Discover every museum in London all in one place.
There are nearly 250 museums in London – more than just about any other city in the world. Through London’s Museum Guide I want to encourage others to share my love of London’s incredible museum scene, and help you to discover gems you might not have heard of.
Below you’ll find a full, filterable list of everything the city has to offer. Head to the London Museum Guide homepage to explore bespoke guides.
A complete A-Z of London’s museums by theme & location
How to use this guide: The cards below show an A-Z directory of all 250+ 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. If you prefer to look at a map, visit my London Museum Map here.
Finally, have fun, and if you have any tips, want to leave a review for a museum, or notice an error, don’t hesitate to comment or contact me!
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2 Willow Road
Read more: 2 Willow RoadA 1930s modernist terraced home preserved with original interiors and modern art. Designed by Ernő Goldfinger, a key figure in the Modernist architectural movement
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Ben Uri Gallery & Museum
Read more: Ben Uri Gallery & MuseumA small museum dedicated to Jewish and immigrant artists in Britain, focusing n themes of migration, identity and social change. It aims to showcase and celebrate the Jewish, refugee and immigrant contribution to British visual culture.
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Brunei Gallery, SOAS
Read more: Brunei Gallery, SOASGallery at SOAS University showcasing rotating exhibitions highlighting art and artifacts from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Its aim is to promote a better understanding of the art, culture, history and contemporary contexts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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Burgh House & Hampstead Museum
Read more: Burgh House & Hampstead MuseumAn 18th century Grade I-listed house, also home to the local museum, telling the story of Hampstead and showcasing artists.
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Camden Arts Centre
Read more: Camden Arts CentreVenue for cutting-edge contemporary art exhibitions and educational programs, housed in a Victorian building, known for emerging artists and innovative works.
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Charles Dickens Museum
Read more: Charles Dickens MuseumThe 19th-century home of Charles Dickens, arguably London’s most iconic writer, who wrote about the experience of Britain’s working class in the 19th century. In this building on Doughty Street, Dickens wrote some of his most famous works, including Nicholas Nickelby and Oliver Twist. The house showcases a large collection of artefacts linked to Dickens…
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Chisenhale Gallery
Read more: Chisenhale GalleryA small not-for-profit art gallery in East London. Found in a former veneer factory, it was founded by artists in the 1980s. It’s one of London’s leading contemporary art spaces, focusing almost entirely on newly commissioned exhibitions – which means artists create work specifically for the gallery’s programme. Many now-internationally known artists had their first…
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Dennis Severs’ House
Read more: Dennis Severs’ HouseA unique way to discover London’s history. American artist Dennis Severs bought this Spitalfields townhouse in 1979 and spent the rest of his life transforming it into a “still-life drama.” Each of its rooms is set between 1725 and 1919, as if the fictional Huguenot Jervis family, silk weavers by trade, had just stepped out…
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Eastbury Manor House
Read more: Eastbury Manor HouseA historic building, dating back to the Elizabethan era, in the heart of Barking. Hosts a range of exhibitions, including by local artists.
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Fenton House
Read more: Fenton House17th-century merchants house and a fine example of Georgian architecture. Throughout the house are musical instrument and porcelain collections, and there is a beautiful garden, including a 300 year old orchard.
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Foundling Museum
Read more: Foundling MuseumA moving museum, telling the story of the Foundling Hospital, a children’s home opened in 1739, making it the first home in England specifically dedicated to caring for abandoned and destitute children. It includes objects left by mothers when they handed their baby over, which would have allowed the hospital to match the child to…
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Francis Crick Institute
Read more: Francis Crick InstituteOne of Europe’s leading biomedical research centres, which runs exhibitions that open up cutting-edge science to the public, exploring themes like genetics, health, and the future of medicine. If you’re interested in science, medicine or innovation, check what’s on – their exhibitions are usually excellent.
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Freud Museum London
Read more: Freud Museum LondonFinal home of Sigmund Freud, including his collection of antiquities, his study and his library, and his famous psychoanalytic couch. There are also temporary exhibitions, and a portrait of Freud by Dali.
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Grant Museum of Zoology
Read more: Grant Museum of ZoologyA large zoology collection, established during Victorian times, with more than 100,000 zoological specimins – including very rare and extinct specimens. Cabinet-style natural history museum with 68,000 zoological specimens, offering education about animal anatomy and evolution. Part of the University College London.
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Inns of Court & City Yeomanry Museum
Read more: Inns of Court & City Yeomanry MuseumA small museum about the Inns of Court Regiment, tracing its unusual history and predecessor units from 1584 through many conflicts right up to recent operations in Afghanistan. Open only on request.
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Jack the Ripper Museum
Read more: Jack the Ripper MuseumAn immersive museum in Whitechapel which tells the story of Jack the Ripper and his crimes. It aims to plunge you into the unsettling world of Victorian East End London, with recreated (often gruesome) scenes. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the museum was extremely controversial when it first opened – its planning…
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Jewish Museum London
Read more: Jewish Museum LondonExcellent museum of Jewish heritage and culture in Britain, with ceremonial objects, personal stories, and exhibits on the Holocaust.
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Keats House
Read more: Keats HouseFormer home of Romantic poet John Keats, showcasing his life and work with manuscripts and the garden that inspired his poetry.
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Kenwood House
Read more: Kenwood HouseA stately home on Hampstead Heath, built in the 17th century and remodelled in the 18th. Famous for its elegant interiors, landscaped gardens, and world-class art collection – including work by Rembrandt.
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Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Read more: Library and Museum of FreemasonryA museum about the history of freemasonry, inside the impressive art deco Freemasons Hall. Exhibitions display regalia and ritual objects, and cover three centuries of Freemasonry in England. You can also take a guided tour which allows you to visit the Grand Temple. The Freemasons are a centuries-old fraternal organisation often shrouded in mistory, and…
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Lightroom
Read more: LightroomA new, state of the art immersive art space in King’s Cross. Each exhibition takes over the huge warehouse-style venue, using digital projection and audio technology to create immersive exhibitions across art, music, science and more. Examples of its exhibitions include Discovering Dinosaurs, an immersive experience on voyages to the moon narrated by Tom Hanks,…
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Museum of Anaesthesia and Heritage Centre
Read more: Museum of Anaesthesia and Heritage CentreA free museum at the Association of Anaesthetists, tracing the development of anaesthesia with historic instruments.
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Museum of Comedy
Read more: Museum of ComedyA hybrid of museum and live comedy venue tucked beneath St George’s Church in Bloomsbury. It celebrates British comedic history with memorabilia from iconic performers, and also hosts stand-up shows and events.
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Museum of Immigration & Diversity (19 Princelet St)
Read more: Museum of Immigration & Diversity (19 Princelet St)A Grade II* listed Georgian townhouse, originally built for a wealthy Huguenot silk merchant. Later home to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, who created a small synagogue at the back of the house that still survives. The building went on to host the Museum of Immigration & Diversity, telling the stories of Spitalfields’ many communities.…
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Museum of London Docklands
Read more: Museum of London DocklandsThe Museum of London’s East London branch, set in a Grade I listed warehouse on the Isle of Dogs. It tells the story of London’s port and the Thames, from the rise and fall of the docks to the Blitz. Highlights include atmospheric recreated dockside streets, plenty of interactive exhibits and a Mudlarks family gallery,…
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Nunnery Gallery
Read more: Nunnery GalleryA small, not for profit art space in Bow, housed in a 19th century convent building. It’s a community-focused space, often showcasing East London artists – such as through the biannual East London Art Prize.
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Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology
Read more: Petrie Museum of Egyptian ArchaeologyOne of the world’s most important collections of Egyptian archeology, comprised of more than 80,000 artefacts, tucked away in the UCL’s campus. Highlights include the earliest representation of weaving; the oldest woven garment and the earliest example of metal from Egypt.
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Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
Read more: Quentin Blake Centre for IllustrationBritains first public gallery devoted to illustration art, with rotating exhibitions from Quentin Blake to contemporary artists.
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Ragged School Museum
Read more: Ragged School MuseumLondon’s largest Victorian Ragged School, which served some of the poorest children in the East End. It aims to recreate what life was like for Victorian children (it has a reconstructed Victorian classroom, where they host ‘Victorian lessons’). Exhibits also showcase the history of the school, its founder (Dr Barnardo) and what life was like…
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Royal College of Physicians Museum
Read more: Royal College of Physicians MuseumA museum in England’s oldest medical college, founded over 500 years ago by a Royal Charter from King Henry VIII. A collection showcasing centuries of medical history and the evolution of medicine. Its huge collection includes rare artefacts, ancient apothecary jars, old anotomical tables and a portrait collection. Also home to a Medicinal Garden, with…
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Sir John Soane’s Museum
Read more: Sir John Soane’s MuseumThe preserved home of neoclassical architect Sir John Soane, preserved as it was at the time of his death in 1837 and home to his vast, varied collection with artefacts from all over the globe. Also hosts a number of free to visit exhibitions, usually around architecture or art.
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Thames River Police Museum
Read more: Thames River Police MuseumA small museum in the old carpenter’s workshop at Wapping Police Station about the Thames River Police, which was established in 1798 and claims to be the first police force set up in England. Displays historic uniforms and equipment, and information about the history of policing the Thames. Because it’s in a working police station,…
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The British Library
Read more: The British LibraryOne of the world’s largest libraries, with a free exhibition showcasing some of its treasures – including handwritten Beatles lyrics and the Magna Carta, along with important artefacts from across the world.
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The British Museum
Read more: The British MuseumOne of the world’s most famous and London’s most visited museum, guiding you through Global history, with artefacts from every corner of the world. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone and the Benin Bronzes. It also hosts exceptional temporary exhibitions, among the best in London.
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The British Optical Association Museum
Read more: The British Optical Association MuseumThe oldest museum of optometry in the world, telling the story of eye care and eyewear. Housed in the British Optical Association’s historic headquarters, it’s home to a massive collection of more than 28,000 items from the history of eyecare, some of which is shown in galleries open to the public. By exploring the history…
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The Building Centre
Read more: The Building CentreA space dedicated to the built environment, established in 1931. It hosts exhibitions about architecture, urban development and building innovation.
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The Cartoon Museum
Read more: The Cartoon MuseumMuseum of British cartoons, comics and animation from 18th century to present, celebrating humor and political satire in cartooning. It also hosts excellent and fun temporary exhibitions.
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The Magic Circle Museum
Read more: The Magic Circle MuseumSmall museum of magic history, in the headquarters of the Magic Circle – the world’s most famous magic society, with over 1,700 members and a century of history. You can only visit as part of an event, which are hosted several times a week.
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The Wiener Holocaust Library
Read more: The Wiener Holocaust LibraryThe world’s oldest institution dedicated to the study of the Holocaust. Its collection includes over one million items, including published and unpublished works, press cuttings, photographs and eyewitness testimony. Hosts a variety of exhibitions on the Holocaust, its causes and its legacy.
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Tower Bridge Exhibition
Read more: Tower Bridge ExhibitionAn excellent way to experience one of London’s most famous landmarks, Tower Bridge. Inside are interactive exhibitions about its history; the Victorian Engine Rooms; glass floors, for a unique viewpoint above the River Thames; and excellent vistas of London’s skyline from the towers.
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Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
Read more: Tower Hamlets Local History Library & ArchivesTower Hamlets’ local history archive, in Grade II listed former public library. Although most of the collection isn’t on show, they host exhibitions about local history which can be visited for free – check the website to see what’s on. For example, throughout 2025 and early 2026 it’s showing “Next Stop – 900 Years of…
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Tower of London
Read more: Tower of LondonLondon’s most famous fortress, the Tower of London has stood on the Thames for nearly 1,000 years, and was the site of many key historical moments, imprisonments and executions (and hauntings?). Today it’s one of the UK’s most visited historic sites and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Too many highlights to list here – but…
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Valence House Museum
Read more: Valence House MuseumDagenham’s only surviving Manor House, dating back to Medieval times. Exhibitions tell the story of the boroughs history, and the history building is still partly surrounded by a moat.
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Wellcome Collection
Read more: Wellcome CollectionA museum exploring the ‘human experience’ and health. Home to a permnanent exhibition ‘Being Human’, and rotating exchibitions on science, medicine, life, and art.
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Whitechapel Gallery
Read more: Whitechapel GalleryOne of London’s most important modern art galleries which, since it opened in 1901, has hosted some of the earliest London shows of artists like Pollock, Hockney, Rothko and Picasso. By showcasing emerging artists, it played a key role in the story of modern British art. Exhibitions change regularly, but if you’re into modern art,…
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Young V&A
Read more: Young V&AAn outpost of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) aimed specifically at children. It has three main galleries – Imagine, Play and Design – all designed for play and creativity, exploring design and imagination in a hands-on way. A great introduction to museums for kids! It also tends to host one paid temporary exhibition, exploring…
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