In a nutshell
- Besides the famous London sights, the city is packed with incredible London museums. You’ll find everything from art museums and history museums to unique spots like the Vagina Museum.
- There are also plenty of museums for kids, with hands-on areas where little explorers can try out experiments and simulators.
- Many of the top museums of London are completely free. No tickets needed—just drop by and take a look whenever you like.
- If you’re only in London for a weekend, make time for at least one London museum. Our tip: the Tate Modern, one of the best museums in London!
- Still looking for tickets for the famous museums of London and other highlights? Check out our guide to London tickets to find the best deals.
Table of Contents
The Main Art Museums in London
Art and London go hand in hand, which is why a visit to at least one art museum in London is a must. The city is home to some of the best museums in London, and here are a few highlights.
Tate Modern
With its six floors, Tate Modern is the largest modern art museum in the world.
You can see masterpieces by Frida Kahlo, Van Gogh and Picasso and easily spend an entire day exploring the collection.
But even if you’re not deeply into art, this London museum is worth a visit for its impressive architecture alone: the building is a converted power station right on the Thames.
Tate Modern is also one of the best museums in London for kids – there are plenty of interactive stations where children can get creative, like painting their own versions of the artworks.
On the rooftop, you’ll find a restaurant with a terrace offering one of the best views of London.
The permanent collection is free, while tickets are required for temporary exhibitions.
free
Tate Britain
Tate Britain holds the most important collection of British art from the 16th to the 21st century.
On display are paintings, prints and sculptures by British artists, amounting to around 3,200 works, with frequent special exhibitions adding fresh highlights.
Admission to Tate Britain is free, with tickets for temporary shows costing about £10, depending on the exhibition.
free
National Gallery
The National Gallery is dedicated entirely to painting, with around 2,000 works by international artists spanning different eras.
Here you can admire pieces by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt.
This is one of the most famous museums of London, located in the iconic Trafalgar Square. Entry is free.
free
Victoria & Albert Museum
The Victoria & Albert Museum focuses on the craftsmanship and design process behind art.
Here you’ll find oriental carpets, jewelry, fashion by famous designers, along with oil sketches, statues and weapons from different cultures and centuries.
Named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, this museum in London opened in the mid-19th century and remains one of the top museums of London.
Admission is free.
free
Design Museum
At the Design Museum, everything revolves around design in all its forms.
Architecture, furniture, graphics, interior design and fashion – the exhibits cover an incredible variety of themes, making it one of the most exciting museums in London.
Admission is free.
free
Saatchi Gallery
The Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea was founded in 1985 by art collector Charles Saatchi and showcases contemporary art through paintings, sculptures, installations, video and photography.
The exhibitions focus largely on emerging British artists, especially the group known as the Young British Artists, supported by Saatchi in the 1980s.
Admission is free, and there are always changing exhibitions to discover.
free
Historical Museums in London
London and Great Britain have thousands of years of fascinating history, much of which you can explore at the many historical London museums.
British Museum
The British Museum is one of the most famous museums of London—and it’s worth a visit for the spectacular building alone.
Inside, you’ll find thousands of years of history on display, with treasures from every corner of the globe. Egyptian mummies, Michelangelo sketches, Stone Age artifacts, and objects from Asia, Africa and South America are just some of the highlights.
You can easily spend hours wandering this London museum, and the best part: admission is free.
free
Crown Jewels in the Tower of London
The Tower of London is more than just a tower—it’s a massive fortress on the banks of the Thames.
For centuries, this world-famous landmark served as a prison, and tales of executions and torture still linger in its walls. Today, you can step inside the old cells and explore exhibitions on torture devices, the royal armory, and even a chapel from the 11th century.
The highlight, of course, is the dazzling display of the British Crown Jewels, valued at an estimated 20 billion pounds.
Tickets cost about £36, and your entry includes access to all exhibitions inside the Tower.
£36
Book your ticket for the London Tower & Crown Jewels
Charles Dickens Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum is located in the only surviving home of the famous author—a beautiful Georgian townhouse on Doughty Street in Bloomsbury.
Dickens lived here from 1837 to 1839 with his family, and it was in this very house that he wrote parts of Oliver Twist.
The museum holds over 100,000 objects, including original manuscripts, personal belongings, furniture, and even a lock of Dickens’s hair. You’ll also find a small shop and a cozy café in the courtyard serving cakes and Victorian-style lemonade.
Compared to many other London museums, the Dickens Museum is much quieter—making it one of the best museums in London for a more relaxed visit.
£12.95
Churchill War Rooms
The Churchill War Rooms, also known as the Cabinet War Rooms, are the underground bunkers where the British government operated during World War II.
From here, Churchill and his team directed the war effort just steps away from the British Parliament.
Today, you can walk through the once top-secret corridors and see the wartime equipment, Churchill’s personal items, and the conference rooms where key strategies were planned.
Tickets cost £33 and include access to the entire museum.
£33
Museum of London
The Museum of London tells the entire story of the city—from the Stone Age to modern times.
Exhibits include archaeological finds dating back centuries before Christ, Roman artifacts, medieval treasures and objects from the city’s more recent past.
Like many of the top museums of London, this museum is free to enter. It’s just a short walk from St. Paul’s Cathedral, making it easy to combine with other sightseeing.
free
Great Museums in London for Kids
If you’re visiting London with kids, there are some museums that are just as exciting for children as they are for adults. These are some of the best family-friendly London museums you shouldn’t miss.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of the most famous museums of London and a real highlight for visitors of all ages. It’s also one of the largest natural history collections in the world.
You’ll find dinosaur skeletons and fossils, fascinating plant exhibits, and the largest collection of meteorites anywhere. One of the museum’s biggest attractions is a life-sized robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex that roars and moves.
Like many of the top museums of London, the Natural History Museum is free to enter and ranks among the most popular London museums.
free
Science Museum
The Science Museum is located right next to the Natural History Museum, making it easy to visit both in one day if the kids are up for it.
Here you can explore everything from astronomy and physics to medicine, meteorology and biochemistry.
Highlights include Galileo’s telescope, the oldest steam locomotive in the world, and plenty of interactive stations spread across five floors where kids and adults can try things out for themselves.
A real favorite is the Wonderlab, where children from the age of 4 can experiment and watch exciting live science shows.
Admission to the Science Museum is free, while the Wonderlab costs 15 pounds (kids under 3 go free).
free
London Transport Museum
The London Transport Museum brings the history of the city’s public transport to life.
Inside you’ll find classic double decker buses, historic underground carriages, trolley buses and even trains that you can climb aboard.
The Design for Travel gallery showcases original posters, placards and historic timetables, while the subway simulator lets you take a virtual drive through London’s tunnels.
Children under 18 get in free, while adults pay 25 pounds.
£25
Book your ticket for the London Transport Museum
Cutty Sark
The Cutty Sark is a legendary sailing ship built in 1869 that once brought tea from China to London. At the time, it was one of the fastest ships in the world.
Today it’s a unique museum in London and a real highlight in Greenwich.
You can go on board and, with the help of costumed actors, get a sense of what life on the ship was like in the 19th century.
Admission costs 11 pounds for kids and 22 pounds for adults. There’s also a combined ticket that includes the Royal Observatory.
£22
Book the combo ticket for the Cutty Sark and Royal Observatory
HMS Belfast
HMS Belfast is a massive warship permanently moored near London Bridge. It served in World War II and is now one of the most unusual museum ships in London with nine decks to explore.
You’ll learn about the lives of the 950 men who served on board, climb through narrow hatches and ladders, and discover the ship’s story through interactive exhibitions.
A visit to HMS Belfast can also be combined with London’s tallest building, The Shard, which is only a short walk away.
We passed the ship on our Thames boat tour, and even from the water it looks seriously impressive.
Tickets cost 14.50 pounds for children and 26.35 pounds for adults. Admission is free for kids under 5.
£26.35
Special Museums in London
In a cosmopolitan city like London, you’ll also find museums that are a little more unusual. Here are our picks for some of the most special museums in London.
Madame Tussauds
There are Madame Tussauds museums in many cities around the world, including Berlin and New York. But the original Madame Tussauds is the one here in London, founded in the 19th century by Marie Tussaud herself.
This famous London museum features around 190 wax figures of well-known personalities from all walks of life. Of course, the Royal Family is represented, as well as international pop stars, film icons and top athletes.
Madame Tussauds London also has a Marvel 4D cinema, which requires a separate ticket.
Tickets booked online cost around 29 pounds, saving you about 10 pounds compared to buying on site.
£29
Book your ticket for Madame Tussauds
Our tip: If you’d like to visit more attractions in London besides Madame Tussauds, Get Your Guide offers a great combo ticket that also includes the London Eye and Sea Life:
Book the Madame Tussauds, London Eye & Sea Life combo ticket
Royal Greenwich Observatory
The Royal Greenwich Observatory is one of the most famous museums of London. It’s here that the prime meridian was established in the 19th century, creating Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The research has since moved elsewhere, and today the observatory is a museum dedicated to astronomy and navigation.
Inside you’ll find the impressive 28-inch telescope, interactive exhibits on space exploration, and the world’s first accurate clocks and marine chronometers, which helped make Britain the leading naval power.
Tickets cost 24 pounds for adults and 12 pounds for children.
£24
Get your ticket for the Royal Observatory Greenwich
Horniman Museum
Founded in the late 19th century by tea trader Frederick John Horniman, the Horniman Museum is another great museum in London, especially for families.
It houses a fascinating collection of anthropology, natural history and musical instruments.
Kids love the insect collection, taxidermy animals, the aquarium, and above all the expansive gardens, which are one of the highlights of this London museum.
Admission is free, except for the aquarium: tickets cost 3.25 pounds for children and 6.50 pounds for adults.
free
Vagina Museum
Right in the middle of Camden Market, you’ll find the world’s first Vagina Museum, which aims to inform and educate the public about female anatomy.
Through bold exhibits—like menstrual blood made of glitter—the museum takes on long-standing myths and prejudices about the vagina.
Alongside the permanent display, there are always new temporary exhibitions, and admission is free.
free
The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History
The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities is a tiny museum in London, tucked away in the basement of a building in Hackney.
It showcases all kinds of strange treasures collected by Viktor Wynd on his travels around the world.
Among the highlights are the skeleton of a two-headed cat, voodoo artifacts from New Orleans, and death masks from New Guinea.
Because the space is so small, visits are limited to 30 minutes and reservations are required. Admission costs 8.85 pounds.
£8.85
These were our 21 best museums in London!
Have you been to London and can you recommend more museums that we haven’t listed here? Then leave us a comment!