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The Best Free Museums in London and My Favourites
One of our regular HouseSit Match international housesitters Tiera St Claire shares some of the best free museums in London and several of her favourite paid for museums too. Tiera is a regular visitor to the capital and delights in the great and free access the city offers to museums and places of culture to benefit citizens and tourists alike. Read on to learn the personal recommendations of this seasoned traveller and regular London housesitter.
The Best Free Museums in London and a Few More of My Favourites
The free museums in London offer easy access to the grand masters for any visitor, citizen or touristPhoto by Terry Browning
Whenever I visit London I am struck by how remarkable it is that this capital city has ensured free access to some of the best museums and art galleries in the world. This amazing gesture does them credit. It means that whenever I housesit in London I can visit the best free museums in London whenever I want.
Wherever I am house or pet sitting in the world I love visiting the museums. It helps you learn about a place. I suppose it makes me a dog or cat sitting tourist. It’s a lifestyle I have enjoyed for over 10 years now and I love it, as the best way to travel living in a comfortable home exchanging my time and pet care experience for free accommodation.
London also has some of the most charming and quirky museums anywhere, and they also count among my favourite places to visit when I am here. here is my guide to some of capitals best museums and a few others worthy of mention.
Best Free Museums in London for Art
London is rich with history, culture, entertainment and art. Simply walking around the streets can be a feast for the eyes and spirit. When I first started housesitting I was drawn to capital cities for a number of reasons. I love the history and culture of European cities and I just love walking and discovering a new location by wandering. European cities make pedestrian travel and walking around so easy.
I have some recurring housesits in London and so have had the opportunity to visit many, many museums over the years. In this article I’ll share a few of my favourites they include some of the best free museums in London and a few paid for. At time of publication these free and paid for entrance requirements were correct. My favourites include:
- The Wallace Collection – Free
- Guildhall Art Gallery – Free
- Barbican Art Gallery – Paid
- Dulwich Picture Gallery – Paid
- The Cartoon Museum – Paid
- The Foundling Museum – Paid
The Larger Free Museums in London
The larger museums in London often include free general access – The Tate Britain, The Tate Modern, The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert, The National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery – all these excellent museums offer free entry with an opportunity for donations and paid special exhibitions that change throughout the year. The larger free museums in London I find I revisit regularly include:
The Tate Britain
The Spectacular Spiral Staircase at the Tate Britain one of the free museums in LondonPhoto by Tiera St Claire
Housed in a beautiful building near the Thames River, on ‘Millbank’ in Westminster, the Tate is home to some very fine Pre-Raphaelites and David Hockney’s as well as the largest collection of works by JMW Turner. Hard to believe that this stunning museum is built on the site of a former reformatory prison (1816 – 1842) for the rehabilitation of convicts.
The museum was founded on the current site in a building that dates from 1897, thanks to the generous donation of a vast collection of artworks donated by Sir Henry Tate who invented the sugar cube!
Today it has a lovely circular staircase in the centre, a couple of gift shops and a cafe. I saw an incredible exhibition of Rossetti here not too long ago. The closest Underground station is Pimlico.
John Singer Sargent painting of Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth at the Tate one of the free museums in LondonPhoto by Tiera St Claire
The Tate Modern
Housed in a large modern building is one of the more dramatic free museums in London, the Tate Modern was originally the iconic power station designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (built in two phases between 1947 – 1963), it was abandoned and sat redundant from 1981 until 1997. As a power station it consisted of a stunning turbine hall, 35 metres high and 152 metres long, with the boiler house alongside it and a single central chimney.
The view of St Pauls Cathedral from Tate Modern cafe balconyPhoto by Tiera St Claire
The two interconnecting buildings are in a great location near the Thames River on the South Bank. With a £12 million grant from the English Partnerships regeneration agency, the site was purchased and work to convert the structure into a museum. The huge machinery was removed and the building was stripped back to its original steel structure and brickwork. The turbine hall became a dramatic entrance and display area and the boiler house became the galleries.
Nearby you can walk over the Millennium Bridge to see St Pauls Cathedral.
Wallace Collection
The Wallace Collection is a museum in Manchester Square. It is the former townhouse of the Marquesses of Hertford. The museum is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection, along with the Marquesses of Hertford, in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The art is exquisite as is the house itself. You can take the underground to Bond Street on the Elizabeth, Jubilee or Central lines and then walk about 10 – 15 minutes. You will be near to Oxford street with its hustle and bustle and shopping galore. You can also go to the more mellow Marylebone for more leisurely shopping.
NOTE – The Sherlock Holmes museum if fairly near here, though not among the free museums in London it appeals to many Sherlock fans across the world. For an elegant meal you can go up to the Landmark London, where they have a beautiful venue for tea in the light filled atrium upstairs. And at night it transforms into a champagne bar!
Unique Must-see Galleries Requiring an Entrance Fee
Barbican Art Gallery
The Barbican Art Gallery is located in the Barbican Centre (opened in 1982) which is a fabulous venue for art and performance, or simply have to a bite to eat or a cuppa indoors or outside on the terrace. I have seen really wonderful special exhibits here, including one about couples who were both artists, another on racial inequity and celebrating alternative lifestyles. Some are free and open to the public, others are paid.
The Barbican places high value on diversity and equity and their exhibitions reflect this. The building is vast and there are 3 gift shops with treasures to take home. I have not seen any of the performances, but almost went to the one with Sam Huegen – the gorgeous star of Outlander!
You can take the Circle Line or Hammersmith and City to the Barbican stop and walk about 12 minutes or the Elizabeth Line to Liverpool St and walk about the same.
Nearby, you can see the remains of the London Wall.
Foundling Museum
The children were deposited with tokens from their parents when they were left at the Foundlings HospitalPhoto by Tiera St Claire
The Foundling Museum will tug at your heart strings, and absolutely worth an afternoon of your time. Established in 2004 as a museum on the site of the first hospital create for orphans built by Thomas Coram
It tells the history of orphans in England, this being the first home for abandoned children and those whose mothers could not take care of them. There is a wall of photos of people who began their lives there and where the ended up. There is also a wall of Trinkets that the mothers would give to the children so that if they could find a way to care for them in the future, it would be identify the child.
Photos of the children when they were deposited and as adults are featured at the Foundling MuseumPhoto by Tiera St Claire
There is also a collection of art, many of the works of Hogarth, who was a patron of the Orphanage and an honorarium to the composer, Handle, who bequeathed to them in his will. There is a small shop where you buy your tickets.
In the local area around the museum there are many cafes, shops and little parks. It is about a 15 minute walk from Kings Cross/St Pancras, which is also near the British Library and The British Museum.
Guildhall Art Gallery
The Guildhall Art Gallery, Home to the City of London’s magnificent art collection houses some gorgeous art, many of which highlights London characteristics related to the Corporation of London, the Lord Mayor of London and the fantastic ceremonies Royal and Civil commemorated in art.
Your visit will also be memorable because beneath the art gallery there are the ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre discovered as late as 1988 by Museum of London Archaeologists. It is the most extraordinary discovery and worth visiting on the same trip.
They offer tours with all sorts of juicy tidbits of information…pointing out the difference between 2 paintings that at first glance seem similar, and posing the question of gender about them.
Nearby I recommend taking a little respite at St Dunstan’s in the East Garden and having a look at Leadenhall market.
Leadenhall market is an iconic destination in London and dates back to the 14th Century. It’s a great place to take a lunch break and enjoy the hurly burly of a lively city market.
The Cartoon Museum
The Cartoon Museum is well worth the entrance fee for entertainment and a slice of social historyPhoto by Tiera St Claire
This is a rather different museum and perfect for those who would like to see the pulse of socio/economic life in Britain as seen through political cartoons, caricatures and comics from the 18th century right up to the present day. It has more than 8000 comics, so give yourself plenty of time to read them and see what you learn. It’s fascinating and a great gallop through the history of an entire country through witty pictorial observations and commentary.
The museum is about a 10 minute walk from the Tottenham Court Road Underground station.
The Dulwich Picture Gallery
The Dulwich Picture Gallery is a little gem of a museum located not too far from Central London in a leafy area of south London. There are some really exquisite Old Master paintings including works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Rubens, Canaletto and Murillo.
The building itself is lovely, with a gift shop and there is a nice cafe with a view of the park.
It is about an 8 minute walk from the West Dulwich train station.
Leighton House
There is innovation and creativity in every cornerPhoto by Tiera St Claire
Leighton House, first of all, this hidden treasure is absolutely gorgeous. The main salon is covered in blue tile and even boasts a peacock as one of its adornments. Fredrick Lord Leighton, know in his day as a private person and world traveller as well as eminent artist, went on to become the President of the Royal Academy of artists as well as being the only artist ever made a Lord by Queen Victoria. She valued his work highly. Ironically he died the day after being made a Lord.
You can tour his house, located near Holland Park and see many of his works of art, mementos of his travels and his beautiful garden. There is a video that plays on a loop on the lower floor where there are works of other artist as well.
It is about a 12 minute walk from High Street Kensington Underground station or an 18 minute walk from Holland Park station, through the park.
The main floor stairwell in Leighton House is bedecked with arts and crafts tiles, paintings and sculpturesPhoto by Tiera St Claire
Museums and Places of Interest Worth of Special Mentions:
Alon Zakaim Fine Art Gallery in Mayfair. A wonderful gallery where I saw a Marc Chagall exhibition that I liked better than the museum dedicated to him in Nice, France.
Sothebys and Christies Auction Houses in London showcase exceptional art at certain times. You can look on line to see what is currently being shown.
Final thoughts of My Favourite Free Museums in London
One of the joys of visiting a large metropolitan capital is the rich history and culture on display everywhere. The free museums in London make this such a rewarding trip as a housesitter and petsitter. I just love it and always look forward to returning. Many of these museums are regular haunts of mine, offering fantastically enriching exhibitions that never disappoint.
I highly recommend all the large museums and art galleries I’ve mentioned from the Tate to the Wallace Collection. And don’t forget those smaller more quirky treasures like the Cartoon Museum, the Dulwich Art Gallery and Leighton House. You will not regret your choice.
Why House Sitting
Housesitting offers you the opportunity to exchange your time, home and pet care experience for free accommodation. It can be a great way to travel on a fixed budget, and to have a working holiday where you feel you are contributing for the benefit of free accommodation, giving the home and pet owner peace of mind while they are away. Read some of our blogs to learn more.
Further reading about housesitters and house sitting
At HouseSit Match we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about how to join a housesitting platform, housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters useful.