The British Museum
The British Museum
4.6
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
A museum of the world, for the world. Discover over two million years of human history and culture. Some of the world-famous objects include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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AU$16.75
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Bloomsbury
Snuggly nestled within Central London is academic and leafy Bloomsbury, an area that boasts walking distance access to many of London's most popular attractions. It is also home to some of Britain's most celebrated museums, including the must-see British Museum. Despite an understandable popularity with students, tourists and day trippers, vast sections of Bloomsbury retain a quiet, residential feel year round and throughout the week.
How to get there
- Tottenham Court Road • 6 min walk
- Russell Square • 6 min walk
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4.6
74,615 reviews
Excellent
53,952
Very good
15,755
Average
3,619
Poor
796
Terrible
497
These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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Linda C
301 contributions
Feb 2025 • Couples
A wonderful museum! So much to see, you need more than one day at The British Museum. Although it is free to get into the London museums - I highly recommend going online to prebook your entry pass. We went when it was HalfTerm in London ( Spring Break). Museum were super crowed and at The British Museum there was no line for non ticket holders, you had to have a per arranged entry time. The line was 45 minutes long, so the entry time was very flexible.
The Rosetta Stone was fascinating as was the Egyptian wing. These were very crowded, as we moved to other areas, not as bad.
The Rosetta Stone was fascinating as was the Egyptian wing. These were very crowded, as we moved to other areas, not as bad.
Written 8 March 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dhali16
Cuggiono, Italy3,253 contributions
May 2024 • Family
The museum is full of masterpieces and free, and this leads to huge crowds, especially in the most popular rooms. For families with children, I recommend going down to floor -1, at the Ford Center, where they will give you a token to get free lockers and where there are also tables set up for picnics. Online booking required for entry, reserved and priority queues for Members, families with strollers and disabled people. Very tight controls at the entrance, for backpacks and bags.
Written 17 May 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James G
Mill Valley, CA291 contributions
Oct 2024 • Couples
The British Museum houses one of the world’s most important collections of ancient art and artifacts. The Parthenon Marbles, Rosetta Stone, Assyrian Lion Reliefs, Sutton Hoo Burial, Lewis Chessmen: each visitor will have a favorite gallery to visit—unless it is Room 56, which displays the Ram in a Thicket from Ur and currently is closed for renovation. This brief review, therefore, is limited to the practical matter of simply visiting the Museum. First of all, book in advance, as the Museum advises. Although admission is free, without a timed entrance you’ll likely be directed (“turn right, turn right”) to the rear entrance at Montague Place, a ten-minute walk around to the other side of the Museum, where you’ll find yourself at the end of another queue. But, if you’re not encumbered with a handbag or backpack that will have to be inspected—and, say, have only a camera in hand—you can skip the line. Simply approach a guard and ask to be admitted. That should save you at least a 30-minute wait. Once inside, get a map of the floor plan. Even an impatient two-minute perusal will spare you the later realization (when you finally do look at the guide) that you overlooked something important. And finally: “Silk Roads” is a special exhibition that runs almost to the end of February, 2025. Some items, such as garnet and gold artifacts from the Sutton Hoo Burial and an ivory panel depicting the earliest narrative portray of the Crucifixion, have been removed from the Museum’s permanent collection for display in the exhibit. Of these loans, perhaps most important is the Franks Casket, a carved whale-bone box covered with runes and stories from Germanic, Roman, Jewish, and Christian traditions.
Written 14 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Catharina50
Eindhoven, The Netherlands7,178 contributions
Dec 2024 • Couples
Top class museum with an immense collection, located in a beautifully modernized classic building. Admission free, but you must reserve a time slot. You have to pay separately for the exhibition ‘Silk roads’. On arrival there is a large queue outside, all people who already have a ticket with a time slot, but we are nevertheless quickly through the security check. There is a free downloadable audio tour, but it is very limited. To find out more, you can download a specific audio tour per theme and/or exhibition for a fee. A map with 10 highlights costs £2 and is useful. The capacity of the ladies toilets under the library in the central hall is far too limited, resulting in long queues. There's a coffee corner in that hall. There are elevators available. Upon entering on the right there are rooms with a 19th century arrangement with old display cases, a kind of wunderkammer style: nice to start with. After that it is advisable to choose a theme, because then you are already 2 hours further. The Japanese department shows only a limited part of the large range of Japanese art forms: lots of graphics and few kimonos, ceramics, bamboo, etc.
Automatically translated
Written 4 January 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BigJeff L
2,417 contributions
May 2024 • Solo
Having been to the British Museum several times I can honestly say that I have still not seen it all! My advice would be for you to select a couple of areas of what you might be most interested in and stick with that. It is always very busy - it is still free of course so you will have to put up with the hustle and bustle as a matter of course. Remember you now get in around tne back and their is typically a long que for the bag search, so if you can go bag free then you will get in much quicker. These days they like you to go on line and book a free ticket as well but, having no bag (Just a camera) I got in no problem.
You can download the British Museum app for either Apple or Android devices. The app will help you easily access opening times, maps, tours and much more. It also gives you three choices of what to see in 1, 3 or 6 hours, which you can follow on your phone. It can get pretty warm walking around the Museum, but you can leave your coats, umbrellas and bags at the cloakroom immediately to the left of the main entrance. There is a charge depending on what you are leaving, but fold-up pushchairs are looked after for free. You can rent an audio guide to take you around over 275 of the British Museum highlights of the museum with commentaries, video, images and text to give you more in-depth information.
Eating and drinking in the galleries are not allowed.
However, if you are after a quick coffee, snack, lunch or even dinner on a Friday, there are plenty of options for you to choose from: The Great Court Restaurant is at the top of the staircase on Level 3, just in front of the entrance to Room 56. It is light and airy and you can order your morning tea or coffee, lunch or afternoon tea
You can download the British Museum app for either Apple or Android devices. The app will help you easily access opening times, maps, tours and much more. It also gives you three choices of what to see in 1, 3 or 6 hours, which you can follow on your phone. It can get pretty warm walking around the Museum, but you can leave your coats, umbrellas and bags at the cloakroom immediately to the left of the main entrance. There is a charge depending on what you are leaving, but fold-up pushchairs are looked after for free. You can rent an audio guide to take you around over 275 of the British Museum highlights of the museum with commentaries, video, images and text to give you more in-depth information.
Eating and drinking in the galleries are not allowed.
However, if you are after a quick coffee, snack, lunch or even dinner on a Friday, there are plenty of options for you to choose from: The Great Court Restaurant is at the top of the staircase on Level 3, just in front of the entrance to Room 56. It is light and airy and you can order your morning tea or coffee, lunch or afternoon tea
Written 11 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
monkeyfeet155
Chicago, Illinois56 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
Just wanted to point out to fellow travellers that although the British Museum is free to get in you still have to negotiate a non-user friendly website to obtain entry tickets. What was most annoying about this website is that the standard free tickets were not displayed at the top of the ticket list when viewing on a mobile phone. The top tickets displayed are for those who want to donate/pay to enter starting at £5 per adult and increasing in cost. I'm sure lots of people believe they have to pay to enter because of the way the website displays on a mobile. Also the staff on the gates were very rude and "shouty" especially as I didn't realise you needed a ticket to get in on a free entry attraction! You will have to leave the queue (already having stood in it for 20 minutes) and then fiddle around on the mobile phone getting a ticket and then rejoin the very long queue for another 20 minutes or longer depending on the time of day.
Written 17 September 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elena B.
Rovigo, Italy150 contributions
Dec 2024 • Friends
The British Museum is a must for those visiting London, and our experience was no exception. At the entrance there is a wardrobe where you can leave coats, bags and backpacks.
The section that struck us the most was the one dedicated to Ancient Egypt: seeing the Rosetta Stone live was exciting, and the sculptures and sarcophagi on display are impressive for their details and state of preservation.
The only “negative” note of the visit: during our tour a fire alarm went off, and we were forced to leave for about half an hour before we could return. A small interruption that broke the pace of the visit, but fortunately did not compromise the overall experience too much.
Ultimately, a museum that is absolutely worth visiting, with incredible collections and free admission, which makes it even more accessible to everyone.
The section that struck us the most was the one dedicated to Ancient Egypt: seeing the Rosetta Stone live was exciting, and the sculptures and sarcophagi on display are impressive for their details and state of preservation.
The only “negative” note of the visit: during our tour a fire alarm went off, and we were forced to leave for about half an hour before we could return. A small interruption that broke the pace of the visit, but fortunately did not compromise the overall experience too much.
Ultimately, a museum that is absolutely worth visiting, with incredible collections and free admission, which makes it even more accessible to everyone.
Automatically translated
Written 14 March 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
gramochroi
County Dublin, Ireland86 contributions
June 2024 • Family
We booked free tickets for 12.20pm arrived at the time on them but that means nothing as they don’t manage the queue based on ticket time. We were sent to the back of the queue.,However we were lucky as a lady told us buy an exhibition entry ticket and you have a different line…with no queue. So for £44 we bought 2 adult tickets, kids are free to the exhibitions and saved ourselves an hour of queuing.
Also the queue is a security one so if you don’t have a bag it is worth asking at the top if you can just walk through.
Once inside get a map from the information desks and ask for the key highlights…this worked and we really enjoyed the museum. Life in the Roman army exhibition was worth the money we paid.
Also the queue is a security one so if you don’t have a bag it is worth asking at the top if you can just walk through.
Once inside get a map from the information desks and ask for the key highlights…this worked and we really enjoyed the museum. Life in the Roman army exhibition was worth the money we paid.
Written 15 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Frozen_72
Sansepolcro, Italy296 contributions
June 2024 • Family
The British Museum is a very large building with great visual impact, both from the outside and, especially in the magnificent atrium, from the inside. The structure presents a truly impressive quantity of works, so if you do not have much time to dedicate to the visit it is advisable to make a selection of the areas to visit.
The Egyptian, Greek and Roman area is definitely worth it, where the famous "Rosetta Stone" is located, a fundamental find for ancient history, and the area where the mummies are found, truly impressive and exciting for children/ Boys.
Entrance is free but to save a lot of time we recommend booking online, which is extremely convenient and quick from the Museum website.
The Egyptian, Greek and Roman area is definitely worth it, where the famous "Rosetta Stone" is located, a fundamental find for ancient history, and the area where the mummies are found, truly impressive and exciting for children/ Boys.
Entrance is free but to save a lot of time we recommend booking online, which is extremely convenient and quick from the Museum website.
Written 19 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Erin B
21 contributions
Mar 2025 • Family
My kids (8 and 10) and I went to the British Museum on a Tuesday morning on our recent trip to London. The contents of the Museum were great and it is free (although you need to book tickets to reserve a time) but the Museum was so crowded that it took away from the experience. We spent most of our time here in the Egyptian section and it is really impressive what the Museum has. We spent less time here than I expected, however, as it was so crowded.
Written 16 March 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Most things in London are cashless, so I assume this would be as well. I was there for a week and didn’t use cash once.
Written 16 February 2025
Where is there to park please?
Written 16 December 2024
Sadly parking restricted as very popular area. Parking meters near by but may involve some walking. Also congestion charges applied if coming from outside boundary areas. Disabled bays are few and usual restrictions apply. Taxis and Ubers with easy reach.
Written 17 December 2024
Culture65026378874
Phitsanulok, Thailand
Wie kann die Mumie dort sein, wenn man die noch garnicht gefunden hat?
Written 13 October 2024
What are you talking about ?
Written 13 October 2024
hola.
¿Se puede entrar en el museo británico con mochila? ¿hay taquillas para poder guardarlas durante la visita?. Es porque teníamos pensado ver el museo el último día de estancia en londres y tendríamos que llevar las mochilas con nosotros.
Muchas gracias.
Written 30 July 2024
Si può entrare con uno zaino piccolo che deve essere aperto e controllato all'ingresso.
Non ricordo se c'è un deposito per lasciare zaini grandi
Written 31 July 2024
I made a free time and day reservation, but I want to change the date.
How can I change it?
Thank you.
Written 30 April 2024
Entry to the museum is free. U can book a fresh ticket online, its free of cost.
Written 30 April 2024
Buongiorno, c’è un guardaroba all’interno del museo dove posso lasciare il mio bagaglio?
Written 29 February 2024
I have a boking on Tuesday at 12.20. I'd like to know if possible to let/leave my luggage at the garderobe. I mention that is a small luggage of 40X40X20 cm.
Thank you for your answer.
Written 31 December 2023
I don't recall anyone having luggage standing in line near me, but From the museum website on "facilities" (see below). Honestly, leaving in a hotel check might be better if possible, but it says any luggage with wheels is not allowed.
Visitor and Member cloakroom
Opening hours: 11.00–17.00 (20.30 on Fridays).
Last deposits are one hour before closing time.
Please collect items 30 minutes before closing time.
The cloakroom can be found by turning left immediately after passing through the Main entrance to the Museum.
Please note that items of luggage weighing more than 8kg and larger than 40x40x50cm (including all wheeled suitcases) are not permitted.
Please see the restricted items section for full details.
Storage for luggage is available at major rail stations, including Euston, King's Cross and Charing Cross.
Use of the cloakroom is charged per-item:
Coats – £2
Bags up to 4kg – £2.50
Bags 4–8kg – £5
Umbrellas – £1
Fold-up pushchairs – free
Members can use the cloakroom free of charge. The same restrictions apply.
You must retrieve items from the cloakroom before you leave the Museum site.
In the event of a fire evacuation, the cloakroom will be closed immediately and you must follow our fire evacuation instructions. Our staff will help to retrieve your items from the cloakroom as soon as possible after the Museum reopens.
Please note that the cloakroom has limited capacity, and when this capacity is reached, it cannot accept items until space becomes available again.
The Museum reserves the right to vary or alter these conditions without prior notice.
Written 25 January 2024
É necessário fazer reserva ou marcar horário para entrar no museu?
Written 27 September 2023
Es posible visitar el museo sin resera. Pero hay que esperar colas más largas. Por tanto es recomandable reservar. Esto es muy simple. Si alguien no respeta el horario y llega tarde, el personal es muy servicial.
Written 7 October 2023
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