Beaulieu National Motor Museum

Beaulieu National Motor Museum

Beaulieu National Motor Museum
4.5
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 - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
In the heart of the glorious New Forest, Beaulieu is one of the South's top visitor attractions. Here you will find the National Motor Museum, home to over 250 vehicles telling the history of motoring. You can also visit Palace House and Gardens, home of the Montagu family since 1538, the remains of Beaulieu Abbey and World of Top Gear where you can see some of the vehicles from Jeremy, James and Richard's most ambitious challenges. Ride on the high level Monorail or climb aboard the replica 1912 open top London bus for a fun way to see Beaulieu's sights.
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  • artworks40
    Backwell, United Kingdom48 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great day out
    Lovely day out as husband’s birthday treat we wenjoyed the cars and motorbikes. The whole estate was clean and well tended to. The staff were friendly and helpful and dressed to perfection in the main house. Highly recommended
    Thank you for your review, we hope your husband had a lovely birthday and are delighted to hear you celebrated the day with a visit to Beaulieu. We appreciate your kind comments and recommendation, and we hope to see you again in the near future.
    Written 20 October 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 10 October 2023
  • xy Z
    Vienna, Austria31 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    very nice and helpful Museum team
    We wanted to visited the Museum und the building, but unfortunately our cruise ship was unable to land in Southampton due to the weather. The team was so nice to refund the tickets. Therefore I want to thank you very much! And I hope we can repeat the visit in future.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 October 2023
  • Sightsee792754
    1 contribution
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fantastic and will visit again.
    Absolutely fantastic experience. I would recommend a visit to anybody interested in motor museums. I will be telling all my friends about my visit and encouraging them to visit too. Your staff are amazing, helpful and very knowledgeable. We will visit again.
    This is great to hear! Thank you for your wonderful review, we are delighted that you enjoyed your visit and that you found the staff to be friendly and helpful. We appreciate you recommending us to your friends and we hope to see you again soon!
    Written 20 October 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 13 October 2023
  • Brenda C
    3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A great place to visit.
    Location was easy to find and going through lovely scenery. Well laid out of the vehicles to see them all. A great facility in toilets and food quarter. The gift shop was a delight to shop in.
    Thank you for your great feedback! We are delighted to hear you had an enjoyable recent visit, and we hope to see you again soon.
    Written 20 October 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 14 October 2023
  • Roselle F
    Derby, United Kingdom38 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Brilliant day out
    Such a good day out. Very good value. Loads to appeal to the whole family. Apart from the main car collection I would recommend the monorail and vintage bus to see the whole place. Beaulieu House well worth a visit. Only negative thing I would mention which did not affect us, but may be a concern, is that there are no toilets in the main exhibition area. Food in restaurant excellent. Lots of space, amazing food choice. Very well run. Faultless
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 17 October 2023
  • Thenannytraveller
    Southampton, United Kingdom24 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great day out, bring your own food.
    I went with a 22 month old and a five year old. The afternoon poured with rain, but we had a wonderful time none the less. The museum is a must, as you will find somthing no matter your age or gender that will make you go "WOW". The gardens and house are beautiful. The playground for the children imaginative. The only reason the day didn't get the full five stars was the resturant. It was very disorganised with long lines (it wasn't half term) The food wasn't great, and is expensive for what you get.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 20 October 2023
  • Lyndsey A
    Bracknell, United Kingdom16 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good day out
    You had a Smart meet up day, and we attended it with our Smart Fortwo 453. Very impressed to how well organised it was. Mixed with the smart car owners as well. We had a wonder around the museum and the grounds of beaulieu as well. We will return again to another meet up.
    Thank you for your review, we are happy to hear you had an enjoyable visit to the recent 'Simply Smart' event as well as the Beaulieu attraction. We look forward to welcoming you back again in the near future.
    Written 15 November 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 12 November 2023
  • jeakel
    Cheltenham, United Kingdom231 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great day out
    Wonderful day out. So much to see and do, and read. Enjoyed Palace House and Clock House with Art Russe exhibition. Secret Army Exhibition was very interesting. Mill Pond Walk was lovely, considering a cold day in November. Monorail ride was good. Enjoyed World of Top Gear and loved the National Motor Museum with its vast range of vintage and classic vehicles. Time ran out for visiting Abbey exhibition, but perhaps next time. Cafe Brabazon and Gift Shop both worth a visit. Overall a really value for money day out and will recommend to friends and family.
    Thank you for your feedback - we are delighted to hear you had an enjoyable visit and that you found lots to see and do. We appreciate you recommending us to friends and family, and we hope to see you again soon!
    Written 4 December 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 30 November 2023
  • Charlie K
    3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A great place to spend 2-3 hours. Grounds and main museum are free. We will revisit grounds in better weather.
    Great experience. Love touring any historical place. This one is no exception. Lady that gave house tour was really knowledgeable and answered everything asked. The museum and grounds are free. The house tour (1 hour) cost a little, but well worth it.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 11 December 2023
  • Renée
    Southampton, United Kingdom5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Christmas at Beaulieu, a definite must.
    We had an amazing time, the Palace house looked magnificent with the Christmas decor. Christmas trees in abundance, a purely magical sight to see. 🌟 The Christmas pantomime was fantastic, My little girls even got to participate, one became part of the pantomime act and one got to play on the piano which made their day even more special. Thank you to everyone especially the lady who played the piano and sang beautifully. Well done to all of the staff at Beaulieu, we will definitely be visiting again soon.
    Thank you for your wonderful review - we are delighted to hear you all had an enjoyable visit and even got to take part in the Christmas pantomime in Palace House! We appreciate you taking the time to leave your comments and we look forward to welcoming you back to Beaulieu in the not too distant future.
    Written 28 December 2023
    This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 16 December 2023
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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles7,669 reviews
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TheDavies4812
Southampton, UK4 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
June 2021 • Family
Visited today as we are a home educated family and learning about Wind In The Willows, so old cars fits in nicely with topic.

My daughters (5 and 8) were very excited for their trip to Beaulieu but upon arrival we were "greeted" by Tanya who had a very abrupt and rude manner. No "Hello, welcome to Beaulieu, hope you enjoy your day"...just a "you got a family pass but need to upgrade if you want to come back" she was so curt that even my 8 year old daughter asked why wasn't that lady very nice to us.

First impressions and customer service make a huge impact on your day especially when you have spent £55 on a family voucher. Also I didn't realise that the annual pass only included the museum and nothing else without paying to upgrade.

Let's face it a family pass is usually purchased for families for with younger children and with Little Beaulieu being part of the attraction now and the only child friendly part of Beaulieu, £10 per adult to upgrade so that children can use play park (because that is the main pull for children), on the next visit seems rather steep.

The one way system doesn't work regarding social distancing as everyone is queued up all around the museum and you can't move on as you have to wait for those in front on you, so if anything is preventing social distancing. Also there is a huge amount of pressure just to keep walking and not look at anything in detail due to everyone stressing out having to queue for so long and naturally not everyone wants to look at the same thing.

The restaurant food is adequate. It was a cold and wet day so we bought 2 x children's meals for £5 each to warm them up. The meatballs were overcooked so much so that they we hard to bite into as was the battered fish. The cups for hot drinks are very flimsy, my mum almost burned herself as the cup isn't very strong when holding it and as my daughter picked up the hot chocolate the cup collapsed and spilt all over her too.

Albeit the monorail was fun, the house was beautiful and staff inside were lovely. Due to extremely wet weather we were unable to walk around the grounds but they looked beautiful too but I won't be paying to upgrade and come back just to see gardens.
Written 21 June 2021
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.
We were sorry to read that your visit to Beaulieu did not meet your expectations. We can only apologise for the disappointing customer service you received upon arrival. The Visitor Services Manager was saddened to hear about your experience and will be speaking with his team. We would like to reassure you that this does not reflect the usual excellent customer service we pride ourselves on. We do understand how important it is for you to feel safe during your visit to Beaulieu. We have implemented one-way routes throughout our indoor spaces for your safety; and have tried to ensure that all displays are visible. However, we are sorry if you felt let down by the experience. Thank you for taking the time to share your review. We are sorry you did not have a more enjoyable day, however, please be assured that we do value all visitor feedback.
Written 30 June 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Mandt1
Canterbury, UK59 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Visited the motor museum and Palace house yesterday. There was so much to see it took us the whole day to visit all the different exhibitions, museum and house. We felt everything was well designed and imaginatively laid out. We loved the house and the story behind the two ‘Ladies’ it made the visit very real and gave you a glimpse into their lives. It was good to feel that our entrance fee contributed to the up keep and further development of this wonderful museum and site.
Written 30 January 2020
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.
Thank you for your kind review. It is wonderful to hear you enjoyed learning more about the history of Palace House. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.
Written 14 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

youliiike
Preston, UK54 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2021 • Family
There's quite a bit to do so it probably is value for money. Our favourite parts were the children's park and the sculptures throughout that were really interesting and creative. Inside the Palace house the lady at the top of the stairs with glasses was very cheery and friendly. We probably wouldn't return again now we have visited, as it wasn't the 'best' day out we have had on the whole.

We weren't advised on arrival about the 1pm bird talk so totally missed this unfortunately. The 3pm bird show, monorail, and part of the gardens were all closed due to high winds.

Be warned hot chocolate with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkle is £4.25. I diddnt realise until it was too late. And you don't even get cream, or a larger cup. Normal is £2.50, so it was £1.75 extra for 8 small marshmallows and chocolate sprinkle, total rip off, should be ashamed. Later at lunch we ordered 1x portion of chips for my son, it took 22mins to arrive.

If you visit I would definitely recommend you do not buy any food or drinks, and bring your own.
Written 30 July 2021
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.
Thank you for your review. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed Sculpture at Beaulieu and Little Beaulieu, our brand new adventure play area. We’re sorry to hear you felt let down by your experience in the Brabazon Restaurant. Please be assured that we will be sharing your feedback with the restaurant manager for future reviews and training. We hope this did not overshadow the remainder of your day.
Written 6 August 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Louise
Hemel Hempstead, UK2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2020
We visited the Motor Museum, last week on 30th July. We booked the first slot in the morning, The parking was easy to find, we arrived a few minutes early and joined a very quick queue. On entry, the staff were well organised and we entered the site within minutes of arrival.
We could move around the museum safely, we got to see every exhibit, nobody was rushing you on to the next vehicle, it was very relaxed and pleasant.
The mono rail was good fun, again, well organised and a short wait to get a ride.
Some things weren't available, things that involved interactive games etc... but it didn't ruin the visit at all.
We had lunch in the cafe, only one person from each family/friend unit could enter, we were served quickly and our tasty pizza was delivered to us in the very pleasant outdoor eating area.
The grounds were lovely and there were lots of places to eat your own picnic.
There is a lovely wooden fort area for children to play in an let off steam( there is a little kiosk selling drinks and ice creams).
It was a lovely day, the staff were lovely and helpful.
We felt very safe during the whole visit, not at any time did we feel that we weren't able to social distance ourselves.
You could almost forget that there was a pandemic going on, a lovely few hours of some kind of normality!!!
We are 2 adults and a 9 year old boy and we all had a great time!

Written 7 August 2020
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.

nikki s
76 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Family
Recently had a great day at Beaulieu's National Motor Museum. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, we booked a time slot of 9.30am. Plenty of parking. Very short queue going in. Masks must be worn in all inside spaces and staff constantly remind visitors to keep social distance, although there were a few people that felt they were too invincible or too important to adhere to those rules; luckily those people were few in number. Generally the attraction did not feel crowded at all. Lots of open space and many different areas within the attraction so you can find your own space. The only area that was particularly busy was the museum itself. The museum had an excellent one way system in place; you need to wait for family bubbles to finish reading/looking at cars and move on but if you don't want to stand and read the information/look, there is space to overtake visitors (sadly one or two self important people didn't follow this system and actually didn't seem to understand personal space yet alone social distancing but this is of course not the responsibility of the museum). We spent roughly an hour in the museum itself as there is a lot to see- it's a great collection!

We also had several rides on the monorail (about a 20 minute wait for a 7 minute ride). We enjoyed the Top Gear display and the movie car display too.

The play park is brilliant for the kids and visited it a couple of times during the day. There is a separate toddler park so the older ones can charge around without worrying about knocking smaller children over. There are also refreshments and plenty of tables in the area.

The house and gardens are also lovely and worth a walk around. There was a falconry display on the lawn.

Sadly we didn't have time to visit the church.

All in all, we had a great day and would highly recommend this attraction.

Written 16 August 2020
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.
Thank you for taking the time to write this lovely review. We're pleased to hear you felt safe during your visit and that you had such a lovely day exploring the attraction.
Written 18 August 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Gee
1 contribution
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020 • Family
Went to a Park and Picnic event to see/hear a jazz band while eating, as well as see the museum and Palace. Disappointing start as we were parked behind the gazebo so couldn't see the band. The Palace and kitchen gardens were interesting. We decided not to take a picnic as the onsite restaurant was offering takeaway food and the prices according to the menu published online appeared reasonable. BEWARE the pizza prices were inflated above the regular published menu price by £1.50!!!! Not good from our point of view.
The motor museum is good and well presented, just a bit disappointing to feel as though we were being rushed out of it at 7.55 when it was supposed to be open until 8pm!
Written 14 August 2020
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.

southies233
North Yorkshire, UK62 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
July 2021 • Family
Last visit was 10 years ago and it hasn't changed much but seemed better and more interactive then. It was Vauxhall day and there were lots of vehicles there for that but such a shame there weren't many vintage ones so it become uninteresting. Enjoyed the garden and house. Don't recommend using the restaurant the food is very expensive and tasteless- take a packed lunch- nice spots to have a picnic. If you love vehicles you'll enjoy a day out.
Written 17 July 2021
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.

Suzanne
Ardrossan, UK18 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
We bought tickets on arrival and as a military veteran and accompanied by my carer, expecting it to be expensive we were given a great discount!! As it was a cold week day it was not as busy as we'd anticipated which was a bonus.....especially as one of us had autism. We arrived around 1030 and spent the whole day there, it was great but still didn't have enough time to look around the whole place. Lots of wonderful cars and one in particular where you could dress up and sit in for a photo/selfie. I was even invited to look under the hood of one of the military vehicles and sit in the new Bentley.
Whenever I got a bit tired or sore we jumped on the monorail enjoying the sights of the beautiful gardens, through the museums and palace. I was particularly impressed by the maid in the palace who was most impressive with her knowledge of the area. We were even interrupted by a wee squirrel on te window sill knocking on the window!! Seriously you couldn't make it up!! Hopefully next time we'll get a chance to visit the Abbey and exhibition.
A lovely little section of topiary of Alice and the mad hatters tea party was wonderful from the view of the monorail! I couldn't leave without visiting the Secret Army exhibition which gave an insight into the world of the S.O.E.s.
Another stroll this time along the mill pond walk and back to the World of Top Gear and On Screen Cars with a "photo opportunity" in one of the cars.
Another coffee and then into the gift shop and home.
If I had to pick on anything it was the gift shop- too many cuddly toys(not relevant) and nothing really about the palace house and Abbey. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable day.
Written 18 February 2020
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.
It sounds as though you had a busy and brilliant day out at Beaulieu. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the National Motor Museum and learning about the history of Palace House - and that you were pleased with the military veteran discount. Thank you for taking the time to leave your informative and kind review. We look forward to welcoming you again soon.
Written 24 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

haycarly10
Waterlooville, UK3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020 • Couples
Very enjoyable day. A very interesting motor collection throughout the ages with the added bonus of cars from TV and movies and the Top gear experience.

I was really impressed with how well the estate is maintained, it is immaculate. The Gardens are beautiful and the house is magnificent (the staff in costume adds a nice touch).

I recommend walking along the Mill Pond walk, there are some beautiful carvings and hidden fairy doors in the trees.

Social distancing measures have been well planned and work well.

My personal opinion: Don’t take small children, they are not interested in old cars that they can’t climb on, You’ll be stuck on the monorail or in the kids in the play area all day. I saw lots of young kids bored to death and getting told off by their parents for ‘misbehaving’. Leave the small kiddies at their grandparents, We did and had a great day 😂😂. (I bought him a truck in the gift shop and we are going to Peppa Pig world next week)!!
Written 1 September 2020
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.

Mim T
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2020
We went to Beaulieu yesterday. We go about 3 times a year as we have the annual pass for the Motor Museum so we pay the upgrade for the rest of the grounds!
We went on this occasion with my 3 children to try out the new play area 'Little Beaulieu'. The children loved it and said 'this is the best thing!'. It's a really lovely design and has lots of nooks and crannies for the kids to explore. I think they're done really well designing it, and it gives the children something extra to look forward to when visiting Beaulieu. I would sy though that the Hot drinks at the play park kiosk weren't particularly nice :(. Also I do feel that the Annual Pass Holder Day visit upgrade price 9.95 per adult is a little bit expensive. We came for the afternoon so spend a lot of time in the play area and the museum. We didn't visit the house or the abbey so didn't really make the most of the price we paid.
I would highly recommend Beaulieu to families as it's a beautiful, interesting, and fun day out for all ages.
Written 20 September 2020
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.

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