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Best Museums in London

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Source:Community curated
Updated:4/9/2026
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Museum
Focus
Opened
Annual Visitors (M)
Free Entry
Known For
British Museum
World history and archaeology1,7535.8YesRosetta Stone, Parthenon marbles, 8 million objects, Great Court glass roof
Tate Modern
International modern art2,0004.7YesBankside Power Station conversion, Turbine Hall installations, Rothko room
Natural History Museum
Natural sciences1,8814.7YesHope the blue whale, Waterhouse terracotta architecture, dinosaur hall
V&A (Victoria and Albert)
Decorative arts and design1,8523.3YesWorld's largest decorative arts museum, Raphael Cartoons, fashion galleries
Science Museum
Science and technology1,8573.1YesApollo 10 command module, Stephenson's Rocket, IMAX, Wonderlab
National Gallery
European paintings 1250-19001,8243.1YesVan Gogh's Sunflowers, Van Eyck's Arnolfini, Turner, Trafalgar Square setting
National Portrait Gallery
Portraits of Britons1,8561.6Yes2023 reopening, Tudor portraits, royal and celebrity likenesses
Tate Britain
British art 1500-present1,8971.3YesTurner Bequest, Millbank original, annual Turner Prize, Pre-Raphaelites
Imperial War Museum
20th-century conflict1,9171YesHolocaust galleries, Spitfire, tanks in atrium, First World War galleries
Museum of London (closed, reopens 2026)
History of London1,9761.1YesGreat Fire display, Roman Londinium finds, moving to Smithfield
Royal Academy of Arts
Temporary art exhibitions1,7681NoSummer Exhibition (oldest open-submission show in the world), Burlington House
Sir John Soane's Museum
Architect's private collection1,8370.15YesSoane's Lincoln's Inn house untouched, Sarcophagus of Seti I, packed Picture Room
Wallace Collection
Old Masters and decorative arts1,9000.45YesFragonard's The Swing, Frans Hals Laughing Cavalier, Manchester Square mansion
Courtauld Gallery
Impressionist and post-Impressionist1,9320.3NoManet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere, Cezanne, Somerset House wing
Design Museum
Product, fashion, graphic design1,9890.7YesKensington Commonwealth Institute building, Designer of the Year award
Horniman Museum
Anthropology and natural history1,9010.8YesOverstuffed walrus, 16 acres of gardens, Forest Hill family favorite

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