Museums in London, England

London has so many museums that even a museum lover could not see them all in a month, let alone during one visit to this special city.

So here are a few tips and suggestions from a museum lover…

• The big museums are really BIG…meaning do not even think of seeing the whole museum in one day. Pick a special room or topic within that one museum and focus on it. Then come back other days to see other aspects of that same museum. 

For example, at the British Museum you might focus on a special exhibit or one culture.

Here is a hands-on desk with artifacts from South East Asia at the British Museum.

Check out the British Museum’s official website

http://www.britishmuseum.org/

• Museums are generally theme based so pick the museums that focus on a theme you enjoy. For example… the British Museum focuses on human history and culture while the Natural History Museum will focus on nature…past and present…from dinosaurs to butterflies and everything in between. (You may remember that Prince George had his first birthday photos taken with the butterflies at this museum.)

Check out their website at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

• Publicly funded museums have no admission charge. Smaller, privately operated museums obviously have to charge an entrance fee. Most fees are very modest.
• Smaller museums tend to focus on one person and buildings and/or artifacts connected to their life. For example the Florence Nightingale Museum.

Some are “living museums” where a costumed guide welcomes you and takes you on a tour as if you were an invited guest. The Charles Dickens Museum is one that does this. While just wandering the city we also found the church where Dickens was married.

• Do you remember who lives at 221b Baker Street? Yes, of course, it is Sherlock Holmes and Mr. Watson.
• 

(Did you notice the hat on the gate?)

At that address is a favourite museum of ours…The Sherlock Holmes Museum.

• The Imperial War Museums operate three museums in London. My favourite …well that has to be the Churchill War Rooms. The one I have seen most often (from the outside) is the HMS Belfast anchored in the River Thames. 
• Do you know where the phrase “thrown in the clink” originated?  I did not know (and had never really thought about it)  until we found this museum…The Clink Prison.

 (Hint: click on any photo to enlarge it.)

• One weird and wonder museum is found at a very famous address, Piccadilly Circus. This would be the home of Ripley’s Believe it or Not London. 

(I wonder how much their rent is!)

We have just scratched the surface, so museum lovers…pace yourself!

Continue your London visit…click here

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Visit another part of England…click here.

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Travel to another country…click here.