London, with its rich art and culture, its great history and charm, is one of the most beloved and most visited cities in the world. It has many attractions and museums are one of them. It is home to some of the best museums in the world. There are tons of them and it’s hard to decide which ones to include in your list of must-see places. Below is a countdown of London’s most popular and most visited museums that are most worthy of making to your list.
1. The British Museum
The British Museum in London was established 261 years ago in 1753. The museum dedicated to human history and culture is mostly based on the collections of physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane and. Its permanent collection comprises of 8 million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.
2. Tate Modern
Based in the former Bankside Power Station, in the Bankside area of the London Borough of Southwark, Tate Modern is a modern art gallery that was established in 2000. It is Britain’s national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group. The collections in Tate Modern consist of works of international modern and contemporary art dating from 1900 to the present day. It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year.
3. The National Gallery
The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London is an art museum founded in 1824. It houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. It is the fourth most visited art museum in the world. The Museum came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein, an insurance broker and patron of the arts, in 1824.
4. The Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom is a museum which is mostly famous for its exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and ornate architecture. This museum was established 133 years ago in 1881 and exhibits specimens from diverse segments of natural history. The museum is home to life and earth science specimens and comprises of about 80 million items, many of which have great historical and scientific value, such as specimens collected by Charles Darwin.
5. The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert was established 162 years ago in 1852. Located in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, it is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design. The V&A covers 12.5 acres, has 145 galleries and houses a permanent collection of more than 4.5 million objects with its collection extending to 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. It’s collection of ceramics, textiles, costumes, silver, medieval objects, sculpture, drawings and photographs etc.,are among the largest in the world.
6. The Science Museum
The Science Museum in South Kensington, London was founded in 1857 and is one of London’s major tourist attractions, attracting 2.7 million visitors annually. It has a collection of over 300,000 items, including famous items such as the oldest surviving steam locomotive, the first jet engine, a reconstruction of Francis Crick and James Watson’s model of DNA, a working example of Charles Babbage’s Difference engine, the first prototype of the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now, and documentation of the first typewriter.
7. The National Portrait Gallery
The National Portrait Gallery, opened in 1856, is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It houses portraits of historically important and famous British people. The selection is made on the basis of the significance of the sitter rather than that of the artist. The collection includes photographs, caricatures, paintings, drawings and sculpture.
8. Tate Britain
Tate Britain situated on Millbank in London is the oldest gallery of the Tate network of galleries in England. It opened in 1897 and houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner. The gallery displays historic British art, as well as contemporary work. It has rooms dedicated to works by one artist. The gallery also organises career retrospectives of British artists and temporary major exhibitions of British Art.
9. The Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution located in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual arts through exhibitions, education and debate. It has an important collection of books, archives and works of art accessible for research and display. Famous paintings like that of Benjamin West and Angelica Kauffman adorn the walls and ceilings of the building.
10. The National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, established in 1937, is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom. It houses the Royal Observatory and 17th-century Queen’s House. The Museum has the most important assets in the world on the history of Britain at sea. It has more than two million items, including maritime art , cartography, manuscripts including official public records, ship models and plans, scientific and navigational instruments, instruments for time-keeping and astronomy.
Leave a Reply