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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575 Wandsworth Road
Read more: 575 Wandsworth RoadAn unassuming Georgian terraced house which on the inside is utterly beautiful, covered in hand-carved fretwork, decorated by its former owner poet Khadambi Asalache. A tiny marvel and one of London’s artistic hidden treasures.
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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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Bethlem Museum of the Mind
Read more: Bethlem Museum of the MindMuseum at Bethlem Royal Hospita,l exploring mental healthcare history and the lives, experience and achievements of people with mental health problems. It also hosts temporary exhibitions about mental health, and showcases a large collection of art, including pieces by former patients dating back 200 years. Open to the public Wednesday-Saturday.
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Biggin Hill Memorial Museum
Read more: Biggin Hill Memorial MuseumTells the story of Biggin Hill, “the most important airfield during the Battle of Britain”. It includes personal stories, chapel memorial, and modern interactive displays for all ages. Opening hours change seasonally – visit website.
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Black Cultural Archives
Read more: Black Cultural ArchivesAn archive and heritage centre devoted to Black British History. Temporarily closed as a museum, but continues to host events and tours of its exhibition.
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Chislehurst Caves
Read more: Chislehurst Caves22-mile network of man-made caves, created from the 13th-19th centuries. Originally used as mines, they were used during the First World War to store ammunition and the Second World War as a shelter. Lamp-lit tours explore mythology, geology, and history. Visited by guided tour only
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Crystal Palace Museum
Read more: Crystal Palace MuseumA small museum telling the story of the original Crystal Palace, a huge iron and glass structure built for the Great Exhibition in 1851 in Hyde Park. The building was then moved to the area now known as Crystal Palace, but burnt down in 1936.
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Dorich House Museum
Read more: Dorich House MuseumThe former studio-home of sculptor Dora Gordine, in a 1930s Art Deco house close to Richmond Park. Displays Gordine’s sculptures and studio spaces, preserved as they were. Also home to an important collection of Russian art, part of Gordine’s personal collection.
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Down House
Read more: Down HouseThe home of Charles Darwin, with extensive gardens, an audioguide by David Attenborough and exhibitions about his work. You’ll also find the Sandwalk – a path he would take multiple times a day, thought to be crucial as he developed his theories.
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Florence Nightingale Museum
Read more: Florence Nightingale MuseumA museum celebrating the pioneer of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. Explores her life, how she pioneered nursing during the Crimean War, and her campaign for better nursing. A highlight is the lamp that gave her her famous nickname: ‘the lady with the lamp. Well-regarded for its informative and inspiring storytelling.
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Forty Hall & Estate
Read more: Forty Hall & EstateA 17th century manor house with extensive gardens, exhibitions about the house’s history and a farm. Within the grounds is the site of an even older Tudor palace.
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Garden Museum
Read more: Garden MuseumA small museum dedicated to British gardening history within a medieval church. Home to lovely gardens (as you’d expect!), and a permanent exhibition about gardening and its history. You can also climb the church’s ancient tower, with views over the Thames.
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Hayward Gallery
Read more: Hayward GalleryA leading contemporary art gallery which hosts rotating modern art exhibitions. Has a reputation for putting on cutting-edge exhibitions, including immersive installations. Housed in the brutalist monolith of the Southbank Centre on the River Thames.
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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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Imperial War Museum London
Read more: Imperial War Museum LondonAn excellent museum exploring modern conflict. As well as military vehicles, rockets and artefacts, has excellent permanent exhibitions on the Two World Wars, an award winning and poignant Holocaust exhibition, and a collection of art and photography related to conflict. Its temporary exhibitions are also excellent and free, and the museum’s focus on real people’s…
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Kingston Museum
Read more: Kingston MuseumA small museum exploring the history of Kingston upon Thames. Notable collections include ‘Town of Kings’, exploring the borough’s royal history, and ‘Eadweard Muybridge’, about the pioneering Victorian photographer who was from the area. Also has a small art gallery which showcases temporary exhibitions.
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Lambeth Palace
Read more: Lambeth PalaceThe historic London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury (still in use), open for guided tours on specific days. One of London’s oldest continuously inhabited residences, and a stunningly preserved example of medieval architecture. Also home to peaceful gardens.
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Lambeth Palace Library
Read more: Lambeth Palace LibraryThe National Library and Archive of the Church of England. Founded in 1610, it holds one of the most important collections of ecclesiastical archives in the world – from medieval manuscripts and early printed books to modern church records, and hosts exhibitions about the history of the Church. Also operates free tours of the library.
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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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Museum of Enfield (Dugdale Arts Centre)
Read more: Museum of Enfield (Dugdale Arts Centre)A community museum with exhibitions and stories showcasing Enfields history and identity, located in the Dugdale Arts Centre, a cultural space with a theatre. Highlights include mammoth bones and a Roman cofffin.
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Redbridge Museum & Heritage Centre
Read more: Redbridge Museum & Heritage CentreA newly refurbished community museum covering 150,000 – everything from how medieval manors shaped modern Redbridge, to the boroughs links to the British empire, Victorian orphanages and its modern, multicultural community.
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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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South London Botanical Institute
Read more: South London Botanical InstituteA small Victorian-era institute dedicated to botany, featuring a historic herbarium and peaceful botanic garden, with themed sections, including a collection of carniverous plants.
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Stanley Picker Gallery
Read more: Stanley Picker GalleryA small university art gallery, showcasing students and local artists.
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The Cinema Museum
Read more: The Cinema MuseumA volunteer-run museum of cinema memorabilia housed in a former workhouse. Focused on cinema before the age of the multiplex, with a collection going back to the 1890s.
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Valentines Mansion & Gardens
Read more: Valentines Mansion & GardensA beautifully restored 18th-century mansion set in an expansive park, with period rooms (including a recreated Victorian Kitchen and Georgian bedchamber) and audioguides.
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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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Whitewebbs Museum of Transport
Read more: Whitewebbs Museum of TransportA transport museum housed in a Victorian pumping station. Home to an impressive collection of historic vehicles (vintage cars, fire engines, tractors, motorbies), a model railway, and transport memorabilia. Perfect for transport geeks.
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