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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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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BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Neasden Temple)
Read more: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (Neasden Temple)One of London’s most beautiful buildings, tucked away in Brent. When it was built, it was the largest Hindu temple outside of India, built entirely using traditional methods. It’s extremely intricate and stunning inside, free to visit with people of all faiths welcome. But this is an active religious site so be respectful, and photos…
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Bentley Priory Museum
Read more: Bentley Priory MuseumA historic stately home which was the RAF’s Fighter Command HQ during World War Two. It tells the story of the Battle of Britain and the people who contributed to victory. It features interactive exhibits, and the opportunity to sit in a replica Spitfire cockpit. There’s also information about the history of the building and…
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Boston Manor House
Read more: Boston Manor HouseA 17th-century Jacobean manor in Brentford, recently restored and open to the public. Set in a scenic park, it offer s beautifully preserved interiors, including original ornate plasterwork, and community exhibition galleries, often about Hounslow’s modern diverse communities.
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Brent Museum
Read more: Brent MuseumA small museum housed in the Willesden Green library, exhibiting Brents diverse local heritage and history, from Wembley Stadium memorabilia to everyday life artifacts.
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Chelsea FC Museum
Read more: Chelsea FC MuseumThe museum at Stamford Bridge, telling the story of Chelsea FC and visited as part of a stadium tour. Features trophies, VR, memorabilia, and stadium access.
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Chiswick House & Gardens
Read more: Chiswick House & GardensA Grade I listed Villa, famous as one of London’s gems of Georgian architecture gems. It features large gardens (the first ever English landscape gardens); while in the house, Neo-Palladian in style and extremely striking, you can explore its ornate details, period rooms and art collection.
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Emery Walker’s House
Read more: Emery Walker’s HouseThe former home of Emery Walker, an important figure in the Arts and Crafts movement and close friend of William Morris. Beautifully preserved with its interiors almost exactly as they were when Walker lived here, described as “the last authentic Arts and Crafts interior in Britain”.
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Fulham Palace
Read more: Fulham PalaceFor over 1,300 years, this was the home of the Bishops of London. Now you can explore its history through its preserved rooms and museum, as well as explore its 13 acres of gardens with exotic plants. Other highlights are its Tudor Hall and its archaeological finds (the site is still being excavated, with findings…
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Gunnersbury Park Museum
Read more: Gunnersbury Park MuseumA large museum, with over 50,000 items in its collection, focused on the history and culture of West London boroughs Ealing and Hounslow. Features archaeological artefacts from the area; exhibitions on the culture of Ealing and Hounslow and its famous residents; social history; fashion and industry. It’s housed in a former Rothschild mansion, and some…
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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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Headstone Manor & Museum
Read more: Headstone Manor & MuseumHarrow’s local history museum, and one of London’s best borough museums, in the historic Headstone Manor complex. Across the complex are four historic buildings – including Headstone Manor itself (a moated manor house) and the Great Barn, a 500 year old farm building. Inside Headstone Manor are interactive exhibits on Harrows past.
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Heath Robinson Museum
Read more: Heath Robinson MuseumA gallery dedicated to the work of William Heath Robinson, a cartoonist, illustrator and artists. It also hosts playful temporary exhibitions.
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Hogarth’s House
Read more: Hogarth’s HouseThe former country home of 18th-century artist William Hogarth, now a small museum about his life. It has a large collection of his work, as well as exhibits on the house, its residents and the local area, as well as a lovely garden.
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Honeywood Museum
Read more: Honeywood MuseumA historic house in the London borough of Sutton, dating back to the mid-17th century. It reopened to visitors in 2012 after a refurbishment, and is home to exhibitions about the local area and the house itself.
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Irish Cultural Centre
Read more: Irish Cultural CentreAn Irish culture centre which hosts exhibitions and art exhibitions throughout the year.
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Little Holland House
Read more: Little Holland HouseA bit of a hidden gem in South West London, the Grade II listed former home of Frank Dickinson, part fof the Arts and Crafts movement. The house was designed by Dickinson himself, inspired by William Morris.
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London Museum of Water & Steam
Read more: London Museum of Water & SteamA hands-on industrial museum at the former Kew Bridge Waterworks. Tells the story of London’s water supply, with interactive exhibits; live steam demonstration; the world’s largest collection of working Cornish steam engines, and a splash zone for kids.
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London Transport Museum Depot
Read more: London Transport Museum DepotThe London Transport Museum’s depot, where the majority of its 500,000-object collection is held, including vintage vehicles, trains, buses, posters and maps. Visited by guided tour focusing on specific aspects of its collection – such as design, and ‘Cab it!’ where you can explore a number of old underground trains and see the drivers room.…
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M P BIRLA MILLENNIUM ART GALLERY
Read more: M P BIRLA MILLENNIUM ART GALLERYA small gallery with rotating exhibits of art across cultures and generations – especially focused on Indian art and culture.
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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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Musical Museum (Brentford)
Read more: Musical Museum (Brentford)A unique museum of self-playing musical instrument, telling the story of how music has been recorded and reproduced throughout history. Engineering marvels and inventions, such as self-playing violin and The Mighty Wurlitzer, designed to accompany silent films. There are lots of opportunities to listen to the instruments. Also home to a gallery dedicated to music…
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Old Speech Room Gallery, Harrow School
Read more: Old Speech Room Gallery, Harrow SchoolThe art collection of Harrow School, a prestiguous boarding school for boys. Features a wide range of treasures, including 19th century European watercolours; Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquities; 19th century Japanese prints. The gallery rotates which parts of its collection are visible, through temporary exhibitions each term.
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Osterley Park and House
Read more: Osterley Park and HouseA grand Georgian country house remodelled by the famous 18th century architect Robert Adam. It’s set in a vast park and now run by the National Trust, featuring opulent neo-classical rooms, like the famous and stunning Entrance Hall and its luxurious state apartments. Throughout are paintings, sculptures and tapestries.
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Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery
Read more: Pitzhanger Manor & GalleryThe country home of Sir John Soane (Ealing was countryside back then!), designed by him. Soane is one of Britain’s most influential architects. You can explore the manjor, recently restored to Soane’s original design. There is also a contemporary art gallery.
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Roca London Gallery
Read more: Roca London GalleryA gallery designed by Zaha Hadid Architects with cutting edge exhibitions on architecture and design. Within a showroom for Roca, who make bathrooms.
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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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Syon House and Park
Read more: Syon House and ParkA quite simply stunning Grade I listed stately home, former residence of the Duke of Northumberland. It has many layers of history, but its most famous for its interior, a masterpiece by Robert Adam with exquisite classical-style rooms. Surrounded by 200 acres of parkland and home to a famous Great Conservatory. Overall a relatively uncrowded…
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Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities
Read more: Viktor Wynd Museum of CuriositiesOne of London’s strangest 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 to a…
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Whitehall Historic House
Read more: Whitehall Historic HouseA Grade II* listed Tudor manor house, home to exhibitions about the local area and the building’s former inhabitants.
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William Morris Society Museum
Read more: William Morris Society MuseumThe smaller of London’s two museums on William Morris, in the home he lived in his final years. Rich with his work and information about his life, of interest to Arts & Crafts lovers.
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