Get to Know My Favorite London Museums
With a staggering number of museums in London (the number varies by publication), it’s impossible to see even a fraction of them in a single visit. Fortunately, there is a fairly well-established hierarchy when it comes to which museums tourists should visit.
Even then, it can still be difficult knowing which ones to pick during your stay, especially if you’re only in London for a few days. These are my favorite London museums to help you plan your visit!
Updated July 2024
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Churchill War Rooms
| Hours: | Daily 9:30 – 6:00, advance reservations recommended |
| Length of Visit: | 2 hours |
| Cost: | £32 |
| Highlights: | Map Room, Cabinet Room, Hitler cartoon on a map, Churchill’s Lifeline |
For good reason, the Churchill War Rooms seems to be gaining notoriety in recent years among London museums. If you’re a fan of military history, this museum is an absolute must. Even my wife who tolerates that type of stuff for my benefit really enjoyed it.
There are actually two parts to this museum: the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. The first section of the museum takes you through the aforementioned war rooms. These underground rooms are where Winston Churchill and his war cabinet met during World War II. Most of the spaces are left exactly as they were when they were last used shortly after Japan’s surrender.
After touring the war rooms you enter the Churchill Museum. Within these walls you’re treated to a biographical tour of Winston Churchill’s 90-year life. When we visited, I didn’t realize this museum was even a thing so I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it as we went through the War Rooms. However, I’m glad I took my time through it because it did offer a lot of background information on World War II and other significant events of British history during Churchill’s life.
Touring the Churchill War Rooms is relatively easy. The Cabinet War Rooms go in a linear fashion so you can’t miss anything. The Churchill Museum is organized in a linear way, but you do not have to follow the order they established. However, it can get a little confusing in parts if you go out of order.
Tower of London
| Hours: | Summer: Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 – 5:30, Sunday – Monday 10:00 – 5:30 Winter: Tuesday – Saturday 9:00 – 4:30, Sunday – Monday 10:00 – 4:30 |
| Length of Visit: | 2 – 3 hours |
| Cost: | £34.80 |
| Highlights: | Yeoman Warder tour, Crown Jewels, ravens, Royal Armouries |
The Tower of London is perhaps one of the most recognized structures in the world and one of my favorite London museums. It’s a little misleading, though, as there are actually multiple buildings and towers contained within these walls. Despite that fact, the Tower of London is an impressive, if somewhat forbidding structure.
Why is it forbidding you ask? A little history lesson is needed to truly appreciate the tower. Construction of the tower is thought to have begun in 1078 by William the Conqueror after his successful invasion of England. The massive fortress was meant to not just defend London from future invaders but to also keep his new subjects in line.
It served its purpose well. Since construction was finished, London has never been successfully invaded by any foreign force. Over the centuries, the Tower of London has acted as the residence of monarchs, home of the Crown Jewels and a prison.
It is perhaps this last function that is what many people think of when talking about the tower. The tower housed many important political prisoners throughout the years, but it was also the location of executions and royal assassinations earning it the nickname the Bloody Tower. Some of those killed are rumored to still stalk the grounds today.
Ghosts or not, it’s mostly tourists that wander around the Tower’s grounds today. Take a tour with one of the famous Yeoman Warders (included with your admission ticket), view the Crown Jewels, see the popular ravens or just walk around the towers imagining what it must have been like to be here hundreds of years ago.
The British Museum
| Hours: | Saturday – Thursday 10:00 – 5:00 Friday 10:00 – 8:30 |
| Length of Visit: | 2 – 4 hours |
| Cost: | Free |
| Highlights: | Rosetta Stone, Lewis Chessmen, Parthenon sculptures, bust of Rameses the Great, Aztec serpent, Sutton Hoo mask, Assyrian winged lion statue |
This next one is the museum of all the London museums. With over 8 million artifacts, the British Museum has one of the most extensive collections of history in the world. As such, it should come as no surprise that the museum contains objects from every corner of the globe. Needless to say, it’s an impressive museum.
At its height, Britain controlled a large portion of the world which is what allowed them to create a museum of this magnitude. You may disagree with how England came to possess these artifacts, but regardless, it’s a sight to see them all in one place.
There are exhibits from nearly every major historical civilization. It’s honestly overwhelming in its scale. Do not go in expecting to see everything because that simply isn’t possible. I’m pretty efficient in touring museums, yet I only maybe saw a quarter of the museum.
With that said, you have go into the British Museum with a strategy for what you want to see. I recommend coming up with a two-tiered plan. Have an A list of the main things you want to see. Then, create a B list of things you want to see if you have time. You frankly won’t have time for a C list so don’t even bother making one.
With your lists created, organize them in a logical way around the museum to make efficient use of time.
The National Gallery
| Hours: | Saturday to Thursday 10:00 – 6:00 Friday 10:00 – 9:00 |
| Length of Visit: | 1.5 – 3 hours |
| Cost: | Free |
| Highlights: | Renaissance and Baroque collections |
The National Gallery was established in 1824 to showcase a collection purchased by the British government. Since then, as the gallery expanded it was housed in two different buildings before taking up its current residence in Trafalgar Square.
There are pieces of work dating from the 13th century through 1900. You can find works from each era of art history with many of the great masters on display.
Make sure to check out the highlights of the gallery and just peruse the other works unless something catches your eye. It’s easy to get museum fatigue in big art galleries like this as things can start to blend together.
National Portrait Gallery
| Hours: | Sunday – Thursday 10:30 – 6:00 Friday – Saturday 10:30 – 9:00 |
| Length of Visit: | 1 -2 hours |
| Cost: | Free |
| Highlights: | Portraits of Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare |
The National Portrait Gallery is what it sounds like: An art gallery focusing on portraits. Other than that, you could walk from the National Gallery to the National Portrait Gallery without knowing you are even in a different museum since they’re housed in the same building.
Even the history of this art gallery mirrors the National Gallery. It was founded in the 1850’s, was housed in several different locations as it expanded, and eventually ended up here in Trafalgar Square.
One big difference, however, is that the portrait gallery is easier to negotiate because the subject matter is straightforward. I enjoy art, but as I alluded to above, it can be mentally fatiguing to spend too much time in some galleries. The National Portrait Gallery doesn’t have that problem.
With that said, the focus is understandably on famous British individuals. If you don’t enjoy English history, you could skip this museum as you may not recognize many of the portraits.
The British Library
| Hours: | Monday – Thursday 9:30 – 8:00 Friday 9:30 – 6:00 Saturday 9:30 – 5:00 Sunday 11:00 – 5:00 |
| Length of Visit: | 1 hour |
| Cost: | Free |
| Highlights: | The Beatles collection, Magna Carta, Newton statue (outside), Shakespeare’s First Folio, Jane Austen’s desk, Michelangelo’s anatomy illustrations, Gutenberg Bible |
While serving as an actual library (the national library, in fact), the British Library has a treasures section housing some impressive historic texts. You can find artifacts ranging from original manuscripts from the Beatles to one of the only original copies of the Magna Carta in the world.
Compared to the other London museums on this list, this museum is relatively small despite the quantity of historic documents housed within its walls. Because of that, it’s actually pretty easy to visit as long as you know what you want to get out of it.
Most of the exhibits are housed in a single, large room that you can wander around at your leisure. The only exception is the Magna Carta which is housed in a separate room from everything else.
Like the British Museum, know ahead of time what things you want to see the most to make sure you check them off. You can quickly view these items and then take whatever time you have left to peruse the rest of the treasures exhibit at your leisure.
In addition to the Treasures of the British Library area, the library also has special exhibitions and offers tours to visitors. Check ahead for a schedule of special exhibitions or information on booking tours.
More Posts to Help Plan Your Trip to England
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