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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Apsley House
Read more: Apsley HouseOnce home to the Duke of Wellington, famous for his victories over Napoleon. A stunning stately home, which is also home to an extraordinary collection of art, including work by Goya and Velázquez.
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Banqueting House
Read more: Banqueting HouseThe only surviving building of Whitehall Palace, designed by iconic architect Inigo Jones. Famous for its epic painted ceiling and as the site of Charles I’s execution in 1649. TEMPORARILY CLOSED UNTIL LATE 2025 – CHECK WEBSITE
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Buckingham Palace
Read more: Buckingham PalaceThe royal family’s official London residence – millions of tourists peer through its gates every year, watch the famous Changing of the Guard, and wonder what’s behind its huge, majestic facade. Its opulent, magnificent state rooms open to the public every Summer, and are open to some small group tours year round. Highlights include the…
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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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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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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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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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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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Historic Croydon Airport
Read more: Historic Croydon AirportA historic airport, home to the world’s first purpose built airport terminal. Between the wars it was the UK’s only international airport, and for a time it was the biggest and most advanced airport in the world.
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Houses of Parliament
Read more: Houses of ParliamentArguably London’s most famous building – home to the iconic Big Ben, as well as the heart of British political life. Guided tours show you around the historic building, including the House of Commons and House of Lords. You can also book self guided tours when Parliament isn’t in session. They also offer Big Ben…
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Somerset House
Read more: Somerset HouseA huge, neo-classical building on the River Thames, which hosts exhibitions – often contemporary art, but also exhibitions about photography and design. Also worth visiting if you’re in the area for the stunning courtyard and fountain.
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Spencer House
Read more: Spencer HouseA rare 18th-century noble townhouse, describing itself as one of the finest buildings ever built in London, and home to extremely opulent, well-looked after state rooms. Visited by guided tour, providing an insight into the lives of Britain’s aristocracy.
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Stephens Collection (Stephens House)
Read more: Stephens Collection (Stephens House)A historic mansion with landscaped gardens, owned by Henry Charles Stephens – an ink businessman. The gardens are free to visit, but the house is by guided tour only.
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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 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 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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Wellington Arch
Read more: Wellington ArchThe iconic triumphal arch at Hyde Park Corner. Inside is a small museum about the arch’s history and World War One, and at the top you’re rewarded with views over the park.
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Westminster Abbey and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries
Read more: Westminster Abbey and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee GalleriesOne of the key locations in British history, Westminster Abbey is a large Anglican church complex that has hosted the coronations of 40 English and British monarchs since 1066. Thousands of people are buried here, including former kings and queens, as well as prominent figures such as Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, and several…
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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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