Museums of London

Every visitor to London knows that world class museums abound in the British capital. Moreover many of these institutions which house absolutely wonderful collections like the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain, the National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum offer public access to their permanent collections as well. Listed below is a list of some of the best museums in London which should definitely be included in any visit London itinerary.

The British Museum
44 Great Russell Street,
London, WC1B 3DG
http://www.britishmuseum.org/

The British museum which was founded by an act passed by the British Parliament is one of the oldest museums in the world. The museum has a vast collection of treasures which contains several gems like Egyptian mummies, the Rosetta Stone, Lindow Man and others. Some of the museum’s permanent collections include displays like Enlightenment which features 5000 objects dating back to the mid-18th and early 19th centuries. Yet another display is called Living and Dying and it showcases how people through the ages diagnosed illnesses and coped with death.

The Science Museum
Exhibition Rd,
London, SW7 2DD
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

London’s Science Museum extends over seven floors and features both educational and entertaining exhibits which showcase the advances made in modern science, medicine and technology. The museum also has is equipped with an interactive gallery called Launch Pad which educates children on the basic principles of science. The Exploring space galleries at the museum are immensely popular and feature attractions like the Apollo 10 command module and a flight simulator and full-scale models of the Huygens Titan probe and the Beagle 2 Mars Lander. The museum also encompasses an IMAX theater, for which there is an additional admission charge and the Dana Center which is used for free talks and performances.

Natural History Museum
Cromwell Rd,
London, SW7 5BD
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

The Natural History Museum is a favorite with families who bring their children along to marvel at the museum’s permanent collection of nearly 70 million plant, animal, fossil, rock and mineral exhibits. These exhibits are further hosted in individual galleries like the Life Galleries which features displays on animal life and the Earth Galleries that feature objects that influence the development of our planet. The museum is also equipped with a wonderful garden that promotes urban wildlife conservation. Additionally, the Natural History museum erects and hosts a ice skating rink during the winter months which is immensely popular with museum-goers and visitors.

The Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Rd,
London, SW7 2RL
http://www.vam.ac.uk/

The Victoria and Albert museum whose exterior is adorned with statues of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert hosts a treasure trove decorative arts in its permanent collection which features sculptures, ceramics and pottery, paintings and photography. The museum’s New British Galleries 1500-1900 are especially popular with museum-goers as they trace the evolution of British Design from the time of Henry VIII to Queen Victoria. The museum café at the V&A is especially well known for the teatime delights that it serves. Additionally, the museum also offers a year round event calendar that features talks and workshops and hosts a ‘Friday Late event’ which is held after- hours at the museum and features DJ’s spinning music, bars and other special events which are usually related to the current exhibits being hosted at the museum.

Design Museum
28 Butlers Wharf,
Shad Thames, London, SE1 2YD
http://designmuseum.org/

London’s Design Museum was founded in 1989 near the Tower Bridge in South London. This museum features displays of fashion and graphic design, multimedia exhibits and other architectural displays. The Design museum is equipped with a store that retails books on design and it also hosts workshops for children periodically.

The Imperial War Museum
Lambeth Road,
London, SE1 6HZ
http://www.iwm.org.uk/

London’s Imperial War Museum should be considered a must-do for any history lover who is a World War enthusiast. This museum is housed in a building that dates back to 1815 which once used to host the Bethlem Royal Hospital. The Imperial War Museum hosts an art collection which was commissioned during the war years (both WWI and WWII).

Additionally the museum offers collections of war-related artifacts like official communications, war literature and war machinery. The museum has two special exhibits known as the Blitz and the Trench which recreate the terrifying ambience of the World Wars for visitors who were born after the war. The Imperial War museum also hosts a permanent holocaust exhibit which uses artifacts, film, documents, photographs and actual eye-witness accounts to highlight the Nazi’s barbaric persecution of millions of Jews and others nationalities. Another gallery of interest at this museum is the Children's War which examines the effect of WWII British children who experienced the horrifying air raids on London during the Blitzkrieg. The gallery uses original letters, diaries, drawings and photographs to illustrate and recreate the plight of these young children.

Museum of London
150 London Wall,
London, EC2Y 5HN
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/

The museum of London catalogues the history of London right from prehistoric times to the present by recreating street scenes and exhibiting artifacts that were actually found in archaeological digs around London. The museum also offers an event program that features talks, walks and programs for children.

National Maritime Museum
Park Row,
London, SE10 9NF
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/

This museum which is located in Greenwich has a permanent exhibition that catalogues and highlights the rich maritime heritage of London and the prominent position the city enjoyed in the late 19th century when it was a leading center for world trade. The museum also offers several other exhibits that highlight modern day issues like marine conservation, over-fishing and the extinction of certain species, global warming and climate change and pollution. Also located here is the Peter Harrison Planetarium which is the only public planetarium in the UK.

Tate Modern
Bankside,
London, SE1 9TG
http://www.tate.org.uk/

The magnificent edifice that houses the Tate Modern contemporary art museum was originally meant to be the Bankside Power Station. This Bankside Power Station was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who also designed the Battersea Power Station. The Bankside Power Station ceased operations in 1981 and it was converted into a museum in 2000. The Tate Modern’s permanent collection features the works of the leading lights of the contemporary art world like Bacon, Matisse, Rothko, Twombly and many others. The Tate also hosts a delightful café which is extremely popular with museum-goers.

Tate Britain
Millbank
London SW1P 4RG
020 7887 8888
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/

The Tate Britain showcases British art from 1500 to the present day and offers a collection that is 60,000 works strong. However this collection features both British as well as international artists. The Tate Britain is also believed to have the largest collection of works by J M W Turner in the world. The Tate Britain like the Tate Modern offers free public access except for some major exhibitions.

The National Portrait Gallery
St Martin’s Place
London, WC2H 0HE
http://www.npg.org.uk/

The National Portrait Gallery is an art museum in London which houses a collection of portraits of historically prominent British people. This portrait gallery was the first of its kind when it opened in 1856. The gallery which is today located at St Martin’s Place off Trafalgar Square was moved to its current location in 1896. The permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery is made up of 160,000 portraits that date back to the 16th century.

The National Gallery
Trafalgar Square
London
WC2N 5DN
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

The National Gallery is home to the national collection of Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. This free public access museum offers a permanent collection of more than 2300 works which include famous masterpieces like Turner’s Fighting Temeraire, Velázquez’s Rokeby Venus and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. All major schools of Western Art like the mediaeval and Renaissance Italy to the Impressionists find representation at the National Gallery which is a free public access space.