The best museums London

If the collection bears the name of the family which bequeathed its private collection to the State, they all come from the Marquis of Hertford, collector and art lover from father to son for generations, who collected all these exceptional pieces throughout his life. Besides, these little masterpieces are gathered in Hertford House, a beautiful 18th century French style building. You will find Le Titien, Rembrandt or Velasquez, and of course, a large selection of works by French artists such as Boucher, Watteau and Fragonard. The Wallace Collection also has magnificent medieval and Renaissance pieces, furniture in Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI style, a collection of Sevres porcelain, Limoges, majolica and an impressive collection of arms and armor.

Home of Sir John Soane, the architect behind The Bank of England. A collector and art enthusiast, Soane amassed dozens of architectural pieces and small sculptures, which he installed throughout his house. Explore the new areas open to the public: catacombs, basement and hall. Overflowing with Egyptian, Roman, medieval and Renaissance curiosities, this museum is a little wonder. By reservation, one Friday a month, at dusk, this museum can be visited by candlelight. A magical atmosphere guaranteed!

This museum is an architectural marvel, with its imposing façade and neo-Gothic details. It is one of London's finest museums in terms of architecture. Built by A. Waterhouse in the neo-Romanesque style in vogue at the time, it opened in 1881, but its origins date back to the ^18th century. The collections, initially donated by private collectors, include an important collection bequeathed by naturalist Sir Hans Sloane. The collection was further enriched by gifts from botanist Joseph Banks, gleaned during his voyage of exploration in 1768. In 1856, Sir Richard Owen directed the transfer of the British Museum's natural history collections to this museum. After the untimely death of architect Francis Fowke, designer of the Royal Albert Hall, Alfred Waterhouse took over the design of the new building. Owen and Waterhouse collaborated to create sculptural ornaments depicting animals and plants, celebrating the diversity of nature. Inside the main gallery, dinosaur skeletons will captivate you. Other rooms feature land and sea mammals, birds and reptiles. One section of the museum deals with human biology, and on the second floor, the evolution of man is explored.

One of the museum's main attractions is the diplodocus skeleton nicknamed "Dippy", which stands majestically in the main hall. However, since 2017, it has been replaced by a blue whale suspended underwater, offering an immersive experience.

How can we talk about the human being and the extraordinary technological progress he has made over more than 2,000 years? How can we evoke and list all the inventions that have emerged thanks to human ingenuity and inventiveness? This remarkable museum addresses these and many other questions through its 5 floors. The collections are fun, intelligently presented to interest both children and parents. Models, reconstructions, original machines, games, everything is done to dissect, explain and analyse the world around us. As soon as you enter the museum, you will be drawn into the Energy Hall, dedicated to energy, and its very beautiful collection of engines and old machines, splendours of the past of the industrial revolution. The next room changes the horizon and makes you relive the conquest of space. Don't just stand there with your head in the stars and continue with the birth of the modern world and the discovery of inventions that have changed our daily lives over the past two centuries. On the first floor you will find rooms dedicated to the history of agriculture and the discovery of materials, with the presentation of objects in iron, glass, plastic... On the upper floor, spaces dedicated to telecommunications and different types of energy, the history of combustion, the history of mathematics, and that of maritime engineering. Finally, the 4th and 5th floors are dedicated to medical technology and the art of medicine.

This museum dedicated to the war strikes hard. As soon as you cross the threshold, an exhibition of war machines: tanks, combat aircraft suspended from the ceiling, dwarf submarines or a bus used during the First World War to transport British troops to battle. Soon, all these machines gave way to rooms dedicated to the history of the two world wars, the reconstruction of a trench or an air raid shelter. The focus is on the men and women, known or unknown, who have been involved in these conflicts.

Officially created in 1934 by the king George VI, this museum is the largest maritime museum in the world. The collections gather a large number of objects related to the maritime history of Britain: sea charts, manuscripts, scale models, ship plans, navigation instruments... The museum also has a large collection of personalities' portraits linked to the British maritime history as well as the world's largest library of marine construction works with nearly 100,000 works.

At Wimbledon, the arrival of summer marks the imminent start of this legendary tournament. Take the opportunity to visit this legendary venue and discover the traditions that have made Wimbledon the most coveted title in tennis. Immerse yourself in the history of the tournament, explore the backstage area and admire the center court. Soak up the iconic atmosphere of this prestigious tournament and explore the exhibitions that showcase the legends of tennis.

It's the ideal place for offbeat photos, if you love all things eccentric! We plunge into the heart of a dark and unusual cabinet of curiosities. It's a totally different experience, far removed from the usual tourist spots. Taxidermy, fetuses in jars, butterflies and exotic insects, the skeleton of a giant anteater, dodo bones... In a setting like this, it's easy to feel like Poe or Baudelaire. You can round off your visit with a cocktail at The Absynth Parlour, the museum's bar.

Did you know that the London Underground runs under the foundations of buildings and not under the streets, as in Paris for example? This explains why many escalators are used to access the underground platforms. London Underground is the first train to be built underground. 2 million people use the London Underground every day and thousands scatter in the famous red buses. London's transport network is therefore a key issue, as Londoners will confirm. From the oldest subways in the world to the mythical buses, relive the history of these inventions. At the beginning of the visit, you take the elevator back to London in the 1800s, instead of the floors, the latter indicates the years you go back up. And then the route is chronological. A true journey back in time! It is an ideal museum with children. Very interactive: we get on the old buses, we sit in the old subway cars. A feminist approach is also developed throughout the museum with small panels evoking the place of women in the evolution of London's transport system by period. The problems related to transport and urban development are well addressed. Another very successful museum with reconstructions, models, clear panels for all ages. Throughout the museum, the seats are covered with the fabrics that decorate the metro lines and even the walls of the toilets take up the pattern of the different lines.

In April 1824, the House of Commons purchased the painting collection of banker John Julius Angerstein. The thirty-eight paintings destined to form the nucleus of a new national collection were initially displayed in Angerstein's house at 100 Pall Mall, which was soon deemed too small. The National Gallery moved to Trafalgar Square and opened its doors in 1838. From the outset of the project, the aim was to make these works accessible to as many people as possible, with free admission and a central location. In 1869, architect E.M. Barry took on the project of rebuilding the entire gallery: seven new exhibition rooms were opened in 1867, and the gallery continued to expand, acquiring five new galleries in 1907. The new Sainsbury wing, completed in 1991, showcases the entire Renaissance collection. The National Gallery presents over 2,300 works from the Middle Ages to the ^19th century, with the most recent pieces housed in the Tate. The rooms are organized chronologically, and feature paintings, sculptures and photographs of every iconic figure in English history, from the Middle Ages to the present day, from Henry VIII to Queen Elizabeth II, and from Michael Caine to the Beatles. The tour proceeds from top to bottom, starting with the earliest paintings, from the Tudor period on the second floor. This gallery features portraits of Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth^I and William Shakespeare. Next come portraits from the reigns of the Stuarts and Hanover in the ^17th (Charles ^I, Oliver Cromwell...) and ^18th centuries. The ^19th century also begins on the second floor (Admiral Nelson, William Blake, Jane Austen...) and continues on the second floor, with the Victorian era (Queen Victoria, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters...). Then comes the ^20th century (the Royal Family, Virginia Woolf, Winston Churchill...). The balcony gallery features contemporary personalities such as Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John. Other works featuring British personalities since 1900 can be found on the first floor. Last but not least, temporary exhibitions are organized on a regular basis, the program of which can be viewed on the website.

In 2023, the National Portrait Gallery finally reopened its doors after three years of renovation.

Located in Burlington House, an imposing building in the Palladian style, it has been home to a variety of scientific and academic institutions since it was acquired by the state in 1853. Every year, the Royal Academy hosts major touring exhibitions. The most famous is the Summer Exhibition, a major contemporary art fair that has been running for 250 years. It is the world's oldest public-submission exhibition. Anyone can submit their work. It offers visitors a comprehensive view of what's being done in the art world every year. The gallery also preserves a small permanent collection located in the John Madejski salons, most of which comes from bequests made by the Academy's own members. The most remarkable of these is the Tondo Taddei, the only Michelangelo sculpture in the UK. At the heart of the Royal Academy is the oldest art school in the country, with a reputation for training brilliant artists. In 2018, to mark its 250th anniversary, the RA inaugurated a new space designed by architect Sir David Chipperfield AR. The space has been given 70% more exhibition space. As a result, visitors can now discover more exhibitions, as well as student works and creations, in a space specially dedicated to them. Other events include performances, meetings and screenings. Visit the website.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle housed his favourite character, Sherlock Holmes, the most famous of all private detectives, at 221b Baker Street. His world, imagined by the writer, is recreated, immersing us in the Victorian era. There are three floors with three rooms, but the commentaries broadcast in the rooms are not always very audible. It's a bit pricey for what it is, and therefore more for the die-hard fans. The souvenir store on the first floor is well-stocked and may suffice if you're on a tight budget.