Complete list of Exhibitions in London this month (October 2026)

There’s so much going on in London, it can be hard to keep up. On this page, part of my London Museum Guide, you’ll find a comprehensive directory of exhibitions on in London this month (October 2026). They’re split by theme, and listed in order of the exhibition’s end date.

I keep this page current with exhibitions taking place in London right now. The list updates automatically as new exhibitions open (and when exhibitions close!). So it’s always up to date with this month’s exhibitions, and I regularly add recommendations. If I’m missing anything, let me know.

My top picks for October 2026

Further down the page you’ll find comprehensive lists of exhibitions in London by category. But first, some of the shows I’m most excited for this month.

October is a mega month for new exhibitions in London, with a huge range of exciting shows opening throughout the month.

The headline act is Renoir and Love at the National Gallery, opening 3 October. It’s the first major Renoir show in London for nearly 20 years, and it brings his 1876 masterpiece Bal du moulin de la Galette to the UK for the first time.

If, like me, you missed out on Bayeux Tapestry tickets last month, now’s your chance. The first release (covering September to December) sold out, but tickets for visits between 1 January and 31 March 2027 go on general sale on the British Museum website on 21 October.

While you’re at the British Museum, Korea opens on 1 October: the most comprehensive survey of Korean art and culture seen in Europe for over 40 years, spanning two thousand years from around 300 BC to the present day.

Photography fans are spoilt this month. Tate Modern’s Light and Magic (from 14 October) tells the global story of how photography became an art form, while The Photographers’ Gallery marks 50 years since William Eggleston’s Guide with a major show of his colour work, opening the same day. Tim Walker’s Fairyland brings his fantastical portraits of LGBTQ+ trailblazers to the National Portrait Gallery from 8 October.

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Modern art exhibitions on in London this month

The modern art show I’m most excited about this month is a bit of an unusual one, at the Sir John Soane Museum. From 14 October, Michael Landy: Future Ruins will showcase a series of drawings of famous buildings, imagined in ruins.

The Whitechapel Gallery is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, and this month is a bumper month. First is Cecilia Vicuña: Living Threads at the Whitechapel Gallery, opening 7 October. It’s the first major UK survey of the Chilean artist, poet and activist, spanning six decades of painting, textile, film and installation.

There’s also This Must Be the Place, a free exhibition and sale of work by 24 international artists, with proceeds supporting the gallery.

Elsewhere, Salman Toor’s first European solo show, Someone Like You, opens at the Courtauld on 2 October. His richly coloured paintings of queer and immigrant life in New York borrow freely from the Old Masters, and there’s a companion display of his drawings.

At the Barbican, Robert Ryman: The Real Thing (from 8 October) is the American painter’s first major UK showing in over 30 years.

You can also still check out Frida: The Making of an Icon, exploring the career and legacy of Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern, open until January 2027. The Modern is also hosting a retrospective of the Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta, until 17 January.

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Old masters, fine art and historic art exhibitions on in London this month

The big opening this month is Renoir and Love at the National Gallery, from 3 October. Also at the National Gallery, Yinka Shonibare and Thomas Gainsborough: A Conversation pairs a new work by Shonibare with Gainsborough’s Mr and Mrs Andrews, free from 15 October.

My personal top pick, though, is South of the river: Hokusai’s complete Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji, including the Great Wave, from 20 October at the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

The Royal Academy is also opening a new show, ‘Painting the French Riviera’ from 2 October. You’ll be able to see some of the greats, like Monet, Matisse, Cézanne, Picasso and Dufy.

Elsewhere the Wallace Collection‘s exhibition of Winston Churchill’s paintings runs all the way to November.

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Photography exhibitions on in London this month

October’s a brilliant month for photography, with three major shows opening plus a new run of shows at the Photographer’s Gallery.

My pick is Light and Magic: The Birth of Art Photography at Tate Modern, from 14 October. It explores the history of photography as art form, with more than 200 prints from across the world, spanning the 1880s to the 1960s.

At the National Portrait Gallery, Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends (from 8 October) is the photographer’s first London show since his V&A exhibition in 2019. He spent five years photographing queer activists, artists and performers in his signature fairytale style, from Ian McKellen to Chappell Roan.

And the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year returns to the Natural History Museum on 16 October, one of the highlights of London’s museum calendar.

October also sees the Photographer’s Gallery open a new set of exhibitions, with three new exhibitions opening on 14 October. One ticket gets you entry to all three.

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History exhibitions in London this month

If you didn’t get tickets to the Bayeux Tapesty, there are still some excellent history exhibitions to visit this month, including two big new openings.

My pick is Korea at the British Museum, opening 1 October – billing itself as the most comprehensive survey of Korean art and culture seen in Europe for over 40 years. At the other end of the month, from the 30th the British Library will be home to a new major exhibition marking 50 years since Agatha Christie’s death, exploring her life.

Closer to home for Christie’s great Victorian predecessor, the Charles Dickens Museum opens Dickensian London: The Magic Lantern City on 21 October.

And you can still catch the Imperial War Museum‘s Childhood in War, the UK’s first exhibition on how war has shaped children’s lives from 1914 to the present, told through personal objects, immersive set pieces and the children’s books that carried the story home. Free, and running all the way to February.

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Science and technology exhibitions in London this month

There’s one major science opening this month, and it’s free.

Becoming America: How Science Shaped a Nation opens at the Science Museum on 23 October, marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence.

I’d also encourage science lovers to visit both the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, and the Astronomy Photography of the Year exhibition, at the Natural History Museum and National Maritime Museum respectively. See the photography section for details.

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Fashion, design and culture exhibitions in London this month

The V&A East Museum remains the biggest story in London’s museum scene, and ‘The Music is Black: A British Story’ is still not one to miss.

Elsewhere, the Design Museum is launching a major new retrospective on London-based designer Es Devlin from 2October, which has included stage sets from Beyonce to the Olympics. There’s also a new show at the Fashion and Textile Museum, exploring husband and wife partnershipOssie Clark and Celia Birtwell

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Exhibitions for children and families in London this month

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Read more London guides

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