Now the words free and London don’t often go together but there are loads of free museums in London for you to visit. Here are our top 10 (in no particular order) museums to visit for Free in London, and at the time of writing they’re all open!
Located just 5 minutes from either the Barbican or St Paul’s tube station. The Museum of London charts the history of the UK’s capital city from prehistoric to modern times through 8 permanent galleries including the Great Fire of London, the world wars, the 50’s and though to the 2012 Olympics.
The British Museum allows you to discover two million years of human history and culture.
The biggest, oldest, and most popular of London museums, the British Museum is a titanic cultural attraction. Inside you’ll find a vast number of treasures, acquired over the years. Split into separate wings for Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, spread across three floors.
The nearest tube stations are Tottenham Court Road, Holborn, and Russell Square.
Tucked away in Brixton you’ll find the Chocolate Museum. Open every weekend the museum’s mission is to tell the story of chocolate, from bean, to bar, and finally, to your belly. Through a range of chocolate memorabilia, from antique chocolate tools to old advertising materials.
You can also do a chocolate-making workshop, but this will cost you £14.50. The nearest tube station is Brixton.
The world’s leading museum of war. Founded during the First World War; another of London’s free museums, tells the story of ordinary people forced to live their lives in a world torn apart by conflict.
Displayed across six floors, the museum’s collections includes a wealth of objects from uniforms to photographs, vehicles to films, weapons to works of art.
Founded way back in 1857, the science museum is another of London’s free museums and is now home to over 300,000 items including the oldest surviving steam locomotive, the first jet engine, the Apollo 10 command module and thousands of others. Split into 9 galleries including Energy, Space, Flight and Medicine.
The nearest tube station is South Kensington, a 5-minute walk from the Museum.
Located in Kensington, the design museum covers product, industrial, graphic, fashion and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award.
The nearest tube station is Kensington High Street.
A cheeky Insta pic of an 82-foot blue whale skeleton more you’re thing? Then get off the tube at South Kensington and take a 5-minute stroll to the Natural History Museum. The museum exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. Home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 80 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.
Step inside the Queen’s House and explore one of the most beautiful art galleries in London. Located in Greenwich, the Queen’s House museum is home to an internationally renowned art collection. And it’s not just the art inside that will make you go wow! The actual mansion and its grounds are a sight to behold.
Located in Greenwich town centre the Queen’s House is easily reachable from the Cutty Sark DLR station and Greenwich and Maze Hill rail stations.
The third of London’s great museums to be located on Cromwell Road with the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum. A 5-minute walk from South Kensington Tube station. The V&A is the world’s largest museum of applied and decorative arts and design as well as sculpture, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects.
Part of the wider Royal Museums Greenwich, which includes the Queen’s House, GMT, the Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark and this National Maritime Museum. The museum allows you to discover the stories of endeavour and exploration that shaped our world today. Must-see exhibits include the actual uniform Admiral Nelson was wearing when he was fatally wounded at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Just like the Queen’s House, the museum is easily accessible from the Cutty Sark DLR station and Greenwich and Maze Hill rail stations.
Any one of these Free London Museums would make an outstanding entry or 12 as part of our latest competition #MyHostCity where you could win a tech bundle of up to £500! Take a look at this blog for all the latest info!
17.06.2025