The best museums in London in 2026 are the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the V&A and Tate Modern — all free to enter. Add the Science Museum for families, the Imperial War Museum for history, and Sir John Soane's Museum, the Wallace Collection and the Courtauld for smaller, quieter collections.
London's national museums are free for their permanent collections, with paid tickets only for special exhibitions, so you can drop in for an hour rather than trying to see everything. Most open around 10am; the British Museum and National Gallery stay open late on Fridays. Booking a free timed slot online is recommended at busy times and in school holidays.
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1. British Museum — Bloomsbury, Soho & the West End
The world's great museum of human history, from the Rosetta Stone to the Parthenon sculptures.
Best for First-timers · Families · Budget
The British Museum covers two million years of human history: Egyptian mummies, the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Assyrian reliefs, the Sutton Hoo ship burial and the Lewis Chessmen. The glass-roofed Great Court is a spectacle in itself.
Pick a few galleries rather than attempting the whole thing. Permanent collection free; exhibitions paid.
Good to know: Friday late openings are the quietest time to see the most famous rooms.
2. National Gallery — Trafalgar Square, Soho & the West End
One of the world's finest collections of European paintings, free, on Trafalgar Square.
Best for First-timers · Couples · Budget
The National Gallery holds masterpieces from the 13th to the early 20th century: Van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, Velázquez, Titian, Rembrandt, Turner's Fighting Temeraire, Constable's Hay Wain and Van Gogh's Sunflowers.
The Sainsbury Wing, reopened after its refurbishment, has a new entrance and the early Renaissance collection. Plan an hour or two around the paintings you most want to see.
Good to know: Pick up the map and do a highlights loop first; then come back another day for more — it's free.
Dinosaurs, a blue whale skeleton and one of London's most beautiful buildings.
Best for Families · First-timers · Budget
The Natural History Museum's Romanesque cathedral of a building is reason enough to visit, and the blue whale skeleton hanging in Hintze Hall is a showstopper. The dinosaur gallery, the earthquake simulator and the Earth Hall escalator are favourites with children.
It gets very busy in school holidays. Book a free timed slot and arrive at opening time.
Good to know: The Exhibition Road entrance usually has a shorter queue than the main Cromwell Road one.
The world's leading museum of art and design, from fashion to the Cast Courts.
Best for Couples · Solo · Budget
The V&A covers 5,000 years of art and design: fashion, furniture, jewellery, sculpture, ceramics and the extraordinary Cast Courts, filled with plaster copies of Trajan's Column and Michelangelo's David.
Its paid fashion and design exhibitions are among the most popular in London, and the garden café and the original Morris, Gamble and Poynter refreshment rooms are worth a stop.
Good to know: Book major fashion exhibitions as soon as they're announced; they regularly sell out.
Modern and contemporary art in a former power station, with a free viewing level.
Best for Couples · Solo · Budget
Tate Modern fills the old Bankside Power Station with modern and contemporary art — Picasso, Rothko, Warhol, Bourgeois and many more — with the vast Turbine Hall hosting a big new commission most years.
The free viewing level at the top of the Blavatnik Building has a 360° view over the Thames and St Paul's. The Millennium Bridge links it straight to St Paul's.
Good to know: Head up to the Blavatnik viewing level first, then work down through the galleries.
The hands-on favourite for families, from steam engines to the Apollo 10 capsule.
Best for Families · Budget
The Science Museum covers science and engineering across several floors, from Stephenson's Rocket and the Apollo 10 command module to medicine and space galleries.
The paid Wonderlab, with live shows and experiments, is the highlight for children aged around 7 to 14. Free entry to the main museum.
Good to know: Book Wonderlab for the morning, then pop next door to the Natural History Museum after lunch.
7. National Portrait Gallery — Trafalgar Square, Soho & the West End
Five centuries of famous British faces, reopened after a major refurbishment.
Best for Couples · Solo · Budget
The National Portrait Gallery reopened in 2023 with a redesigned entrance and rehung collection, from Tudor monarchs to contemporary photographs. Shakespeare, the Brontës and modern pop stars all hang here.
It's next door to the National Gallery, so it's easy to combine the two. Entry is free, with paid exhibitions.
Good to know: The top-floor restaurant has views over Trafalgar Square and Whitehall.
8. IWM London (Imperial War Museum) — Lambeth, South Bank & Borough
A powerful museum of modern conflict, with moving First and Second World War and Holocaust galleries.
Best for History · Solo · Budget
IWM London tells the story of conflict from the First World War to today, through tanks, aircraft, letters and personal stories. The Second World War and Holocaust Galleries are among the most moving museum spaces in Britain.
Entry is free. Allow three hours; it's more suitable for teenagers than young children.
Good to know: Go to the Holocaust Galleries early in your visit, when you have energy for them.
9. Sir John Soane's Museum — Holborn, Soho & the West End
An architect's house crammed with antiquities, exactly as he left it — free and unforgettable.
Best for Couples · Solo · Budget
Sir John Soane, the architect of the Bank of England, turned his house on Lincoln's Inn Fields into a museum of his collection: Roman fragments, Hogarth's Rake's Progress series and the sarcophagus of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I.
Entry is free. Small groups are let in at a time, so there can be a queue outside; it's worth it.
Good to know: Ask a warden to open the hinged picture panels in the Picture Room to reveal the hidden paintings behind.
10. The Wallace Collection — Marylebone, Soho & the West End
A free collection of old masters, armour and French furniture in a Marylebone mansion.
Best for Couples · Solo · Budget
The Wallace Collection fills Hertford House with old master paintings, including Frans Hals's Laughing Cavalier and Fragonard's The Swing, alongside French furniture, porcelain and one of the best armour collections in Britain.
It's free and rarely crowded, a short walk from Oxford Street and Bond Street. The courtyard restaurant is a calm lunch spot.
Good to know: Combine it with a wander along Marylebone High Street just to the north.
11. The Courtauld Gallery — Somerset House, Strand, Soho & the West End
A compact gallery of Impressionist masterpieces inside Somerset House.
$$Mid-rangeBest for Couples · Solo
The Courtauld's collection is small but extraordinary: Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and a room of Cézannes, plus Renaissance paintings and drawings.
It's a paid gallery, but you can see it properly in an hour or two. Somerset House's courtyard and riverside terrace are next door.
Good to know: Go on a weekday morning, when the Impressionist rooms upstairs are calm.
Yes — the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, V&A, Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the Imperial War Museum are all free for their permanent collections. Special exhibitions are paid, and donations are welcome. See more in our guide to free things to do in London.
Which London museum is best for kids?
The Natural History Museum (dinosaurs and the blue whale skeleton) and the Science Museum next door are the favourites, with the paid Wonderlab gallery at the Science Museum ideal for ages 7–14. Both are in South Kensington, so you can do one in the morning and the other after lunch.
Which museums are in South Kensington?
The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the V&A sit side by side on Exhibition Road and Cromwell Road, a short walk from South Kensington Tube station through a pedestrian subway.
Do I need to book tickets for the British Museum?
Entry is free and walk-ins are welcome, but booking a free timed slot online is recommended at weekends and in school holidays. Bags are checked at the entrance, so allow time at busy periods.
What is the best art museum in London?
The National Gallery for old masters (Van Gogh's Sunflowers, Turner, Titian and Velázquez), Tate Modern for modern and contemporary art, and the Courtauld Gallery for a compact collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces.