The Brits plundered many fascinating archeological artifacts from around the world, and the…read moreBritish Museum displays some of the most famous, such as the Rosetta Stone. Admission: free Time budget: minimum 4 hours Free WiFi is available Plenty of clean bathrooms Caution: The museum has no air conditioning. I visited during a rare heat wave, and the museum was a sweat box. Also, if you don't like crowds, you won't like this museum. It gets packed early. Pre-opening tour: The museum offers for UK $35 various pre-opening tours. I took the Greece pre-opening tour. Pros: Small group of 20 before the unwashed masses crowd into the museum. Tour guides are knowledgable. Guides may offer extra time at no charge (e.g. 15-20 minutes extra). Cons: My tour guide did not enunciate or project his voice, so much of the tour was unintelligible.

How is this place free?!?! As they state themselves, it is the greatest collection of stolen items…read moreanywhere...lol. Meaning there are artifacts from countries all around the world. You do have to register for timed tickets ahead of time to get in. We got some just a few days before and they didn't check for times as we were almost an hour late. It was super crowded and getting through the queue took about 10 minutes. Once inside, we knew we had to move fast since they close at 5pm and you could spend all day here. The information booth was helpful as they gave us a map with the option of hitting the highlights, which was perfect for our amount of time. The items from the Easter Islands were my favorite and the library room right when you walk in was cool too. Of course the Rosetta Stone was amazing as well! There is food and a gift shop inside so get an early time and spend the day here.

Stopped by the National Gallery yesterday, and honestly, this place is amazing. It's way bigger…read morethan I expected -- room after room packed with artwork from all the famous painters you learn about in school. And the vibe is super chill. Every room has benches so you can sit down, relax, and actually enjoy the art instead of rushing through. The best part? It's completely FREE to get in. You just walk in and suddenly you're face‑to‑face with pieces by Van Gogh, Monet, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and a ton of others. You could easily spend hours here and still not see everything. There's just so much to take in -- colors, details, history, all of it. It's the kind of place where you keep saying "okay, just one more room" and then an hour goes by. If you're in London, this is a must‑visit. Beautiful art, relaxed atmosphere, and again... it's FREE. Absolutely worth your time.

The National Gallery is a must see on your visit to London. We went on a Friday night because they…read morewere opened until 9:00 pm. We thought that evening might be a quiet time to go, but the Gallery was packed with art lovers. The Gallery is huge and free to visit, although donations are emcouraged. The building is Greek Revival with a modern addition that serves as the visitor entrance. Ornate domes, marble and granite staircases and beautiful woodwork add to the grandeur. The complex is made up of galleries of art organized by time period, several cafes and gift shops. Maps throughout the complex are very helpful. The Museum houses the most extensive collection of Masters that I've ever seen. There is an entire gallery of spectacular Rembrandt paintings. I enjoyed comparing his style between the different works. Four galleries are filled with Impressionistic greats including a room devoted to Monet's water lily pieces. I saw so many Van Gogh's that I had never seen before. Beautiful benches in each room were inviting to sit and take in the art. There is so much to see that you can't see it all in one day. I ordered free tickets on-line but they were not checking tickets during my visit. I did go through security and they check bags. Rest rooms are sparse, expect to wait in a line to use the facilities. There are lots of stairs with a few elevators available.

The London Film Museum is essentially the James Bond Museum, with the "Bond in Motion" exhibits…read moreoccupying the vast majority of the space. It is a rather small museum though, and even if you take the time to look at every detail, one to two hours will be more than enough. The main exhibits are the hot cars that 007 gets to drive, as well as a few other cool surprises - remember the car that turned into a submarine when it hit the water (The Spy Who Loved Me)? Or the plane with folded wings that emerged from a trailer (Octopussy)? Many of those exhibits include detailed specifications as well as videos of the scenes that highlight the vehicles. Some exhibits also play the theme songs in the background. Other memorabilia that Bond fans would love include original costumes, props, photo of backstage scenes, theatrical posters, etc. Admission is GBP14.50 (about USD18), which is rather expensive for such a small place (hence only 4 stars). But Bond fans, don't you dare say it's too expensive so you'll never go. Never Say Never Again! You Only Live Twice! You can go tomorrow since Tomorrow Never Dies. Go see it with your own Golden Eye. After all, this museum is For Your Eyes Only...

007 fans, you do NOT want to miss this!! This was only ever meant to be a temporary museum, but was…read moreso successful, they've opened it indefinitely. What you'll find in here is gold if you're a Bond fan; from the first ever original car insurance deal for filming, props used in the films like passports, keys, money to a range of vehicles used throughout all the films - it's well worth the money. Here's a tip - buying tickets online is actually more expensive than in person, only by a couple of pounds, but when there's six of you going, that's 6 coffees I could buy at Pret a Manger around the corner!!!! Keep your change, and buy when you get there.

Somerset house is supposed to have a great ice skating rink and holiday d decorations right in the…read morecenter of London. If I'd known about that in advance I would have never come as I never developed skills to ice skate having lived all my life in California. Normally I would not pay money to see a museums in London as all the big government funded museums for the public are free of charge for entry. However we were walking down the embankment area next to the Thames and came across free public bathrooms something unheard of in Europe. The bathrooms were connected to a restaurant which was part of the somerset house. Wife and I feeling relieved gladly paid the money for the entry fee. Several buildings with paintings and photographs from around the world both of people and of animals in their natural setting. Looked like a series of pictures from covers of national geographic magazines. Ended up paying 30 GBP or $39 for two entries, an expensive public bathroom visit.

Funky little art gallery / museum in a historic building…read more When I was passing by I saw this strange exhibition called 'Cute'. I didn't expect to see this pop-art show here. I'm going to make this a regular stop while in London because I like the weirdness of it all.

This is a museum like no other, it is full of architectural artifacts and was used partly as a…read morestudy and library for himself and student architects. It is free, but expect to wait about 20 minutes to enter the home and do leave a donation or purchase a book to help support the museum. I especially enjoyed the Monk's parlor with it's gothic style and the dome area and corridor as these were packed full of artifacts. There is so much to look at, you may want to come again.

Sir John lead an interesting life. He collected things from all over the world and brought them…read morehome. His house is an art collectors hoarding dream. Stuff everywhere. A little claustrophobic. Definetly should try this museum. Free admission.

A great museum! We saw so much and barely scratched the surface! Huge...enormous. I am sure I could…read morespend a week in London only visiting the Tate and still not see everything. I am a lover of modern art, and the Tate did not disappoint. Great special exhibits, engaging and spectacular large scale pieces in the atria and transition spaces, really bright and fantastic stuff. This was high on my list of want-to-visit spots on my last London visit. And though I don't like to repeat experiences if there is more to do...I may pay it another visit on my coming trip back to the city later this year! Highly recommend. And if you know someone who is a member, a snack and a drink in the lounge/restaurant is a great sit-break.

Art, adaptive reuse and concrete forms…read more The Herzog & de Meuron adaptive reuse of the Bankside Power Station building had been on my architectural bucket list for quite some time. The building itself is an unapologetic mashup of industrial steel and brutalist concrete forms. The art plays really well against this backdrop. We saw a number of great pieces with the free admission. I thinks it's worth your while and I don't understand the poor reviews.

Well first of all it's free to visit. Ahem! FREE....to visit. For a tourist, it's almost virtually…read moreunheard of in London other than some of the art museums and other minor attractions or if you've got the London Pass. Anyway, my sister and I being the nerds that we are decided to check this place out. *Spoiler Alert* It's a museum of mainly surgical/medical specimens. So if you got creeped out by all those animals in jars of formaldehyde in high school chemistry or biology then you might want to sit this one out. Honestly, it's not that creepy but more so very interesting. Even if you don't have an understanding or appreciation for medical science, I still think most people would find this place highly educational and mind-boggling. I'm sure most people have watched a medical surgery show on TV or saw vids on the internet of things of that nature or weird animals. So, this museum kind of sums that up but in thousands of glass jars filled with all sorts of animals, body parts, tumors, cancers, and bones. The variety in genus and species is astounding. The main floor is seemingly endless jars of things. There isn't a huge amount of information or placards but you can read the jars and kind of figure it out or write it down later and search it online. I found myself asking how? and why? or what in the heck is that? I like that it made me think back to things I learned in college without even noticing it. I didn't take any photos as they said not to and also I didn't think it would be appropriate. The have a small gift shop & have guided tours on some days so check the website. I know I said it's free, and it is but it's suggested to donate about £3 to keep things running. Still mega-cheap. It kind of blows (no pun intended) that a large portion of the museum and the majority of what was contained within was destroyed or badly damaged by bombs in World War II. Such is war I guess, but we live and learn and the rebuilt museum is almost better than ever.

This museum has the skeleton of Charles Byrnes on display since around the 1730s despite his…read moreexpress wishes to not have his body dissected or put on display. Byrnes was around 7' 7" tall likely due to a gene mutation and was well known. Prior to Byrnes died 1783 at just 22, Dr. Hunter who this museum is named after, tried to buy the rights to Mr. Byrnes' corpse but he declined and soon before his death, he made an express wish to have his body buried at sea. However, Dr. Hunter legitimately stole his corpse and put his skeleton on display. the current administration continues to do, with no plans to remove. You would think after 200 odd years the museum might want to right the wrongs of the past but I guess continuing to make a quick buck off those less fortunate is important to them. Free Byrnes! May he some day rest in peace. BBC article for reference below. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-54644243.amp

This was by far the most interesting site we visited in London! We bought tickets a few days in…read moreadvance and came at 3p. There was no line and someone came to the door to get us. We checked in and grabbed out audio tour. There was a kid's version of the audio guide and it was great! You start off walking through the space and learning a bunch of history. A little before midway is the museum, which we spent of our time in. The exhibits and displays were very well put together and interactive. From there, we continue on the one-way path and saw where they did the mapping, which was largely unchanged and was my favorite room. We were there about 2 hours and felt that we saw everything.

We wanted to see the London Version of the War rooms. All underground and in place the same as the…read morelast day of the WW2. Now we ve seen both. I never knew he held so many military titles. And so many military authority positions. You really learn his whole life here.

Really cute place for all ages. The historical trains and buses are impressive. Highly recommended…read morestop when in the SoHo area.

What a treat!! Great museum for our train loving son. It was fun to see how transit evolved in…read moreLondon through the ages. Very convenient location and wonderful staff. Don't miss it!! Kids are free. Gift shop was a hit (both as a delight for the pre teen lad and our credit card - ha!) Free coat check.

Begun by the founder of Burroughs-Wellcome, the first company to introduce medicine in pill form,…read morethis marvelous free museum specializes in things related to health and the human body. Or science, medicine, life, and art. Or health, life, and our place in the world. Just looking at those descriptors sort of ensured that there'd be something compelling here and there was. A lot. One floor is given over to the collection itself, which is a quirky assemblage of old medical devices and the like, including old sexual devices. Free guided tours are one way to enjoy this part of the museum though I cop to liking the rest of the place even more. The other floors contain exhibits and art which ranged from interesting to fascinating to heartwarming and inspirational. A couple examples: * Words which, when pressed, would light up the associated internal body parts. It's fair to say I don't know where anything inside my body is except maybe my heart and stomach. Now I do. Or I did, for a moment there. * The origins of a mental health project in Africa, where mental health providers are sparse and grandmas we're trained to fill the gap. The results? Improved mental health in the community and the grandmas. There was just so much neat stuff here and not just in the museum exhibits. The ground floor cafe has very good food (try the eggplant parmesan baked individually in a sweet little French crock) and don't miss the gift shop where you'll likely blow all that you saved by coming to this free museum. I certainly did. I left wanting to return to the Wellcome Collection and that was before I even looked at their web site and saw all of the talks and group activities they regularly offer (Death Cafe anyone? Grief Group?). I wish the Wellcome Collection were in my own community as I'm certain I'd take advantage of much more that they have to offer.

I don't know if I caught the museum on a bad day or what. I walked in and said hello to the staff…read moreperson near the entrance - I was rewarded with a dirty look. I was going to ask for some directions but instead just found myself a map. I checked out the two exhibitions they had open. They both were okay. Being Human was fine, not much to see in the gallery to be honest. The other one, Objects in Stereo, was a clever idea that could have been better. I don't understand the point of looking at photos of objects and storage when one could put those objects on display. Fragile things can be displayed in the right way with the right light and temp/humidity conditions. I was very disappointed to not see more of the permanent collection being used. I work as a museum registrar and I was having trouble understanding the reasoning here. Especially since similar objects were on display upstairs. The reading room was the highlight of the collection. Finally some AMAZING historical, medical related objects and art!