Top 10 - Free museums in London

1.National Gallery

Opening hours: 10:00-18:00, Fridays 10:00-21:00
Date of creation: 1824 r.
The collection includes: paintings by painters from around the world painted between the 12th and 20th centuries.
Website link: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

London's most famous state museum - National GalleryIt is considered one of the largest art galleries in the world, housing the most famous works European painting from the 13th to the early 20th century. Located in the heart of London in Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery is visited by 6 million people each year, who can admire more than 3,000 paintings collected in the museum.

Admission to the National Gallery is freeThis is why it is so popular among tourists visiting London. In the historic building of the museum, collections are presented thematically divided into periods of painting, time of creation and exhibitions dedicated to specific artists, and it is the most famous works that attract art enthusiasts to the Gallery.

Among the most admired works are paintings: Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Rubens, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Michelangelo, Raphael Santi, Canaletto, Sandro Botticelli whether Titian and Caravaggio. Most visitors spend about an hour exploring the National Gallery, stopping for longer at the "Sunflowers" Van Gogh and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait, but the most seasoned art lovers return to the museum for several days in a row to see all the works in this vast collection.

2. the British Museum

Opening hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Fridays 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Date of creation: 07-VI-1753.
The collection includes: collections document 200tys of years of human history and culture, from its beginnings to modern times.
Website link: https://www.britishmuseum.org/

British Museum, is Britain's largest museum and also one of the largest in the world, documenting human history and culture from prehistory to modern times. British Museum was founded on the initiative of Hans Sloane, who wanted to secure his collection, which already included more than 70tys. exhibits, the British Parliament bought out the collections and opened the museum to the wider public as early as 1753. Today, the British Museum's ever-expanding collections exceed 13million exhibitsTherefore, it is better to plan a longer stay in this unique place.

The museum's most famous collections include exhibits of ancient Egypt and Sudan, ancient Greece and Rome and Britain and ancient Europe. Passing through the levels of the building and successive museum rooms, you can move to the ancient world, Asia, Africa, Byzantium or the Middle East, the building has collected numismatics, sculpture, old prints, elements of ancient buildings, sarcophagi and real material treasures.

The most famous exhibits of the British Museum include Elgin Marbles The museum's collections include the Parthenon, Egyptian mummies, royal tomb furnishings from Ur, the Rosetta Stone, Assyrian sculpture, and ancient collections from China and India.

3. natural history museum

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10:00 a.m. to 5:50 p.m.
Date of creation: 1881 r.
The collection includes: collections on human evolution and the functioning of our planet, dedicated to the departments of zoological sciences, paleontology, botany, entomology and mineralogy.
Website link: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/

London Museum of Natural History It is one of the most famous museums in the world, with collections numbering in the millions and currently exceeding 70million, even a full-day tour of the facility may be too short.

Natural History Museum, seeks to introduce visitors to the principles of the Earth's history and evolution by dividing the exhibits into major "departments." paleontology, zoology, entomology, botany and minerology. Since many of the exhibits are interactive, you can perform various simulations, touch the objects and sometimes even try - this museum is particularly popular with the youngest visitors.

Among the most visited attractions is the collection dedicated to dinosaurs from moving Dino-robot, an earthquake simulation, a tour of the planet's core or mock-ups of volcanoes making eruptions. Visitors' attention is also attracted by rich collections of animals, skeletons of now extinct mammals and reptiles and stages of their evolution, gemstones, Artifacts from the moon or space dust and millions of archaeological artifacts.

4. Victoria & Albert Museum

Opening hours: Mon-Thu, Sat-Sun 10:00-17:45, Fridays 10:00-22:00
Date of creation: 1852 r.
The collection includes: a museum dedicated to the art of design and decoration over 5,000 years from antiquity to modern times.
Website link: https://www.vam.ac.uk/

The world's largest a museum dedicated to the decorative and scenic arts and all kinds of stucco with a rich collection of handicraft exhibits - Victoria & Albert Museum in LondonThe museum owes its name to the royal couple who laid the foundation stone in 1899.

Museum collections include 5tys. of art fromAs a result, the V&A Museum showcases the finest works of decorators, craftsmen and artists from antiquity to the present day. The museum has a collection of nearly 5million exhibitsThe collection of sculptures, decorated balustrades, paintings, prints, jewelry, ceramics and clothing, among others, is spread over 145 different galleries, in sections dedicated to art of Europe, North America, Asia, and North Africa.

Among the most valuable exhibits and of greatest interest to visitors are, of course, the magnificent Jewelry products, Chinese porcelain, gallery dedicated to the Tudor family, fashion and stage costumes, British watercolors and miniatures, and a collection of Italian sculptures of the renaissance and baroque periods.

5th Science Museum

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Date of creation: 1857 r.
The collection includes: A museum dedicated to the development of technology and science, themed collections cover topics related to scientific discovery and the development of technology from historical times to space exploration.
Website link: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

The immediate reason for the establishment of the London Science Museum, was an unexpected success World Exhibition of 1851.The museum is a permanent exhibition of the achievements of British science and technology.

The Science Museum occupies several floors, divided into separate departments, so it's better to reserve more time to visit. In the main hall you can find exhibitions on energy, James Watt's inventions, the first calculator from 1820, a model of DNA, an atomic clock, and the history of space exploration with the Moon Stone and astronaut suits. The youngest, the most enjoy visiting the museum's basement, where they learn about science through fun, interactive games and simulated experiences.

Among those gathered here 300tys. exhibits You will find sections devoted to such things as household appliances, medicine and veterinary medicine, clocks, the history of science in London between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, steam engines and flying machines, or visions of a futuristic future. This is the only museum in London where you can see a life-size train, plane or rocket and learn about the achievements of science.

6 Tate Modern

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00
Date of creation: 2000 r.
Collection includes: a gallery devoted to British and world contemporary and modern art.
Website link: https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Tate Modern - one of the most famous contemporary art galleries with an international reach, despite was officially inaugurated in 2000.The history of the Tate is connected with the National Gallery of British Art established in 1897. The National Gallery of British Art was founded in 1897, and the Tate "brand" - collecting modern and contemporary art - includes 3 other galleries: Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives in Cornwall and London's Tate Britan.

Contemporary British Tate Modern National Museum along with New York's Museum of Modern Art.are considered the most interesting museums of their kind in the world. The rapidly expanding collection required several expansions of the museum building and now occupies several floors divided into thematic exhibitions. On the following floors you can find large permanent exhibitions, modern art and temporary exhibitions, but the greatest attention of visitors is attracted by the so-called "permanent exhibition". Turbine Hall The Tate Modern is a building several storeys high, where works of contemporary artists are presented, created especially for the Tate Modern, in 2009, the Polish artist Mirosław Bałka exhibited his works there.

Among the museum's most valuable collections, there are works by such renowned artists as Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso whether Andy Warhol.

7th Museum of London

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Date of creation: 1976 r.
The collection includes: The museum depicts the development and history of London from prehistoric times to the present day.
Website link: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/

Museum of London It is considered the world's largest city museum and is entirely devoted to the history of the British capital from earliest times to the present.

Museum was divided into historical stagesThe museums are a part of the city's history, showing visitors, among other things, the first settlements in the area of today's metropolis, London during the Roman Empire or the "Victorian" times.

Among the exhibits collected are archaeological artifacts, old prints, restored everyday items from bygone eras, horse-drawn carriages, and fragments of a Roman wall.

Exhibits of greatest interest include Paleolithic archaeological artifacts, a wooden debtor's cell, Richly decorated carriage of the Lord Mayor from the 18th century.The museum also features a store elevator from a bygone era and an exhibition on World Wars I and II, gallery of everyday life in the 1950sThe museum also has models showing the development of the city since the time of the settlers, costumes of the medieval aristocracy, finds from the temple of MithrasViking weapons or reconstruction of Victorian gardens.

8 Photographers' Gallery

Opening hours: Mon-Wed, Sat 10:00-18:00; Thurs, Fri 10:00-20:00; Sundays 11:00-18:00
Date of creation: 1971 r.
Collection includes: A public gallery devoted entirely to photography and photographers, featuring works by established artists and emerging artists.
Website link: https://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/

London Photographers' Galleryis the first gallery in the UK dedicated entirely to the art of photography, its creators, artists and the exhibition venue where Works of internationally acclaimed photographers as well as debutant works of art of photography are presented.

A specific museum, which is Photographers' GalleryIt is an excellent proposal for both experts on the subject and amateurs just discovering the magical world of photography. Thanks to workshops and courses organized at the gallery, one can also better understand every format connected with photography. Wonderful permanent and temporary exhibitions expose hundreds of thousands of excellent photosRecently, a great interest of recipients was enjoyed by exhibition of works by Dana Lixenbergwhose photographic series have been exhibited for nearly two decades in major galleries around the world.

In addition to the wonderful works made available to the public, the gallery also provides education towards the art of photography, and the more knowledgeable will find this to be a great way to learn more about the subject, can visit the Photographers' Gallery storewhere you can stock up on professional accessories and equipment used by master photographers.

9. National Maritime Museum

Opening hours: Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00
Date of creation: 1934 r.
Collection includes: mannerist collections related to British naval history.
Website link: https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum

National Maritime Museum is the largest and most important national maritime museum in the UK and also one of the largest maritime museums in the world. Located in the London Borough of Greenwich The museum, devoted entirely to the United Kingdom's presence on the seas and the history of the British navy, has a collection of over 2 million exhibits.

The historic building of the museum itself is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage SiteThe area it occupies is associated with naval history and was an important connection point across the Thames to the London docks. Over 750,000 people visit this unique museum every yearEnjoy historical maps, memorabilia from some of the most important naval battles in English history, nautical art, models of famous ships, and more from the museum's 2 million exhibits.

Museum exhibitions are divided into sections related to a historical period or famous naval figures such as Captain James Cook, Antarctic explorer Robert Scott or Admiral Horatio Nelson. In the main hall, the big attraction is Great Map - Walking around it you can learn about the history of conquests, discover the most famous sea expeditions. The museum also has special exhibitions for children, where they can steer a ship, shoot a cannon and fight pirates.

10. National Portrait Gallery

Opening hours: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Fridays 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Date of creation: 1856 r.
The collection includes: The main purpose of the gallery is to collect portraits of famous British people in any art form.
Website link: https://www.npg.org.uk

The world's largest portrait gallery - National Portrait Gallery in London, boasts a collection of over 250 thousand. exhibits. The portraits collected in the museum range from famous paintings, prints, sculpture, caricature, drawing and photographs capturing famous British people, from the 15th century to the present day. The variety of art forms designed to portray a prominent figure in British history attracts many visitors each day.

All of the portraits collected in the National Portrait Gallery are catalogued, and under catalog no. 1 you can admire dating from 1610. "Portrait of Chandos"., which many scholars believe is a portrait depicting the famous William Shakespeare.

Portraits of the Tudor family and the "Elizabethan" period are very popular among gallery visitors. between 1485 and 1603, portraits of the Victorian era, a drawing by the famous writer Jane Austen, a photograph from Winston Churchill's youth, portraits of Queen Elizabeth II by Andy Warhol, portraits of the tragically deceased Princess Diana by Bryan Organ and the latest artwork immortalizing Duchess Kate.