Museums & Galleries
Museums & Galleries - Background
Few major capitals can rival London's range of world
class museums and galleries. Most of these charge
no admission.
Some of the Best:
-
The British
Museum
(pictured) is quite simply a historical treasure
house that shouldn't be missed. Free at all times
(except for special exhibitions), the British Museum
is still much to absorb in one visit. Highlights
include the Elgin Marbles, the Great Court, Reading
Room, and massive collections of antiquities from
civilisations around the world.
Holborn or Russell Square Tube.
- The National
Gallery on Trafalgar Square possesses one
of the world's finest collections of medieval and
Renaissance art - a 'must see'. Canaletto, Rembrandt,
Holbein, and Gainsborough are all represented. Admission
is free.
Leicester Square Tube.
- The National Portrait Gallery (Charing
Cross Road) is a who's who artistic showcase of
British history, ancient and modern. Check out www.npg.org.uk.
Leicester Square Tube.
- The Geffrye Museum (off Kingsland Road)
is an East London museum that consists of living
rooms furnished and decorated with original period
pieces - a slice of London life throughout the centuries.
Check out www.geffrye-museum.org.uk.
Liverpool Street Tube.
- The Imperial War Museum is by far the most
impressive war history museum in London. Housed
in the once-infamous 'Bedlam' lunatic asylum in
Lambeth, the IWM has made a conscious effort to
make the museum much more than a specialist house
for those interested in militaria, focusing as much
on the human experience and tragedy of conflict.
Wide-ranging exhibits include reconstructed World
War One trenches, a harrowing Holocaust Exhibition,
and (of course) some impressive planes, tanks and
other survivors of the nations wars. Check out www.iwm.org.uk.
Lambeth North or Elephant & Castle Tube.
- The Natural History Museum is one of South
Kensington's vast edifices to Victorian science
and discovery, but thankfully the museum directors
have adopted a mixture of 21st century and traditional
methods to display its great treasures of the natural
world. Straddling the need to provide interesting
exhibits - such as the animatronic dinosaurs and
pyrotechnics of the Earth Galleries - and to be
a place of scientific and academic endeavour, the
Natural History Museum does a commendable job. Visit
www.nhm.ac.uk.
South Kensington Tube.
- Don't let the ugly, modern exterior of the Museum
of London put you off. The museum is now free,
and this - coupled with the vast and interesting
collection - makes it an ideal venue for repeat
visits. Focusing on the history of the city - Roman,
Viking, Medieval, Victorian, and 20th century -
the Museum of London also has regular special exhibits.
The new World City Galleries tell the fascinating
story of London between 1789 and 1914, when the
capital was the most important city in the world.
Visit www.museumoflondon.org.uk.
St. Paul's Tube.
- The Tate Modern (now spectacularly housed
in the Bankside Powerstation) houses a vast collection
of twentieth century art, and is the largest modern
art gallery in the world. Warhol, Hirst, and Dali
jostle for space with more 'challenging' works that
visitors will either love or hate. Check out www.tate.org.uk.
Southwark or Blackfriars Tube.
- The Tate Britain now has exclusive use
of the Pimlico site, and showcases British art from
1500 to the modern day. A wonderful Turner gallery
is one particular highlight. Visit www.tate.org.uk.
Pimlico Tube.
- The Photographers Gallery (off Charing
Cross Road) hosts free exhibitions. Check out www.photonet.org.uk.
Leicester Square Tube.
- The Wallace Collection is an amazing assorted
collection of treasures housed in a converted chateau
just north of Oxford Street. Check out www.wallace-collection.org.uk.
Bond Street Tube.
- Kenwood House (pictured above) on Hampstead
Heath contains an impressive collection of paintings,
including a number of genuine masterpieces. A great
place for a picnic.
Hampstead or Highgate Tubes.
- The Victoria & Albert Museum in South
Kensington is a treasure house that is hard to define
- galleries include artwork, curiosities, dresses,
Indian and Oriental art, slightly bizarre plaster
casts of famous statues and monuments, sculpture,
and objects d'art. With seven miles of corridors,
this is one museum where it is simply Impossible
to fully appreciate the collection in one visit.
The new British Galleries are stunning. Check out
www.vam.ac.uk.
South Kensington Tube.
- The Science Museum is the place to go
if you want to know, see, and do things which relate
to space travel, time, computing, chemistry, telecommunications,
transport, and photography. Seven floors of exhibits.
Check out www.nmsi.ac.uk.
South Kensington Tube.
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London Pass
To view many more museums and London sightseeing
- the London
Pass is a must, offering entry to your choice
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Sightseeing 
The Great British Heritage Pass
A must for your Britain Visit! Britain boasts
some of the richest history in the world, and
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Ireland are testament to this.
With the
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Designed exclusively for the overseas international
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gems under the care of National Trust, English
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on one pass! Please note that the pass
can only be sold to non-UK residents with an address
outside of Great Britain.
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