5 Best Free Museums in London

There are many amazing free museums in London to visit, and it’s definitely a key highlight of London. They are top quality and some of the biggest in the city – such as the British Museum or the National Gallery.

The full list of free museums in London is long and can be overwhelming to visitors, with dozens of fantastic museums available free of charge. Therefore, I’ve picked the 5 best free museums to highlight and showcase in this article, but many of the others will be referenced at the end of the article for basic details if you want to visit those as well!

I’ve lived in London for nearly a decade and have visited each of these museums at least once, though in many cases it’s been well over a dozen times. Years ago I stopped counting visits to the British Museum since it used to be a walking distance from work and I could escape during lunch from time to time. They’re fantastic places to visit and the price is just right*!

* These museums are free to enter but they do ask for donations and I do recommend donating what you can when you visit, even a few coins can ultimately make a difference.

British Museum

• Website: https://www.britishmuseum.org/
• Address: Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG
• Nearest Tube Station:
  • Holborn (Piccadilly or Central)
  • Tottenham Court Road (Central or Northern)
• Hours: 10am – 5pm

Established in 1753 the British Museum hosts a tremendously impressive collection of antiquities from around the world. The collection covers ancient Greece, ancient Egypt, Victorian England, and so much more. There is a room for every kind of Museum goer to explore and appreciate.

The museum offers an audio guide for a small fee (via Google Play or iTunes) and they also have a book of self-guided tours for a small fee as well. I had purchased it during my first visit and when I would repeatedly return to the Museum I took the time to explore the rooms individually with the guidance of the booklet. There are free maps available as well for those who are interested in swiftly locating the artefacts that interest them the most and getting free.

Don’t Miss These Exhibits::

• Great Court, the beautiful main hall with its glass ceiling and stunning architecture
• Elgin Marbles, ancient Greek marbles from the Parthenon featuring a fresco and larger than life statues
• Rosetta Stone, ancient Egypt tablet that connected and translated several ancient languages
• Bust of Ramses the Great, ancient Eygpt sculpture
• Assyrian Lion Hunt Reliefs, incredibly detailed stone carvings
• Mechanical galleon, incredibly detailed golden galleon with mechanical elements

The British Museum also has visiting collections on offer from time to time in their special exhibitions space. I had the opportunity to see the Terracota Soldiers several years ago. These collections come with a fee and should be booked in advance online, but offer a rare opportunity to see additional exhibitions from around the world.

Tip: Weekday mornings are the quietest time to visit the Museum, and weekends are the busiest. Try the entrance on Montague Street to avoid long queues at the front entrance, but do make sure you leave via the front to see the truly magnificent architecture of the building.

National Gallery

• Website: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/
• Address: Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross, London WC2N 5DN
• Nearest Tube Station:
  • Charing Cross (Bakerloo, Northern)
  • Embankment (Circle, District, Northern, Bakerloo)
  • Leicester Square (Piccadilly, Northern)
• Hours: 10am – 6pm Saturday to Thursday, 10am – 9pm on Fridays

The National Gallery is an art museum within the heart of London, with the main entrance located in Trafalgar Square and overlooking the length of Whitehall with a view of Big Ben. The building itself is a piece of art in itself and houses some incredible masterpieces. It was established in 1824 and holds a variety of artwork.

Audioguides can be hired at the museum. They also offer the paper maps but their online interactive map is a great way to check out the Museum beforehand and scope out the key exhibits you would want to see. It’s also available as a downloadable PDF. One of the features I love about the National Gallery’s map is that they’ve provided key routes to see the major pieces of art and broken them out into average time it takes during your visit. They have suggested routes that last anywhere from 25 to 35 minutes.

Don’t Miss These Exhibits:

• The Awakening of the Muses, a (relatively) modern floor mosaic that is incredibly impressive
• Bacchus and Ariadne, by Titian

• Sunflowers, by Vincent van Gogh

• The Fighting Temeraire, by Joseph Mallord William Turner

• The Madonna of the Pinks, by Raphael

• The Supper at Emmaus, by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

• The Virgin of the Rocks, by Leonardo da Vinci

• Venus and Mars, by Sandro Botticelli
• Collections of art from some of the incredible masters -Cezanne, Monet, van Dyck, Gainsborough, van Gogh, Constable and Turner.

The National Portrait Gallery is located around the corner, a wing within the same building, but does have an entrance fee. They host fantastic exhibitions throughout the course of the year and provide a different take on classical art.

Though you can breeze through the Museum on one of the recommended routes of 25 to 35 minutes, I would recommend at least an hour and a half to visit and truly experience the exquisite art within this museum.

Imperial War museum

• Website:https://www.iwm.org.uk/
• Address: Lambeth Rd, London SE1 6HZ
• Nearest Tube Station: Lambeth North (Bakerloo Line)
• Hours: Everyday 10am – 6pm.

The Imperial War Museum has been housed in the former Bethlem Royal Hospital since 1936, located south of the river near the Lambeth North tube station. Throughout the Second World War the museum’s collection was safely stored outside of London. The Museum has a variety of exhibit, mostly featuring the World Wars; and these exhibits feature ordinary people and their experiences during the wars.

There are multiple Imperial War Museums throughout the United Kingdom – IMW London, IMW Duxford (in Cambridge), and IMW North (in Manchester).

All Imperial War Museums have PDF copies of their maps online, and the IMW London map can be downloaded here. There are 5 floors in this Museum packed with details spanning centuries – ground level has the First World War, the first floor has the Second World War, the second-floor covers “Peace and Security” (1945-2014), the third floor has special exhibits (currently on Refugees), and the fourth floor covers The Holocaust.

Don’t Miss These Exhibits:

• Aircraft in Main Entrance
• Holocaust Exhibition
• Lancaster Fuselage
• Mine Detector

Tip: The Museum is extremely busy on Saturdays, during half term, and for much of the summer. The best time to visit would be in the mid to late afternoon during the week.

Natural History Museum

• Website: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/
• Address:  Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD
• Nearest Tube Station:
  • South Kensington (Circle, District, Piccadilly Lines)
  • Gloucester Road (Circle, District, Piccadilly Lines)
• Hours: Everyday 10am – 5:50pm (last entry at 5pm)

The Natural History Museum in London is housed in an absolutely gorgeous building in South Kensington, purpose-built to be the home for this museum. The connection between the British Museum and the Natural History Museum dates all the way back to its conception, as a splintered project off of the larger collections of the British Museum. In 1992 the museums finally separated into two unique entities with their fantastic exhibits and shared history. The Natural History Museum features fantastic displays ranging from the large hanging Whale in their main hall to the fantastic cosmos escalator in the space section and is great fun to visit with kids (or kids at heart) of any age.

The Museum offers paper maps for a donation charge at the museum or there is a free Natural History Museum map can be downloaded here. In addition, there are also audio guides available to be rented but the Natural History Museum audioguides can be accessed here.

Don’t Miss These Exhibits:

• Charles Darwin Centre
• The Earth Hall (and it’s cosmic elevator)
• Attenborosaurus (named for Sir David Attenborough)
• “Dippy” the Diplodocus (a dinosaur skeleton cast)
• Stuffed Polar Bear
• First T-Rex Fossil discovered

The Natural History Museum offers after-hours and late-night visits on occasion. They also have an overnight at the museum offering from time to time as well. Keep your eyes open for these unique ways to experience the museum.

Tip: Use the side entrance, on Exhibition Road, to the Earth Hall and avoid the massive queues at the main entrance. You’ll still get to see the Whale skeleton in the main hall either way.

Seasonal Tip: In the winter months (usually Dec & Jan) the Natural History Museum host an Ice Rink on their premises for a great afternoon or evening out in London with the incredible backdrop of the museum behind you.

Victoria & Albert Museum

• Website: https://www.vam.ac.uk/
• Address: Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL
• Nearest Tube Station:
  • South Kensington (Circle, District, Piccadilly Lines)
  • Gloucester Road (Circle, District, Piccadilly Lines)
• Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 – 17:45

The Victoria & Albert Museum is located next door to the Natural History Museum in Museum row in South Kensington. Officially it’s a museum of art, design and performance. In functionality, It’s an extraordinarily large museum dedicated to a variety of exhibitions ranging from ancient artefacts, Renaissance art, incredible antiquities, and rotating exhibitions. The sheer amount of objects in the museum is astonishing and you could easily lose yourself in it for days. I’d recommend at least a half-day to appreciate the glory of the V&A Museum.

There is an online interactive map of the Victoria & Albert museum available. There are maps available within the museum itself and audio guides for a fee.

Don’t Miss These Exhibits:

• Glass Chandelier by Dale Chihuly in the entry hallway
• The V&A Cafe (is an art unto itself)
• The Great Bed of Ware
• Bridal Crown
• The Three Graces
• Constable’s paintings
• Raphael’s cartoons
• The Fashion Gallery
• Tippoo’s Tiger

Tip: There is a side entrance, on Exhibition Road, that will help you skip some of the lines (as with the Natural History Museum). Early mornings are the quietest at the museum.

Other Free Museums in London

The list I have above is by no means comprehensive, but they are my favourite of the free museums in London. There are many others that you can visit if they capture your fancy.

• National Maritime Museum
• British Library
• Tate Modern
• Bank of England Museum
• Museum of London
• Tate Britain
• Science Museum
• Museum of London Docklands
• Serpentine Galleries
• Whitechapel Gallery

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