Time in London Museums - Spend your free time in London here!

London's Museums are as diverse and individual as the people that visit them. There are London hidden treasures and secret gems to be found in London Museums - and the best news of all is that many are free to enter.

Many of the larger London Museums have reinvented themselves in the last few years - Every weekend and in the school holidays you'll find Back-Packs and exciting Drop-in-Design events for families at the Victoria & Albert Museum - All family events are free and drop-in.

The British Museum also has Exhibitions and displays open late on Fridays.

Many of the London Museums have hands-on activities, workshops and demonstrations and provide bars, music, attractive on-site shops, restaurants and coffee shops.

With more to enjoy than ever before you need to plan how you will spend time in London's museums, some, such as the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum will need more than one visit, while other's can be seen whenever you have an hour or two to spare.

Bank of England Museum

Admission free - See the oldest surviving cheque (dated 8th December 1660).
Have a go on the foreign exchange computer game - you might end up feeling flush.
Hear about "things that go bang in the night" in this historic building and read about the Bank's own "ghost" in haunted London

Nearest tube - London Underground Staton: Bank.
Threadneedle Sreet, EC2.

British Museum
Admission free - national collection of antiquities - one of the finest museums in the world.
See the 7th century ship burial - The Sutton Hoo Treasure, be careful around the Portland Vase - a visitor managed to smash it in 1845, look at the 2000 year old skin of the Lindow Man - he was perfectly preserved in a peat bog in Cheshire, admire the Parthenon Marbles - the sculptures brought by Lord Elgin from the "Temple of Athina" the temple of the Acropolis in Athens, marvel at the statue of Rameses II and have a go at deciphering the Rosetta Stone.
Nearest tube station(s) Holborn, Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square, Goodge Street.

Carlyle's House

Admission fee charged - Famous visitors to this beautiful Queen Anne house where Thomas Carlyle wrote Frederick the Great and The French Revolution, have included, Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, Alfred Lord Tennyson, George Elliot and Chopin (who played Mrs Carlyle's piano).
The rooms still contain their original furniture, together with Carlyle's books and personal effects.
Nearest Tube/Underground Station: Sloane Square

Charles Dickens Museum

Admission fee charged - A must for Dickens's fans - original manuscripts, illustrations, Dickens editions and his well-worn writing desk are laid out in rooms exactly the way they were in Dickens's time.

Mementos that belonged to Charles Dickens's sister-in-law, the young Mary Hogarth, who died at the house at the age of 17, are also on display in this 19th-century London terraced house.
Nearest tube (London Underground Station): Russell Square

Clink Prison Museum

Admission fee charged - Situated on the site of the original prison, which opened its doors in the 12th century and closed in 1780 - the museum contains authentic instruments of torture and displays depicting what life was like for those unlucky enough to be in "the clink".

Nearest tube (London Underground Station ) : London Bridge.

Dr Johnson's House
Admission fee charged - It was in this London house, built towards the end of the 1600's that Dr Johnson compiled his famous Dictionary. Books, paintings and memorabilia of the great man and his circle (such as the tea set that belonged to his great friend, Mrs Thrale - who Dr Johnson always addressed as "dear mistress") can be found throughout the house.
Don't miss the bronze sculpture of Hodge (Dr Johnson's beloved cat) outside his house in Gough Square.
Nearest Tube / London Underground station: Blackfriars or Temple, Holborn or Chancery Lane.

Hogarth 's House
Admission free - The artist's country home for 15 years. William Hogarth is famous for his engravings such as "The Rake's Progress" ( now in Sir John Soane's Museum) and "The Harlot's Progress" which provided such a scathing commentary of the London of his time - copies of these and impressions from engravings, relics and paintings form the exhibition of his life and work.

Nearest tube: Turnham Green

Museum of London
Admission free - Anyone who wishes to know about London should pay a visit to this wonderful museum, for it tells the tale of London in chronological order from pre-history to the Romans through to the beginning of WWI.
See the Lord Mayor of London's gilded Coach - interiors of 17th century grand houses, - a Victorian walk with original shop fronts, - Roman London, and the 2nd-3rd century marble head of Serapis, found in the Temple of Mithras

Nearest tube - London Underground Station: Bank, Barbican, St. Paul's, Moorgate.

National Maritime Museum
Admission free - Containing state of the art galleries, this largest museum of its kind in the world tells the story of seafaring from prehistory to the present day. See the recreation of the Titanic wreck and its artifacts, the "Making Waves" exhibit which features a scale wave tank and a vortex, the Royal Barge, built in 1732, the permanent Nelson exhibition on Level Three and much more...
Station - Maize Hill (BR) - Island Gardens (Docklands Light Railway) - River Services from London Piers

Natural History Museum
Admission free - Covering 4 billion years of Earth's history through a vast collection of over 68 million specimens - it's still the "Dinosaur" exhibits, complete with life-sized roaring T- Rex, that both children and adults head for on arrival. See the legendary Dodo, - a tarantula and other spiders, - minerals and meteorites and gems in The Earth's Treasury.For the under 7s, the Information Desk will provide a free Explorers activity pack to help them make the most of their visit.
Nearest Tube Station: South Kensington

Prince Henry's Rooms

Admission free - This Jacobean House built in 1610, is where the Great Fire of London stopped. It has a fine half-timbered front, which is original and is next to the entrance of Inner Temple. Famed as an office of King James I's son (the elder brother of King Charles I) it now houses a collection of artefacts relating to the diarist Samuel Pepys.
Tube: Temple

Queen's House
Admission free - The first Palladian building in England. Built by Inigo Jones and originally intended for Anne of Denmark, wife of James I but building was halted when Anne died and the house was completed in Charles I's reign for his queen, Henrietta Maria. Set amidst the old Tudor Royal Palace of Placenta in Greenwich, it is now an integral part of the Maritime Museum. See the beautiful Tulip Staircase - the first example of a cantilevered staircase in Britain.
Transport: Maze Hill Rail, Cutty Sark Maritime Greenwich DLR, River Services from London Piers.

Royal Greenwich Observatory
Admission free - Situated at the peak of Greenwich Parks highest hill, is the Observatory built by Wren in 1675 for Charles II. With the Prime Meridian here and the home of Greenwich Mean Time, the Observatory can truly claim to be at the centre of time and space. It is well worth the climb through the Park to the Observatory for the wonderful views of London to be had from the top of the hill.
Transport: Greenwich Rail, Cutty Sark DLR, Maze Hill Rail and River Services from London Piers.

Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition

Admission fee charged - A fantastic modern reconstruction of the Tudor period Globe Theatre, scene of some fine Shakespearean moments. Open -air performances of Shakespeare's plays take place in the summer months.
Tube: (London Underground Station) Mansion House, London Bridge. Riverboat: Bankside Pier.

Tower Bridge
Admission fee charged - One of London's most famous landmarks, the magnificent 19th century bridge is decorated with high towers and features the famous drawbridge. The Tower Bridge Experience allows you to enter the Engine Rooms and the walkways that link the North and South Towers. There are spectacular views of the river and St. Paul's Cathedral for you to capture on camera.
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7403 3761 By Tube: Tower Hill for the north side of the Bridge. London Bridge station - Tower Bridge is just a short walk away.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Admission free - The World's finest museum of decorative arts. See The Great Bed of Ware, an embroidered jacket from 1610, Vivienne Westwood shoes - just some of the many exhibits in the many galleries: British, Architecture, China, Silver, South Asia.

Nearest tube: South Kensington. A tunnel links the station to the museum

Other London Museums

Nearest Tube / London Underground Station to these museums

Bramah Tea & Coffee Museum - London Bridge
Clock Museum - Bank/ Monument
Cuming Museum - Elephant & Castle
Design Museum - London Bridge/Tower Hill
Faraday's Laboratory & Museum - Green Park
Florence Nightingale Museum - Lambeth North
Freud Museum - Finchley Road
Geffrye Museum Museum - Old Street
Guards Museum - St James's Park
Imperial War Museum - Lambeth North
Museum of Childhood Museum - Bethnal Green
Museum of Garden History - Lambeth North
Sherlock Holmes Museum - Baker Street
Sir John Soane's Museum - Holborn
Jewish Museum - Camden Town
London Toy & Model Museum - Lancaster Gate
Theatre Museum - Covent Garden
London Transport Museum - Covent Garden