London: The British Museum

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.

·         Africa: arts and cultures

·         Ancient Egypt

·         Ancient Sudan

·         Byzantine Egypt

·         Medieval Sudan

Asia

A range of tours: encompassing the art and history of Asia from ancient times to the present day.

·         Ancient China

·         Ancient and Early Medieval South Asia

·         Imperial China

·         Japan

·         Korea

·         Mughal India

·         Tibetan culture

Europe

From: the Vikings to the Renaissance masters and more.  

·         Ancient Greece

·         Ancient Rome

·         Bronze Age

·         Byzantine Empire

·         Enlightenment Europe

·         Anglo-Saxon England

·         Iron Age

·         Cyprus

·         Medieval Europe

·         Pre-Roman Italy

·         Renaissance Europe

·         Roman Britain

·         Vikings

General

Experience the breadth and variety of the Museum's collection, which represents the world's cultures and their histories.

·         Modern era

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

·         Assyrians

·         Babylonians

·         Canaanites

·         Hittites

·         Islamic Middle East

·         Israelites

·         Phoenicians

·         Sumerians

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.

·         Melanesia

·         Polynesia

·         Australia

The Americas

Discover the history of the peoples of the Americas through objects and traditional ways of life.

·         Arctic Peoples

·         Aztecs (Mexico)

·         Incas

·         Maya

·         Native North America

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.