British Museum

The British Museum was established in 1753 and opened to the public in 1759, making it one of the oldest public museums in the world. Its collection of around eight million objects covers two million years of human history, from stone tools and the Rosetta Stone to Assyrian palace reliefs, Egyptian mummies, the Parthenon sculptures and the Anglo-Saxon ship burial from Sutton Hoo. The permanent collection is free to visit, which makes the museum ideal for several shorter visits rather than one long and tiring day.

Most visitors arrive through the main entrance on Great Russell Street and walk straight into the Great Court, the large covered square under a glass and steel roof with the round Reading Room at its centre. From here it is worth choosing a handful of galleries rather than trying to see everything. The Egyptian sculpture gallery, the Assyrian rooms with their carved lions and winged bulls, and the Greek and Roman galleries sit close together on the ground floor, while the upper floors hold the mummies, the Sutton Hoo treasure, the clocks and watches, and collections from Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The museum suits almost everyone. Families can use the Families Desk and the Ford Centre for Young Visitors, history enthusiasts can lose a whole day in a single wing, and first-time visitors to London can see the headline objects in two or three hours. Ticketed exhibitions run alongside the free collection and are booked separately; at the time of writing a major exhibition on Korea runs until 31 January 2027. Individual rooms close from time to time for maintenance, so check the visit page before travelling if a particular gallery matters to you.

A free timed ticket is advised at busy periods and gives priority entry, although walk-up visitors are still admitted. Opening hours are 10:00 to 17:00 daily, with a late opening until 20:30 on Fridays, which is often the calmest time to visit. Bags are searched on arrival, wheeled cases are not allowed, and the cloakroom charges per item, so travel light. Photography for private use is permitted in most galleries, but tripods and selfie sticks are not. Free Wi-Fi is available, and there are cafés, a restaurant and shops on site.

Tottenham Court Road is about five minutes' walk away, with Holborn, Russell Square and Goodge Street also close. A second entrance on Montague Place, at the back of the building, can be quieter. Bloomsbury's garden squares, the bookshops around the museum and the West End are all within easy walking distance afterwards.