Two things that always give me great pleasure are (1) appreciating good art, photography, and design and (2) spending any amount of time in my favorite city, London.
There are allegedly about 150 different museums in London to choose from. They include some of the world’s greatest art collections, scientific discoveries, the first wax museum in Europe, histories of British industry, and small displays of obscure artifacts. If you have a personal interest in something, there is probably a museum dedicated to it somewhere in London.
Since no one travels to London for the weather, it is always good to have some indoor activities on your itinerary.
Here is a list of my 10 favorite London Museums, in no particular order.
Design Museum
The Design Museum was founded by Sir Terence Conran in 1989 and was originally located in a converted warehouse in the Shad Thames district near the south side of Tower Bridge. It was relocated to its current home in Kensington in 2016. The museum hosts cutting-edge fashion, graphics, architecture, product, and industrial design exhibitions. I always check what’s on here when I’m in London.
224-238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG
Tube station: Kensington High Street (Circle & District)
National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery is probably my favorite museum in London. Their permanent collection includes portraits of virtually everyone in British history, from Tudor times through the present day. They also host excellent temporary exhibitions throughout the year. Currently, the museum space is closed until 2023 for major renovations. When it reopens, go!
St. Martin’s Pl, London WC2H 0HE
Tube stations: Charing Cross (Bakerloo & Northern), Leicester Square (Piccadilly & Northern), and Embankment (Circle & District)
British Museum
Experiencing the glass-domed Great Court of the British Museum is worth a visit alone. It is truly one of London’s greatest interior spaces. While you’re there, you can wander the seemingly endless galleries filled with antiquities from Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and the Roman Empire which include artifacts including the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Marbles, and more than 120 mummies. This is the city’s most-visited attraction and one of the world’s greatest museums.
Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
Tube stations: Holborn (Central & Piccadilly) and Tottenham Court Road (Central & Northern)
https://www.britishmuseum.org/
Tate Modern
The Tate Modern occupies a former power station on the south bank of the Thames, easily reached via the pedestrian-only Millenium Bridge. Its permanent collections house a wealth of modern British art as well as significant pieces by international artists. The Tate Modern’s main draw is its changing exhibitions: displays have included works from Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe and Andy Warhol.
Bankside, London SE1 9TG
Tube stations: Southwark (Jubilee) and Blackfriars (Circle & District)
https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern
Tate Britain
The Tate Modern’s older sibling focuses exclusively on British art from Tudor times through present day. Its collection includes pieces from heavyweights including Thomas Gainsborough, Francis Bacon, William Hogarth and J.M.W. Turner. As one who appreciates all things British, I find this museum a delight to visit.
Millbank, Westminster, London SW1P 4RG
Tube station: Pimlico (Victoria)
https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain
Victoria & Albert Museum
The V&A is the world’s largest museum dedicated to the applied arts, decorative arts, and design. The building houses more than 100 galleries displaying everything from photography to jewelry. It has put on some of London’s most talked-about exhibitions, particularly in the realm of fashion. You should always check out what special exhibits may be showing during your time in the city.
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
Tube station: South Kensington (Piccadilly, Circle & District)
Imperial War Museum
Housed in what was once the site of Bethlem Royal Hospital (the psychiatric facility better known as Bedlam) and flanked by naval guns, the Imperial War Museum explores the role of British troops in conflicts that cross generations and countries. It’s full of often challenging exhibitions, from displays on World War I to the Holocaust.
Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ
Tube station: Lambeth North (Bakerloo)
Sir John Soane’s Museum
This “cabinet of curiosities” was once the home of Sir John Soane, an 18th-century architect who designed the Dulwich Picture Gallery and was a professor at the Royal Academy. His townhouse is chock-full of his collections of antiquities, furniture, sculptures, and paintings. There is even an Egyptian sarcophagus in the basement that Soane acquired when he out-bid the British Museum. This museum is truly a “hidden gem” of London’s museums.
13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn, London WC2A 3BP
Tube station: Holborn (Piccadilly & Central)
Wallace Collection
Fine art from the 15th to the 19th centuries is displayed at one of London’s most delightful small art galleries, set in the 18th-century townhouse of Sir Richard and Lady Wallace. The collection includes paintings, porcelain, artifacts, and furniture. Another “hidden gem” in London.
Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
Tube station: Bond Street (Jubilee or Central)
https://www.wallacecollection.org/
Courtauld Gallery
The Courtauld Gallery is an art museum set in a section of Somerset House, located on the Thames by Waterloo Bridge. The Gallery houses the collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art which is a self-governing college of the University of London specializing in the study of the history of art. I love the collection of this museum as well as the manageable scale of the space.
Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN
Tube stations: Temple (Circle & District) or Charing Cross (Bakerloo & Northern)
https://courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/
