (which now houses over 500,000 images), sculpture, prints and books, textiles (covering a period of more than 2000 years), theatre and performance.
5. The V & A Museum of Childhood
The Museum of Childhood houses the UK’s national collection of childhood-related objects, one of the finest in the world. Spanning the 1600s to the present day, the collection features toys, dolls, dolls’ houses, games, puppets, nursery, children’s clothing and furniture. The Museum’s permanent displays are arranged into three main galleries; Moving Toys, Creativity and Childhood.
This museum is ‘hands on’ for families. Every day at the museum, there are prizes, freebies and giveaways!
The museum is situated in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived and culturally diverse boroughs in London. The museum has a local Community Strategy with an extensive programme of outreach projects and events for local audiences in Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham.
6. The Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum is unique in its coverage of conflicts, especially those involving Britain and the Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present day. It seeks to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and ‘war-time experience’. It is proud to be regarded as one of the essential sights of London.
7. The National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum comprises three sites: the Maritime Galleries, the Royal Observatory and the Queen’s House. Together these constitute one museum working to illustrate for everyone the importance of the sea, ships, time and the stars and their relationship with people. The museum has a collection of over 2 million objects about the sea, ships, astronomy and time.
8. The Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from the prehistoric to the present day, and for those who have a love for London, this place Rocks!
There are Community exhibitions, and major exhibitions for, the Great Fire, the Plague and the Blitz, and frequent Special Exhibitions
The museum also has exhibitions covering 4 main time periods; London before London, Roman London, Medieval London and Early Stuart London
9. The Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection has fine works of art, French 18th century paintings, furniture, a world class collection of arms & armour, and porcelain with superb Old Masters, in a historic London townhouse in Marylebone.
10. The Bank of England Museum
The Bank of England Museum is located within the Bank of England in the heart of the City of London. The Bank of England has been in existence for more than 300 years and has, unsurprisingly, accumulated a considerable number of items associated with its history.
The historical displays include material drawn from the Bank’s own collections of books, documents, silver, prints, paintings, banknotes, coins and photographs. There is a display of gold, including Roman and modern gold bars, alongside pikes and muskets once used to defend the Bank. Computer technology and audio visual displays explain the Bank’s present day role.
Tags: famous museums, history museums