Top 5 Art Museums to Visit in London

London is an art lover’s dream, with over 190 museums in the city. The top art museums to visit in London range from the historic collections at the British Museum to the decorative arts galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum. These are the top art museums to visit in London as ranked by the Visited travel app’s over 1.75 million users. All museums on this list offer complimentary admission.

1. The British Museum is one of the world’s largest museums dedicated to art and culture. Since opening to the public in 1753, the museum has grown to encompass more than 8 million works spread across nearly 900,000 square feet of exhibition space. The British Museum offers a breathtaking collection of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art and artifacts and so much more.

2. The National Gallery is a spectacular art museum overlooking historic Trafalgar Square in Charing Cross. Serving London since 1824, the National Gallery displays the United Kingdom’s collection of Western European paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries. The National Gallery has over 150,000 masterpieces in its collection, including works by Van Gogh, Monet, and Leonardo Da Vinci.

3. Tate Modern opened in 2000 and has rapidly become one of the top modern art museums in the world. The museum sits along the banks of the Thames River in the heart of Central London and is housed in the former Bankside Power Station. Tate Modern offers an extensive permanent collection featuring famous works such as Mountain Lake by Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso’s Nude Woman With a Necklace.

4. Tate Britain opened as the National Gallery of British Art in 1926. Today, its extensive collection of British art, spanning from the 1500s to the present day, attracts art lovers from across the globe. Tate Britain has an exhaustive collection of J.M.W. Turner’s work, works by Bridget Riley, and much more.

5. The Victoria and Albert Museum opened to the public in 1872 and is named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The museum is home to the most extensive collection of decorative arts, applied arts, and design in the world. Located in South Kensington, the museum boasts over 2 million pieces displayed across 145 galleries in an architecturally stunning building that combines Victoria, Edwardian, and contemporary design details. Noteworthy works include the Cast Courts, Constable’s Landscape paintings, and the Fashion Gallery.

Have you been to any of the top museums in London? Want to see more top art museums and top travel lists? Wondering where to travel next? We got you covered. Select different destinations and places based on travel lists, experiences, and inspirational photos in the Visited app. We’ll show you which countries have the highest number of places you wish to visit. So you can go down the list and optimize your travel plans.

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