100+ free museums in London – the complete A–Z

The Great Court in the British Museum, London
The Great Court in the British Museum, one of the best museums to visit for free in London. Photo by Adam Stawarz, via Flickr.

London’s an expensive city. It sometimes feels like just stepping out of the door costs money.

Luckily, when it comes to making the most of our city’s world-class museum collection, it doesn’t have to hurt your wallet.

London is home to 118 free museums. That includes global heavy-hitters like the British Museum and the National Gallery, as well as quirky, lesser-known gems across every borough.

On this page:

Best free museums in London – my top picks

Okay, so 118 is a lot of museums. I strongly encourage you to use the tool below to explore the full offering of museums available – but if you need a bit more guidance, these are my top picks of London’s best free museums.

Free ‘big hitter’ museums in London

Most of London’s ‘big-hitter’ museums are free:

  • If you’ve got kids, go to the Natural History Museum (dinosaurs!) or the Science Museum (highly interactive). Both are free to enter, but you may need to book a slot if you’re visiting at a busy time (it’s free and easy to do this).
  • If you’re after art, my personal favourite is the Tate Modern, London’s premier contemporary art gallery. If you’re after something a bit more traditional, the National Gallery is home to countless masterpieces, all totally free.
  • The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum are two of London’s biggest museums, home to priceless artefacts from all over the globe and throughout history.

My personal favourite free museums in London

Outside these world-famous institutions, some of London’s best museums are free. Some of my personal favourites include

  • the Imperial War Museum, an important and moving collection of exhibitions about the history, harms and impacts of human conflict
  • the Wellcome Collection, an excellent interactive museum about health and what it means to be human
  • the British Library, with a free to visit exhibition showing treasures from its collection, including handwritten Beatles lyrics and important religious texts

Free hidden gems museums in London

Some of London’s hidden gem museums and most bizarre museums are free. For example:

Free local museums

If you’re a London local, I’d also encourage you to explore my local museums page. London is home to some excellent local museums, telling the stories of the people that make up its many fascinating neighbourhoods. They vary in size and scope, but most are free and they’re usually excellent.

These are just a small selection of the best free museums in London. Explore all 118 free museums in London using the interactive tool below.

Interactive tool: explore all 118 free museums in London

How to use this guide: The cards below show an A-Z directory of all 118 free museums in 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.

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