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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Bankside Gallery
Read more: Bankside GallerySmall public gallery, home to the Royal Watercolour Society. Showcases new and established watercolour artists.
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Brunel Museum
Read more: Brunel MuseumA small museum dedicated to the world’s oldest underwater tunnel and the iconic Sir Marc Isambard Brunel who designed it. It’s housed in the original 1843 engine house of Brunel’s Thames Tunnel. There’s also the opportunity to see the Grade II* listed Tunnel Shaft which once served as the Grand Entrance Hall for Victorian visitors.
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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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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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Clink Prison Museum
Read more: Clink Prison MuseumA hands-on museum on the site of London’s medieval Clink prison. It aims to showcase what the prison was like, filled with gruesome stories and torture implements.
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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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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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Dulwich Picture Gallery
Read more: Dulwich Picture GalleryThe world’s first purpose-built public art gallery, home to an important collection of art by the old masters. You’ll find many big hitters here – including works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough and Van Dyck. The building is a landmark in its own right – designed by John Soane, its been a core influence on art galleries…
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Fashion & Textile Museum
Read more: Fashion & Textile MuseumContemporary fashion museum, founded by designer Zandra Rhodes. It hosts rotating exhibitions of fashion, textiles, and costume design – check what’s on, it hosts a wide range of stuff which will be of interest to many people. For example past exhibitions have covered the textiles of Andy Warhol, to how texiles have been used for…
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Golden Hinde
Read more: Golden HindeA full-scale replica of the Golden Hinde, the ship captained by Sir Francis Drake which became the first English ship to circumnavigate the globe. A very kid-friendly museum, with immersive and interactive experiences for children to learn about history in an engaging way. Also great for history buffs – built using traditional methods, with an…
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HMS Belfast
Read more: HMS BelfastAn iconic WWII Royal Navy warship museum moored on the Thames. You can explore its lower and upper decks to see what life was like for those onboard – all of its cabins are presented as they were, including the Mess Decks, the Sick Bay, and the opportunity to hold the steering wheel. Exhibitions explore…
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House of Dreams Museum
Read more: House of Dreams MuseumThe home of artist Stephen Wright, who has spent years covering with artworks, sculptures and designs with found objects – made up of things he buys at flea markets, or donated by visitors. Every inch is covered with mosaics, riots of colour, sculpture. And… many, many creepy dolls. An utterly unique place to visit.
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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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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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Kirkaldy Testing Museum
Read more: Kirkaldy Testing MuseumA unique industrial museum, home to engineer David Kirkaldy’s colossal Universal Testing Machine, which he designed to test building components, and other testing machines. For over a century, Kirkaldy, his team, and later his descendants tested materials of every kind, from metal to wooden beams, for major projects such as Hammersmith Bridge and the Sydney…
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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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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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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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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 Operating Theatre Museum
Read more: Old Operating Theatre MuseumA unique medical museum in the attic of an 18th century church, home to Europe’s oldest surviving surgical theatre for female patients. Provides insight into the history of medicine and Victorian surgery, back before anaesthetics and antiseptics. As well as exploring the old operating theatre, you can see the Herb Garrett above, which was used…
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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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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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Shakespeare’s Globe
Read more: Shakespeare’s GlobeA reconstruction of Shakespeare’s 16th century Globe Theatre. As well as its live productions in an authentic historic environment, it offers guided tours, during which you’ll learn about Shakespeare’s London and visit the Theatre’s exhibition space.
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South London Gallery
Read more: South London GalleryA contemporary public art gallery in Peckham, which has been going for 125 years and has a reputation for cutting edge exhibition showcasing modern art.
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Southwark Heritage Centre
Read more: Southwark Heritage CentreA small showcase of Southwark’s historic collection, including local history displays, artefacts from the Cuming Collection (which used to be housed in the Cuming Museum) and works from the borough’s collection of art. Housed within Walworth Library.
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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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Tate Modern
Read more: Tate ModernOne of London’s premier art galleries, famous for its absolutely ginormous collection of 20th and 21st century art, and blockbuster temporary exhibitions. You could spend all day exploring its free permanent collection and still not see everything. For me, the highlight is the ‘Artist and Society’ section, which explores the interaction between politics and art,…
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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 cartoos, 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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