Best LONDON MUSEUMS (and what to do after)

london's museums are amongst some of the finest in the world and aside from the obvious experience of art culture and history offer an inexpensive gateway into stunning architecture a respite from the cold on a rainy day and make you feel less stupid than when you arrived in this video i'll show you my ultimate guide on which ones are worth your time and what to both expect and look out for in each i'll also share my suggested itinerary for what to do before or after your museum visit which could be a local food and drink hotspot or a nearby attraction you might not even know is close by finally i'll cover how the pandemic has altered things and how best to visit accordingly if you're new here then welcome we make travel movies from around the world as well as our home town of london this is suitcase monkey giving you the ultimate guide to the museums of london [Music] so let's start with probably the safest suggestion on this list london's natural history museum from its iconic entrance you know you're in for a treat and with over 80 million items inside you can expect all the natural wonders of the world beautifully presented and displayed [Music] personally speaking i always enjoy the giant escalator in the earth hall which takes you up to the natural disasters area there's also the chance here to experience a simulated earthquake which although you always remember it feeling like this is actually more like this it's for the kids though isn't it let's be honest a nice cherry on top is that it's conveniently situated along exhibition road which is home to both the victoria and albert and science museum so you can hit all three without any extra travel exhibition road itself is nice for some food and drink in the sun and the royal albert hall isn't too far away just off the main beaten track we've always enjoyed molly rose bakery for a cake and coffee so that would be my random pick if you're in the area [Music] now if you're looking for something truly london especially for train lovers then definitely check out the london transport museum situated right in covent garden it's an area you'll probably be in anyway so is an easy stop as with other places on this list i always enjoy specific themes within a museum as it allows for a more focused and unique visit here you're taken through the history of transport within london which back then to an extent was leading the way around the world its opening does a great job of transporting you to georgian and victorian times where public transport just didn't exist especially not on a mass scale emerging technologies were racing to keep up with the spiraling population and it really makes you think about the fundamental changes that mass transport provided 150 years ago suddenly you could work or go to sporting events or schools that previously wouldn't have been an option and with the roads being full to capacity it's clear that london's only solution was to build the world's first underground network also covered is the underground's role in the first world war which ultimately became a bomb shelter for its population this also allowed women for the first time to fill 18 000 jobs to manage the transport system while the men were out of the country only of course to be told once the war had ended that their services were no longer required and then were sent back to their homes i think it's things like this that people often forget when they talk about the good old days around covent garden itself you're absolutely spoiled for choice so a few not so obvious places that we love are war cafe for some authentic japanese treats and the garden at the lane perfect for a pre-theatre snack next let's go slightly off the obvious track and take a trip to somerset house now somerset house isn't technically a museum but there's always an arts exhibition here so it's as good as the building itself dates back to the 1500s and was once called home by a future queen elizabeth the first as well as the taxman covering contemporary art that could range from photography digital sculptures skateboarding workshops it's anything but the mundane and for that reason probably not to everyone's taste for example the exhibition we visited looked at the ripple effects of design concepts and how they impact our lives and the choices we make historically with somerset house being a home slash office it does give a unique feeling compared to other more purpose-built spaces to be honest it's a bit like walking around the mansion of your very eccentric uncle who's got way too much time and money on their hands but i like how the contemporary art mixes in amongst the home-like setting for example during a good minute i was enthralled with this art installation featuring dead flies on a mantelpiece what comment on society could this be making and and then i realized it was just dead flies on the mantle piece they needed to do a bit of spring cleaning but despite that if you are looking for something different i would suggest you check out their site to see what's on when you're here as it's probably something you won't get from other options in this video if you are visiting around christmas there's usually an ice rink in the courtyard which is a great location for something festive outside of that the central courtyard and front balcony which overlooks the thames are both worth a visit in themselves it's a lesser known area for a snack and drink which is probably more picturesque than the mcdonald's a few doors down [Music] the british museum is another classic option and is almost the epitome of a museum itself this is for good reason though given that it is the first national public museum in the world opening in 1759 it's no surprise then that inside this magnificent building is a vast unique collection of eight million items spanning continents oceans and cultures even if some of those items have been brought into question but its greek inspired exterior doesn't really prepare you for what's immediately inside the great court was designed at the turn of the millennium by foster and partners who's also responsible for the gherkin and city hall this is europe's largest covered public square and is made up of over 3 000 panes of glass no two of which are the same by far the museum's most popular item is the rosetta stone it was this very stone that allowed the translation of egyptian hieroglyphs discovered by the french in 1799 the same text had been inscribed in different languages including ancient hieroglyphs and greek making a direct translation possible for the first time in living memory this really did unlock an ancient world that had previously been forgotten which in hindsight was mostly due to a lack of influences and content creators [Music] a quick 10 minute walk south from the british museum is seven dials which i suggest to check out before or after seven little streets spread out from one central point offering independent shops and cafes the picturesque neil's yard is great when the weather's good and i'd also suggest seven dials market which is my favorite fully indoors food market perfect for those cold months i'll also be doing a video similar to this one about my favorite markets so do consider subscribing and to be notified whenever that video drops [Music] now let's take a moment to step outside of central london to greenwich which is an easy to reach area either by train or river even without a trip to one of these places i'm about to mention i would suggest greenwich as a place to visit there's the town itself greenwich market and greenwich park which is one of my favorite green spaces in london the royal museum's greenwich are spread out over four different locations there's the maritime museum which focuses on exploration the queen's house surprisingly a former royal residence the cutty sark one of the most historic ships in the world and the royal observatory home of greenwich meantime and it's these last two that i want to highlight the cutty sark was at the time known as the fastest ship in the world due to its unique design and enormous sales a victorian cargo ship that brought 10 000 t-chests from china to london a journey that would take about three months each way to an extent because you're walking through the actual ship this is less of a museum and more of a walkable time capsule as you get to explore the conditions that were actually lived in this is what makes this trip so unique the highlight though is stepping out onto its elevated deck and trying to imagine what life would have been like on the open seas [Music] [Applause] [Music] the royal observatory sits at the highest part of greenwich with probably my favorite views of the city it's also home to the prime meridian line better than a night out at yo sushi this is truly where east meets west this is because it is here that the eastern and western hemisphere meet similar to the equator dividing north and south beyond this you'll get to explore the evolution of time and how far we've come through the centuries it highlights a period where keeping track of time while sailing was not taken for granted for example did you ever stop to think why a giant ball drops in times square for new year it actually dates back to this ball right here which was installed in the 1830s time balls such as this one would drop at 1 pm every day this allowed captains in nearby ships to see greenwich time and set their navigational instruments accordingly fast forward to 1855 and 98 of public clocks were set using greenwich meantime if you do make it up this hill i'd always suggest a visit to the pavilion cafe which is just a few minutes away especially when the weather allows it's a wide open space that does good snack food year round [Music] this eye-catching building was a former power station believe it or not made redundant in 1981 two decades would pass until it opened its doors again only this time as a contemporary art museum although as alluded to earlier modern art can be a little bit out there i generally find it much more stimulating to walk through and experience now as a younger man i used to turn up my nose at these sorts of expression i expected my art to exist in a frame and be a life-like painting that was until someone pointed out that if you prefer life-like paintings you might as well just look at a photograph which although is slightly flawed made for an eye-opening point and i've looked at modern art differently ever since free bonus to the tate modern is its top floor this is the easiest viewing platform to visit in london and one that's worth the trip alone this being on the south bank you are spoilt for choice of things to do in the area many of which i've covered in my five days in london video outside of that the founders arms pub is just out front sitting neatly alongside the thames and if you really want to push the boat out there's the sabine rooftop bar with both amazing views and cocktails further down river is its older sibling the tate britain built on the site of a former prison this was the departure point for sending convicts to australia by the end of the 1800s it was demolished and rebuilt to showcase british art now if there ever was a response to the previous you might as well just look at a photograph argument then here it is tape britain is one of the largest museums in the country and houses a substantial collection of uk art from tudor times to the present day with turner william blake john constable and tracy emin all filling the hallways we visited a paid exhibition featuring the post-impressionist vincent and yes i am on a first-name basis with him and it's got absolutely nothing to do with my ability of pronouncing his surname correctly but i do know it's definitely not van gogh and it's definitely definitely not van gogh vincent lived in london for three years and this exhibition showed how the city influenced his paintings and having the chance to see some of his most famous work up close was a real treat in terms of location tate britain is a little on its own with the nearest notable attractions being the houses of parliament and westminster abbey and it's partly for this reason that unless there's a real must visit paid exhibition taking place at tate modern if you only have time for one classic art museum my pick would be the national gallery the paintings themselves are equally as wonderful in both but being located right in trafalgar square it's much easier to visit and personally speaking i love the architecture and colours of the national gallery along with the presentation of its paintings also as goes for hundreds of museums around the country you can use an app called smartify once inside the museum just point the app at the artwork and it'll give you a deeper more interactive explanation as mentioned earlier the victoria and albert and science museum both live next door to the natural history museum personally speaking and maybe this is controversial i always prefer the victoria and albert out of the two as it focuses on art design and performance with over 2 million items the v a museum covers a wide array of popular human creation from photography satire and television to music the theatre and handcrafted sculptures although most of the museums on this list are free a suggested donation is usually between 5 and 10 pounds per person and contactless payment options are typically available also the science museum is certainly worth a visit for lovers of space aviation and medicine all of which are covered here in detail the last thing i want to cover here is a couple of kovid related points and how these might impact your trip to any museum on this list but before i do go into that if you've enjoyed this video please give it a like below and let me know your thoughts on everything that we covered here what stood out to you most on this list and which museum would be your favorite please also consider subscribing as i plan on doing more ultimate london travel guides if this video does well so those likes and comments will really help make that happen and is appreciated now the main change that has happened since the pandemic is the need to pre-book pretty much everything that you've seen on this list even though the entry might be free you typically will still need to book a ticket this is to help ease out congestion throughout the day you can donate whilst booking your ticket or you can book for free online and then donate in person pre-booking will certainly help skip some of the lines but i know that for example with the tate modern last time we visited we couldn't get tickets in person it was all online so that was the only way of getting inside also with the science museum it said that they had sold out on the outside but tickets were still available on their website at the time this video releases masks are required or suggested for all museums in this list and there might be the odd one-way system in place but apart from all those changes your experience will pretty much be the same as it would have been pre pandemic except maybe less busy for more of what we get up to in london please join us over on patreon or any of the usual social media spots also if you plan to visit london do check out my london stories and myths video which explains why big ben isn't big ben until the next one thanks for watching suitcase monkey

Channel: Suitcase Monkey

Views: 396,628

Keywords: London museums, London museums best, london museums must visit, natural history museum, london, london musuem, unique london museum, free london museum, free things to do london, 10 best free things to do in london, british museum, Cutty sark greenwich, national galery, visit, stolen artifacts, 50 free, somerset house, V&A museum, Victoria and albert, maritime museum, greenwich museum, virtual tour, full tour, 5 days in london, London hidden gems, london museum 2021, 2024

Id: H_F2Y1ZiLRo

Length: 17min 30sec (1050 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 08 2021