London has some of the most prestigious museums and galleries in the
world. Many of which are free of charge. Either, you are in London no matter
for business purpose, holidays, school visits, family visits and group visit
take some time and visit the British Museum - it will blow your mind!
British Museum
Founded in 1753, the British Museum is on an emblematic building
remarking the Greek revival in central London (Great Russell Street). Opens
daily from 10:00 to
17:30, and until late 20:30 on Fridays. It has a vast mankind cultural
heritage and history collection dated over two million years.
“World-famous objects such as the
Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures, and Egyptian mummies are visited by up to 6
million visitors per year. In addition to the vast permanent collection, the
museum’s special exhibitions, displays and events are all designed to advance
understanding of the collection and cultures they represent.”
The entrance of the museum is free as all others National Museum in the
United Kingdom. Although, a donation of £5 is recommended, furthermore, there
are Admission charges for special exhibitions and some events.
Facilities and services
Toilets & Baby changing |
There are toilets on
every floor. Designated wheelchair accessible public toilet.
Baby changing
facilities are in the Great Court, at the Ford Centre for Young Visitors, the
North stairs (level 0) and the North stairs (level 3)
|
Cloakrooms & luggage |
The main cloakroom is to the west of the Main entrance. £1.50 per
item, 50 pence for umbrellas, fold-up pushchairs free.
Maximum size: 40x40x50cm
Maximum weight: 8kg (except fold-up pushchairs). Please note folding bicycles are not accepted in the cloakrooms. |
Accessible Communication
|
Information available in large print. The Multimedia Guide is
available in British Sign Language and audio description free of charge.
|
Gallery
talks
|
Tue/Sat free 45 minutes talks by a guest speaker
or curator.
|
Highlights tour (£)
|
Sat and Sun, 11;30 &14:00 (90 minutes)
|
Eye-opener tours
|
Free daily tours (30-40 minutes) from 11:00 to
15:45, introducing areas of the collection
(Room numbers)
|
Spotlight tours
|
Free tours (20 minutes) on Friday evenings.
|
Multimedia Guide (£)
|
Take your own tour of the Museum with
commentaries of over 200 objects, and guided tours of highlight objects and
galleries. Available in 11 languages from Multimedia Desk.
|
Maps and Souvenirs guides
|
Self-guided tours and full colour maps are available. There are also
souvenir guide books available in a number of languages.
|
Hands on desks
|
Handle Museum objects and learn more about them.
Daily 11:00 – 16:00 in Rooms 1, 2, 24, 33, 49 and 68.
|
During your visit
Visiting the British Museum requires you to do the “homework”, by planning
your visit to make the most of your visit. If you are short time, you may
consider starting on collection that interests you the most. If you have longer
hours to spend, take one of the museum scheduled tours, talks and guide or
visit one or more temporary exhibitions. These take place throughout the year and often
present “once-in-a-lifetime” exhibit of objects from around the world,
currently presenting:
Beyond El Dorado - Organised with “Museo del Oro”,
Bogotá, this exhibition explores the rich and diverse cultures of Colombia
before the 16th-century arrival of the Spanish.
Shunga sex and pleasure in Japanese art, prints, paintings and drawings like no other. Explicit and beautifully
detailed, these works, produced between 1600 and 1900, have continued to
influence manga, anime and Japanese tattoo art. The exhibition sheds new light
on this taboo art form within Japanese social and cultural history.
World-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures,
and Egyptian mummies are visited by up to 6 million visitors per year, all
designed to advance understanding of the collection and culture they represent:
Galleries
Africa
Two
million years of African history and art through the British Museum collection.
Asia
A
range of tours: encompassing the art and history of Asia from ancient times to
the present day.
·
Japan
·
Korea
Europe
From:
the Vikings to the Renaissance masters and more.
·
Iron Age
·
Cyprus
·
Vikings
General
Experience
the breadth and variety of the Museum's collection, which represents the
world's cultures and their histories.
Middle East
From
pre-Islamic times to the present, the history of the Middle East is brought to
life through art and everyday objects.
·
Amorites
·
Hittites
Oceania
Take
in the rich cultural traditions of the peoples of the Pacific region through
the clothing, objects and art of both ritual and everyday life.
The Americas
Discover
the history of the peoples of the Americas through objects and traditional ways
of life.
·
Incas
·
Maya
Controversy
It is a
point of controversy whether museums should be allowed to possess artefacts
taken from other countries, and the British Museum is a notable target for
criticism.
The Elgin
Marbles, Benin Bronzes and the Rosetta Stone are among the most disputed
objects in its collections, and organisations have been formed demanding the
return of these artefacts to their native countries of Greece, Nigeria and Egypt
respectively.
The British
Museum has refused to return these artefacts, stating that the
"restitutionist premise, that whatever was made in a country must return
to an original geographical site, would empty both the British Museum and the
other great museums of the world".
The Museum
has also argued that the British Museum Act of 1963 legally prevents any object
from leaving its collection once it has entered it. Nevertheless, it has
returned items such as the Tasmanian Ashes after a 20-year long battle with
Australia.