Art museums in London: the must-see establishments

The number of art museums in London is quite impressive.

The city is packed with world-renowned institutions, and it can be hard to know which one to visit first.

Today, let's find out more.

London Art Museum: article summary

Are all London museums free?

There are a variety of museums in London offering free admission, but some charge an entrance fee.

However, most of London's best museums are free. This means you can enjoy all the art and history the city has to offer without worrying about cost.

Art museums in London: the Design Museum

Founded by Sir Terence Conran in 1989 and relocated to Kensington in 2016, the Design Museum hosts cutting-edge contemporary exhibitions, from fashion and graphic design to architecture, product and industrial design.

In addition to fascinating exhibitions on design past, present and future through popups and temporary exhibitions, the museum offers a range of programs and learning activities for children, as well as specialized courses.

The British Museum

The domed glass and steel ceiling of the British Museum, the world's first national museum open to the public, lets light into the atrium-like Great Court below, bouncing off the grand staircases and blindingly white marble walls.

This is one of the capital's most beautiful spaces. Beyond the impressive hall, it houses vast galleries dedicated to the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

Objects such as the Rosetta Stone, the Pantheon marbles and the more than 120 mummies attract millions of visitors.

Art museums in London: Tate Modern

In what was once Bankside Power Station, the Tate Modern dominates the waterfront. South Bank.

Its permanent collections house a wealth of modern British art and a range of international artists.

The huge Turbine Hall is dominated by a changing display of site-specific installations. Visit the upper level of the Blavatnik building, which was added in 2017, to visit the free observation platform.

However, Tate Modern's main attraction lies in its temporary exhibitions: shows include works by :

• Picasso
• Georgia O'Keeffe
• Andy Warhol

Tate Britain

The older sister of Tate Modern focuses on British art. She keeps heavyweight pieces in its imposing archives in the Pimlico building.

The museum organizes regular evening events, each with a different theme.

London art museum: the Queer Britain Museum

Queer Britain's history as a physical museum only began in early 2022. However, things got off the ground in 2018.

What was, for a time, a largely virtual and event-based celebration of queer culture now has a permanent exhibition space in Granary Square.

The museum's first long-term exhibition was launched in summer 2022 with objects collected from a variety of sources to celebrate LGBTQ+ history and culture.

You'll also find :

• The door of Oscar Wilde's prison cell behind which he was incarcerated for homosexuality
• A newly discovered erotic work by Duncan Grant
• A letter from Elton John

Victoria and Albert Museum

London's largest art museum, the eighth largest in the world, boasts over 100 galleries exhibiting everything from photography to jewelry.

Don't forget to visit the Rapid Response permanent collection, featuring contemporary pieces reacting to important moments in recent history.

London art museum: the National Portrait Gallery

After a three-year hiatus, the emblematic National Portrait Gallery reopened its doors to the public in summer 2023 with new spaces, collections and elevated restoration options.

The renovation marks the most significant transformation of the space since 1896, with key updates focusing on important contemporary personalities such as Zadie Smith and Sir Steve McQueen.

With a bright, renovated café, Larry's lavish underground basement bar serving bespoke cocktails in an atmospherically lit setting, a rooftop restaurant by acclaimed Irish chef Richard Corrigan, the National Portrait Gallery's hospitality offering might just be something special in the art world.

The Wallace collection

Fine art from the 15th to the 19th century is on display in one of London's finest small art galleries, housed in the 18th-century townhouse of Sir Richard and Lady Wallace.

Discover paintings by Canaletto and Rembrandt, as well as exhibitions on fashion, furniture, ceramics and much more.

Dulwich photo gallery

In the early 1800s, art enthusiast Sir Francis Bourgeois requested that his entire collection be transformed into a gallery open to the public, choosing architect John Soane to create the Dulwich Picture Gallery from scratch.

Look up and you can see for yourself the innovative techniques used by Soane to bathe the entire gallery in sunlight, which have become the prototype for all the galleries to date.

And don't forget to enjoy the great Baroque masterpieces that line the walls and mausoleum.

London has a huge number of art museums. You can take advantage of them to immerse yourself in the city's works of art.

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