Best Central London Museums – 80+ Top Picks and Hidden Gems
Central London is home to a dizzying array of museums, including some of the best collections on the planet.
On this page you’ll find an interactive tool, where you can explore all the museums in London by theme and find the perfect museum for you. Before that, you’ll find my top 5 picks and my top 5 hidden gem museums in Central London.
Central London is just the start of London’s amazing museum offering. Make sure to check out my full London museum guide, or read my guides to museums in North, South, East and West London.
Best museums in Central London – my top picks
If you’re only in London a short time, these are my top 5 pick must see museums in central London:
The British Museum: One of the world’s greatest museums, with over eight million objects covering every continent and era of human history. It’s vast, fascinating, and free to visit.
The National Gallery – Home to some of the greatest paintings ever made, including works by Van Gogh, Turner, Monet and Rembrandt. Free entry.
Churchill War Rooms – The underground bunker where Churchill and his government directed operations during the Second World War. Many spaces are left just as they were when the war finished. One of London’s most memorable historic sites.
London Transport Museum – A huge museum exploring the history of transport in London and celebrating its modern transport network. A great, interactive museum for kids and adults alike.
National Portrait Gallery – It sounds a bit dull, but it’s far from it. Arranged chronologically, you literally walk forwards in time, each floor a fascinating ‘who’s who’ of British history. Plus, it’s home to that portrait of Henry VIII.
Top 5 hidden gem museums in Central London
Sir John Soane’s Museum – The extraordinary home of the neo-classical architect, preserved exactly as he left it in 1837. A maze of architectural models, artworks and curiosities
The Courtauld Gallery – One of London’s most underrated art galleries, home to an extraordinary collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, including Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.
Handel & Hendrix Museum – a museum in a historic house in Soho, where two iconic musicians – Jimi Hendrix and the composer Handel – both lived, though many years apart. You can explore the music of both, and how they both lived.
Photographer’s Gallery – A gallery in Soho dedicated to photography. There’s no permanent collection, but usually four or five temporary exhibitions going on – usually excellent.
Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum – The very lab where Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, restored to how it was when he worked there.
These are just my top picks – but there are so many to choose from. Explore all museums in Central London using the interactive tool below.
Interactive tool: explore all museums in Central London
How to use this guide: The cards below show an A-Z directory of all museums in Central London. Use the filters to the right to show only museums you’re interested in.
‘Primary focus’ splits museums by their broad area of focus. You can click ‘additional themes’ to see more specific categories, such as museums covering World War Two, or modern art galleries.
One of my favourite art galleries in London, home to London’s best collection of impressionism. Includes many of the big hitters, like Van Gogh, Monet, Manet and Degas, plus the biggest collection of Cézzanes in the country. Also hosts temporary exhibitions, often focused on more contemporary art.
An art gallery home to the City of London’s art collection, especially notable for its Victorian pieces – though the collection ranges from the 17th century to the modern day. Downstairs are the excavated remains of part of London’s Roman Ampitheatre, lost for centuries and discovered when the gallery was built in the 1980s.
A cutting-edge contemporary art gallery showing rolling exhibitions, focused on emerging and experimental art. Usually has one exhibition on at a time. It also has a cinema, showing often experimental films.
A unique art gallery dedicated to art featuring dogs, dating from the present day all the way back to the 1st century AD – though most art comes from the 19th and 20th century. Housed within the offices of the Kennel Club, an organisation dedicated to the wellbeing and health of dogs.
A unique art gallery, led by artists and entirely not-for-profit and self funded. Showcases exhibitions and competitions, providing a platform for emerging and unknown artists. Has a wide range of exhibitions which tend to only be on for a short amount of time – check website.
London’s world-famous major gallery, dominating Trafalgar Square. Home to a huge collection of art from the 13th century to the 20th, including work by Leonardo da Vinco and Van Gogh’s sunflowers. Usually also hosts one blockbuster (paid) temporary exhibition at a time.
Holds the world’s largest collection of portraits, including famous figures from throughout British history. It recently reopened after a major rennovation, and it’s excellent (way more interesting than the name suggests), telling Britain’s story through faces.
London’s leading museum dedicated to photography. It has no permanent collection, but instead has several temporary exhibitions running at any time, showcasing a wide range of historic and contemporary photography, across styles and geographies. Exhibitions can cover everything from Black British identity, to photography on album covers, to photography using cutting edge technology. Also home…
One of London’s most historic and prestigious art institutions, founded 1768, housed in the beautiful Burlington House. Nowadays it’s most famous for the Summer Exhibition, where anyone can enter their art to be shown (which if you’re in London during, is REALLY worth visiting, at least once). Throughout the rest of the year it hosts…
A free to visit modern art museum across two galleries, within Kensington gardens. Hosts excellent contemporary art exhibitions, including with internationally known artists (for example an exhibition with David Hockney in 2026) as well as outside installations within the park itself.
A huge, neo-classical building on the River Thames, which hosts exhibitions – often contemporary art, but also exhibitions about photography and design. Also worth visiting if you’re in the area for the stunning courtyard and fountain.
One of London’s major art galleries, sister to the Tate Modern on South Bank. It focuses on British art throughout time, from Hogarth to Hockney, and is also home to a major collection of work by JMW Turner.
Previously known as the Queen’s Gallery, a public art gallery within Buckingham Palace that showcases work from the Royal Collection on a rotating basis. Exhibitions often explore members of the Royal Family, its history and fashion, as well as its vast collection of art and photography.
A not-for-profit contemporary art space supporting emerging artists and socially engaged projects. It often focuses on political art, and supports artists who haven’t previously had significant exposure in London
A world-class collection of 18th and 19th century art in the historic townhouse of the Seymour family (it was originally Edward Seymour’s home, brother of Jane Seymour). Across lavish stately rooms, it showcase one of the world’s most significant collections of fine and decorative arts, including paintings by Titian and Van Dyck, arms and armour,…
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