By Joanna Szabo
No trip to London is complete without visiting at least a few of its iconic museums. Art, artifacts, history and science are all well represented in London’s dozens of collections from around the world. A bonus? Most of London’s museums are free!
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The British Museum
The British Museum holds a collection of diverse items from around the world. Its artifacts include the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles, and exhibits range from Japanese ceremonial tea artifacts to a room dedicated to the history of the clock. Permanent exhibits include Living and Dying, which details the ways in which disease and death have been looked at throughout history. Free admission.
Museum of London
The Museum of London is often overlooked, but if you’re visiting London, it’s a museum not to be missed. Dedicated solely to the history of London itself, the exhibits document everything from the prehistoric people living in the Thames Valley, to medieval London, to Victoria’s colonial reign, to the modern day city you came to visit. Don’t miss the Fanshawe Dress, an exquisite gown made for an 18th century noblewoman; a re-creation of the Pleasure Gardens, which also includes a film allowing visitors to hear what a walk in the original Pleasure Gardens might have sounded like; the skull of an extinct wild ox; and the extravagant Lord Mayor’s Stage Coach. Free admission.
National Gallery
The National Gallery houses Western European paintings from old medieval artwork to Renaissance to modern masterpieces. This amazing gallery includes Claude’s Seaport with the Embarkation of Saint Ursula, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Hans Holbein the Younger’s The Ambassadors, Van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait, Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire, Murillo’s Peasant Boy Leaning on a Sill, and Rembrandt’s self-portrait. Free admission.
National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery is located directly behind the National Gallery, and is the largest collection of portraits in the world. The goal of the National Portrait Gallery, according to its website, is to “promote through the medium of portraits the appreciation and understanding of the men and women who have made and are making British history and culture.” At the NPG, portraits of Shakespeare, Richard III and John Donne are just a few rooms away from those of Virginia Woolf, Queen Elizabeth II, Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Ian McKellen. The medium of portraiture is still in use and still powerful in its representation of people, and that is what the National Portrait Gallery seeks to demonstrate. Free admission.
Tate Modern/Tate Britain
The Tate Modern houses modern and contemporary art from around the world. Its collection includes Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Mark Rothko. In some cases, art is not separated by style but rather by theme. The Tate Modern presents these works in new and fresh ways, giving even the reluctant modern art lover a chance to enjoy the exhibits. The Tate Britain, a newly renovated Tate museum, houses an expansive collection of British art from 1500 to the present, including Blake and Turner. Admission is free for all Tate galleries.
Victoria & Albert Museum
The V&A Museum is home to 3,000 years’ worth of art and design artifacts from around the world. Ceramics, jewelry, furniture, dance, fashion and much more await you at this truly enormous collection. Things you might never have had a particular interest in before, be it ceramics or metalwork, are presented with detail and care that commemorates their importance in history. Free admission.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is home to over 70 million items in its five collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, paleontology and zoology. Within these categories, hundreds of interactive exhibits detail together the history of the world through science. The museum’s most popular exhibit is the Dinosaurs gallery, closely followed by the Mammals gallery. The museum even offers the opportunity to observe scientists working in their laboratories. Free admission.
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Photo credits:
British Museum Great Court: Paul Hudson via Flickr
Museum of London Lord Mayor’s Coach: Matt Brown via Flickr
Van Gogh’s Sunflowers: Sergio Calleja via Flickr
Natural History Museum: Mikel Ortega via Flickr