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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Antique Breadboard Museum
Read more: Antique Breadboard MuseumQuirky micro-museum in Putney that displays a “a small but stunning collection of breadboards and bread knives dating from the 1840s”. It’s a private project, run Madeleine Neave, whose father was behind the collection of breadboards. She runs informal, hands-on tours throughout the Summer, which include cream teas.
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Autograph Gallery
Read more: Autograph GalleryA free to visit photography gallery which puts on groundbreaking exhibiitions, usually focused on identity, race, human rights and social justice.
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Carlyle’s House
Read more: Carlyle’s HouseA Chelsea townhouse which was home to essayist and philosopher Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane in the mid-19th century. While living there they hosted literary greats such as Dickens, Tennyson, and Ruskin. Now a National Trust museum, it retains its original Victorian furniture, books and even Carlyle’s smoking pipe. A time-capsule into Victorian intellectual…
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Charlton House
Read more: Charlton HouseOne of the best examples of Jacobean manor houses in London. You can explore and learn about its rich history and its walled garden. Also includes the exhibition ‘Living in Greenwich: Tales Through Time’, showcasing its collection.
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Chelsea Physic Garden
Read more: Chelsea Physic GardenOne of Europe’s oldest botanic gardens, founded in 1673 . It was originally created by The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London for its apprentices to study medicinal plants and their uses. It became one of the world’s most important centres of botany, and it continues to maintain over 5,000 plant species with medicinal, edible…
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Crossness Engines (The Crossness Pumping Station)
Read more: Crossness Engines (The Crossness Pumping Station)A sewage station might not be your average day out – but the Crossness is a masterpiece of Victorian engineering, credited with playing a crucial role in saving London from the Great Stink in 1858 and subsequent cholera epidemics. Architecturally it’s massive in scale and stunning, giving it the nickname ‘the Cathedral of Sewage’. Only…
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Cutty Sark
Read more: Cutty SarkThe Cutty Sark is a former tea clipper, and was the fastest ship of its time. It’s now an immersive experience: explore its deck and cargo hold, take the ship’s wheel, and discover what life was sea was like. Below the ship you can see the Cutty Sark dramatically suspended above you – on the…
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Danson House
Read more: Danson House1760s Georgian mansion in Danson Park with rich interiors. The gardens are free to visit, while the house is only available to visit as part of a guided tour. It is also Bexley’s Registery Office.
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Design Museum
Read more: Design MuseumA world-leading museum of design, covering everything from graphics to fashion, furniture to technology. Its permanent exhibition, Designer Maker User, explores the history of contemporary design — how things are conceived, made, and used, and how this has evolved over time. It’s wide-ranging and full of surprises, featuring everything from the London Tube map to…
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Discover Greenwich (Greenwich Visitor Centre)
Read more: Discover Greenwich (Greenwich Visitor Centre)An exhibition introducing the history of Greenwich, including details about the former Tudor palace once located here and movies and TV filmed in the area. Part of the Old Royal Naval College, but can also be visited separately (ticketed).
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Eltham Palace & Gardens
Read more: Eltham Palace & GardensA dizzying fusion of architectural styles. A medieval palace which was then further developed during Henry VIII’s time, who spent much of his childhood in here. After the Civil War it fell out of favour and much of it was abandoned. The Great Hall where Henry VIII once ate and dance beacme a farm barn.…
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Hackney Museum
Read more: Hackney MuseumHackney’s local museum, exploring over 1,000 years of history. This includes exhibitions on Saxon Hackney all the way through to its modern, diverse identity and rich history of migration. It’s all presented in an engaging, family-friendly way and is know for being an inclusive community resource with plenty of interactive elements for children.
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Hall Place & Gardens
Read more: Hall Place & GardensA stunning Tudor country house with exhibitions about its former residents, local history and free to visit gardens. It also has an owls experience, butterfly garden and hosts farmers markets.
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Japan House
Read more: Japan HouseArea: West Borough: Kensington & Chelsea Size: 2? Entry Free entry Opening Days Seven days a week What it is Museum tags: Art; Culture; Cultural history; Design; Contemporary design; Japan; Asia My personal take on Japan House Japan House is a lovely spot on Kensington High Street, with a beautiful building and a gorgeous shop…
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Kensington Palace
Read more: Kensington PalaceA historic royal residence in Kensington Gardens, most famous as the childhood home of Queen Victoria. A visit explores opulent State Apartments, the beautiful Sunken Garden and the Jewel Room, home to Queen Victoria’s emerald tiara. There’s also an exhibition about Queen Victoria and the King’s Gallery, which showcases some of the finest paintings from…
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Leighton House Museum
Read more: Leighton House MuseumThe former home of Victorian artist Lord Leighton, showcasing paintings, sculptures and is studio. The highlight, though, is the Arab Hall – one of London’s most beautiful rooms, housing a collection of tiles from the Middle East, stunningly arranged. It cost more than the entire rest of the house. A real hidden gem.
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Metropolitan Police Museum
Read more: Metropolitan Police MuseumA small museum, only available by booking ahead and only open on certain days, with exhibitions about the history of the Met Police, its offices, and crimes in the city.
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Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
Read more: Museum of Brands, Packaging and AdvertisingA museum tracing 150 years of consumer culture. Its centrepiece is the Time Tunnel, with plenty of historic packages, consumer items and adverts, telling the story of how our lives – and what we’ve consumed – has changed over time, and placing this in its historic context. Full of nostalgia for people who grew up…
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Museum of the Home
Read more: Museum of the HomeThe world’s only museum of the home, exploring home life and how homes have evolved and changed over the past 500 years. Includes ‘Rooms through time’, which features period rooms showing how lives in London have changed – from 1630 to 2049, across different cultures – and ‘Gardens through time’. A unique and thought-provoking museum.…
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National Army Museum
Read more: National Army MuseumThe British Army’s national museum, with a collection of over a million items going back 600 years. Explores how the British Army originated (from the Civil War to today); the lives of soldiers; the British Army’s global role (remember this is the official Army museum – don’t expect a fully rounded debate on the role…
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National Maritime Museum
Read more: National Maritime MuseumBritains premier maritime museum and the largest of its kind in the world. A must-visit for maritime history enthusiasts, with exhibitions immersing visitors in naval history – a higlight is the jacket Admiral Nelson war at the Battle of Trafalgar – and home to ships and boats from all across the world. A Fijian canoe,…
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Natural History Museum
Read more: Natural History MuseumOne of the world’s top museums in an utterly stunning Victorian building envisaged as a ‘Cathedral to Nature’. Home to a vast collection of natural history. Highlights include the ever-popular dinosaurs, its central hall with the skeleton of a blue whale, the glittering gem gallery, and rooms with just about every animal you can imagine,…
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Old Royal Naval College (Painted Hall)
Read more: Old Royal Naval College (Painted Hall)Greenwich’s architectural gem, designed by Sir Christopher Wren originally as a hospital for injured Seamen before becoming a naval college. It’s now most famous for the iconic Painted Hall, a Baroque masterpiece by Sir James Thornhill. More than 3,700 square metres of Baroque art cover the walls and ceilings, depicting kings, queens, naval glory and…
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Paradox Museum
Read more: Paradox MuseumAn immersive museum offering over 50 interactive exhibits that play with perception, including a Zero Gravity Room and Infinity Well.
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Ranger’s House (Wernher Collection)
Read more: Ranger’s House (Wernher Collection)A bit of a hidden gem in Greenwich Park, Ranger’s House is an elegant Georgian villa (its exterior used in Bridgerton!) home to the private art collection of Sir Julius Wernher. It’s a treasure trove for art enthusiasts, home to nearly 700 works including paintings by the Old Masters and an eclectic mix of decorative…
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Red House
Read more: Red HouseThe former home of William Morris, stunningly decorated with original furnishings, Pre-Raphaelite art and gardens. Visit to the house is by pre-book only.
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Royal Hospital Chelsea Museum
Read more: Royal Hospital Chelsea MuseumA small museum within the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the Chelsea Pensioners (British Army veterans) established in the 17th century. The stable house, which houses the museum, has recently been refurbished, and is a modern, interactive museum telling the story of the Hospital’s founding by King Charles II and the lives of the…
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Saatchi Gallery
Read more: Saatchi GalleryA cutting-edge contemporary art gallery, known for large-scale, immersive art exhibitions that often push boundaries and showcase emerging artists, presented in sleek, minimalist spaces. For example, in the past it has housed the most comprehensive street art exhibition in the UK; a blockbuster showcase of JR; photography chronocling the impact of hiphop. It also shows…
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Sambourne House (18 Stafford Terrace)
Read more: Sambourne House (18 Stafford Terrace)The perfectly preserved Victorian family home of cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne, with beautiful interiors in the ‘aesthetic style’. Stunning stained glass windows and original WIlliam Morris prints. A time capsule of a museum, beautifully cluttered and over the top. You can also learn a little about Sambourne, who was most famous for his cartoons in…
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Science Museum
Read more: Science MuseumA world-famous museum of science and innovation, spread across seven floors of interactive exhibits. Very hands-on and great for kids, with a reputation for making science fun and accessible. Begin in the huge ‘Making the Modern World’ hall, which takes you through 250 years of innovation, showcasing objects that have shaped our society, such as…
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Sewing Machine Museum
Read more: Sewing Machine MuseumTucked away above the Wimbledon Sewing Machine Co. in Balham is this small, unique museum charting the evolution of the sewing machine from 1850-1950. It featurse over 600 machine, including a Singer prototype and a patent model from the Great Exhibition.
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Sutton House
Read more: Sutton HouseThe oldest house in Hackney and one of the only remaining Tudor houses in London. Originally built for Sir Ralph Sadler, who you may know from Wolf Hall. Features authentic oak-paneled rooms and a peaceful garden in the heart of East London.
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The Fan Museum
Read more: The Fan MuseumThe first museum in the world dedicated to hand fans, located across two Grade II* Georgian buildings. Home to more than 6,000 fans displaying exquisite craftmanship and an astonishing range of artistry. The oldest dates to the 11th century. The collection will also be of interest to art lovers – it includes a fan with…
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The Queen’s House
Read more: The Queen’s HouseA former royal villa and one of Greenwich’s most beautiful buildings, now an art gallery. Designed by Inigo Jones, setting the blueprint for the rest of maritime Greenwich. Highlights include a painting by Gainsborough; a famous portrait of Queen Elizabeth I and the Tulip Stairs – its dizzying, elegant staircase, the first unsupported spiral stairs…
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The Royal Observatory
Read more: The Royal ObservatoryAn observatory in Greenwich Park which played a huge role in the history of astronomy and navigation. Also the birthplace of modern timekeeping, home to the Prime Meridian line (giving us Greenwich Mean Time). Excellent exhibitions about time and space; one of the UK’s largest telescopes; and a world-class modern planetarium.
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University of Greenwich Galleries
Read more: University of Greenwich GalleriesGalleries within the University of Greenwich, including the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, showcasing temporary exhibitions, often focused on contemporary art or local heritage.
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Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
Read more: Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)One of London’s greatest museums, and possibly its most eclectic. Amogng the world’s largest and best collections of art, design and culture, with more than 100 galleries showcasing everything from photography, to Raphael’s cartoons, ancient Buddhist sculpture and Islamic carpets, alongside modern design and fashion. Designed by the Victorians, its setting is just as jawdropping…
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Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities
Read more: Viktor Wynd Museum of CuriositiesOne of London’s strangest and creepiest museums, describing itself as a ‘Museum of Curiosities & UnNatural History’. A delightfully bizarre cabinet of curiosities featuring everything from two-headed animals, to an exhibition on ‘Fairies Mermaids, Unicorns and Giants’, to magic and the occult, and even an exhibition on Human Hair. An utterly unique museum, also home…
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