Introduction
Travel, travel, travel! Yes, I love to travel, even if it’s only a few times a year. This time, my better half and I decided to visit London. We had a long list of things to see and places to find the best food spots in town. Delicious food! Let me tell you about the best museums in London and some “cheap” eateries. I say “cheap”, because London is quite expensive to begin with—it’s one of the top 5 most expensive cities in the world. What else would you expect from a major cosmopolitan city?
We chose London as our destination because we had never been there before and had been planning a trip for quite some time. We booked a one-week trip to ensure we could see everything we wanted. I want to share the best tips and insights on some of the places we had the pleasure of visiting. An important thing you should know is that some of the best museums in London are surprisingly free of charge!
British Museum
The British Museum is the most popular museum in London and one of the best museums in London. The museum attracts over 6 million visitors annually, though still fewer than the Louvre in Paris, France, which welcomes over 8.8 million visitors each year. This amounts to about 16,000 to 17,000 visitors per day—a significant number. There’s a good reason for this high amount of visitors: the museum boasts a wide variety of exhibitions and entry is entirely free. Yes, you don’t need to pay a penny, dollar, or cent to explore it.
Since admission is free, it attracts a lot of visitors, so I recommend booking a ticket online well in advance. The British Museum’s website will offer you the option to make a small donation, but that’s entirely up to you. Once you have your online ticket and arrive at the museum gates, you will have to queue. The queues can be very long, often hundreds of meters (several hundred feet) long.
The queue takes a long time due to the airport-level security check everyone has to go through. We queued for about 45 minutes or longer, which felt surprisingly long. The museum has two entrances, one at the front and one at the back. If you book a ticket online, you can use any of the main entrances. During busy times, it’s suggested to use the Montague Place entrance, which sometimes has shorter queues than the main entrance on Great Russell Street. We used the main entrance because the queue seemed to move faster and wasn’t as long as the one at Montague Place. But decide for yourself once you get there and be prepared to queue!
Before you visit this museum that is deffinitely one of the best museums in London, you might want to take a look at the map of the British Museum to see what it hides inside. At the British Museum you can explore two million years of human history and cultural heritage. Since I am not a big fan of museums, I am not going to go in to great detail about every exhibit or what you can see in the museum. But I think there is something for everyone.
People might spend about 2-3 hours at the museum in total, but I think we were there about 4 hours and we didn’t look at everything that close, except for the Egyptian exhibition. Due to the fact that the museum is HUGE it will take you some time to navigate within the museum. We even managed to see the mummy of Cleopatra and other mummies at the Egyptian exhibition. No wonder the museum is so popular. Here are some valuable guides on how to get to the museum. The museum also has a few cafés and shops to buy some souvenirs.
Opening hours:
Daily: 10.00–17.00 (Fridays: 20.30)
Last entry: 16.45 (Fridays: 20.15)
The Museum is closed 24–26 December.
National History Museum
The National History Museum welcomes more than 5,6 million visitors annually, which is a bit less than the British Museum, but still pretty close. So based on the amount of visitors you could almost say that this too is one of the best museums in London. To learn about the current exhibits and displays they have, please see their website on what’s on. We had also booked a ticket to this museum, which is in my opinion one of the best museums in London after our visit. Book your own tickets here (for free).
The two best museums in London are both big, but the Natural History Museum has a dinosaur exhibition with moving dinosaurs and lots of other exhibits for both adults and children (e.g. the ocean, space, human evolution and british wildlife). But I would say that based on the childrens reactions and enthusiasm the dinosaur exhibit is the most interesting one for them.
Our two favorite exhibits where the dinosaur exhibit (on the ground level) and the rock collection, called the Vault collection on the highest floor. These where the places we spent most of our time at the museum. Since the dinosaur exhibit was the most popular, it was quite crowded. The Vault collection on the other hand was almost empty and you had plenty of room to move around, plus it had better air conditioning.
The dinosaur exhibit had a real size T.rex that was moving. I will be posting a cool video of it soon on Instagram so remember to check it out. There were interesting things to see in the dinosaur exhibit like how big their teeth where, real dinosaur skeletons like the skull of a Triceratops and some facts and myths about why they died.
The vault collection was interesting and a great place to get away from the crowds. As one of the best museums in London, this exhibit showcases the world’s largest collection of colored diamonds that even glow in the dark, and be amazed by rare meteorites from beyond Earth. The Ostro Stone (discovered in Brazil) is a breathtaking gem that captivates onlookers with its vibrant blue hue and impressive size. Weighing an extraordinary 9,381 carats, this topaz is the largest known specimen of its type.
The Ostro Stone’s vivid color is not solely a natural occurrence; it has undergone treatment to intensify its striking blue shade, making it a highlight of the museum’s exhibit. This makes it a must-see in one of the best museums in London. Unfortunately the Vault is apparently closed until January 2025, and will be open to the public in the new year according to the museum.
The musem has three entrances (see the locations by clicking on the link):
We took the Central entrance. We got through very quickly, almost instantly with our morning tickets. I highly recommend getting early morning tickets since this museum, one of the best museums in London, gets very crowded during the day. We spent several hours at this museum as well, but a bit less than at the British Museum. Also, learn more about access to the museum and its facilities on the museums own website, here. Truly, this is a place you must visit in London—it’s among the best museums in London for an enriching experience.
Opening hours:
Open daily 10.00-17.50 (last entry 17.30)
The Museum is closed 24–26 December.
Sky Garden
Now that we’ve talked about the best museums in London, let’s explore another interesting spot: Sky Garden. It’s the highest public garden in London, perched atop the 20 Fenchurch Street skyscraper, also known as the Walkie-Talkie building. If you’re looking for a good hotel near Sky Garden, I recommend Hotel Saint. It offers comfortable accommodations and a convenient location. You can check out my review of the hotel here.
Admission is free, but it’s recommended to book a ticket well in advance. We couldn’t secure a free ticket online, but one day we passed by Sky Garden and noticed a short queue, so we decided to join. It didn’t take long before we reached the security check, and soon after, the elevators whisked us up to the 35th floor in no time. So, don’t worry if you can’t get a ticket online. You can always queue, and if you’re lucky, there might be little to no waiting time.
The garden offers a 360-degree view of London from the 35th to the 37th floor. It’s essentially a garden in the sky. While there’s no air conditioning, you can stroll outside on the terrace to take in views of HMS Belfast, the Shard, Tower Bridge and Thames itself. On the other side of Sky Garden you can spot the Gherkin.
Facilities at Sky Garden:
- Limited seating available (but during our visit, there was plenty of room, especially at the back of Sky Garden).
- Three restaurants (booking a table in advance is recommended):
- Unisex bathroom with about 6 toilets.
Oxford Street
After your visit to the best museums in London you might want to hit Oxford Street, a renowned shopping hub in London. It offers a lot of high-street stores, department shops, and of course luxury brands.
- Department Stores: Primark (with very affordable prices) & Selfridges.
- Fashion and Accessories: Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, and many more.
- Luxury Brands: Burberry, Prada, and Louis Vuitton.
- Beauty and Cosmetics: Boots and Lush.
- Entertainment: Microsoft Experience Center, Cinemas (at Selfridges), and themed stores like The Disney Store.
Dining Experiences
During our London visit we had the pleasure to try delicious food at fast food restaurants and casual dining restaurants. In Chinatown (Chinatown Bakery), we indulged in matcha ice cream served in a taiyaki cone, which is shaped like a fish. It was delicious! Here are some other places that we visited (in my favorite order):
- Dishoom
- Dishoom, inspired by the charm of Bombay (Mumbai), operates seven locations in London. Established in 2010, Dishoom recreates the vibrant and nostalgic ambiance of 1960s Bombay Irani cafés, providing a distinct dining experience.
- Our only chance to visit one of their restaurants was to go there during the day since they are very popular in the evening. The food is really good. I would say this had the best food, since it had the most flavor to it and it was a unique experience.
- Tortilla
- This is a Mexican fast-food chain based in the United Kingdom. They have 12 locations in London. This was one of my favorites during our trip. We visited Tortilla several times for their tasty and affordable quesadillas.
- My Old Dutch
- It’s the original London pancake house that serves up both savoury and sweet pancakes along with a variety of salads, traditional Dutch starters, and more tasty options. The pancakes are big and the milkshakes are delicious!
- Bread Ahead
- This is a well-loved bakery chain in London, celebrated for its tasty doughnuts, artisanal sourdough bread, pastries, and freshly brewed coffee. Renowned for using high-quality, locally sourced ingredients, they have made a name for themselves with their irresistible doughnuts and a variety of freshly baked treats. The doughnuts we tried had a lot of filling and they were great. Deffinitely something to try if you have the chance.
- Shake Shack
- It’s an American fast-casual restaurant chain based in New York City, with 12 locations in London. The first London Shake Shack opened in Covent Garden on January 27, 2023. For some reason I did not enjoy my food (burger meal) as much as I did when I visited the US.
- Itsu
- Easy take away food and decent prices. Itsu is a British chain of fast food restaurants with an East Asian-inspired menu. Unfortunately I would not get food here again unless I had to, but my better half enjoyed the food.
- Humble Crumble
- Humble Crumble is a dessert shop in London that crafts artisan crumbles using high-quality, sustainably sourced ingredients. Each crumble is baked by hand on-site. These delightful crumbles are available year-round, featuring comforting flavors for the colder months and refreshing toppings for the summer. Unfortunately we did not enjoy this that much. Wasn’t worth the price.
- We tried the Mixed Berry Crumble (Regular; Frozen Custard, Rose Petals, Hazelnuts) and the Apple & Cinnamon Crumble (Regular; Cold Custard, Almonds, Hazelnuts), for 7 pounds each.
- But if you want to try Humble Crumble, ordering is straightforward using the machines outside the entrance. They make the food to order, so be prepared to wait a bit depending on the queue.
Conclusion
What are my thoughts on London and the places we visited now that a few weeks have passed since our trip? Well, I enjoyed my time in London. It is a lively city with friendly people, great food if you pick the right places, and it is fairly easy to navigate within the city. The two best museums in London were incredible to visit, though I must admit, I would have enjoyed them even more if they were a bit less crowded.
I think I would have enjoyed the trip more if I hadn’t gotten the flu. But I feel like London is a place I will visit again after some time has passed. I would really love to see what it looks like at Christmas with all the decorations around town. It would be very cheerful, but that’s a story for another day.
Now that you’ve read about the best museums in London (the British Museum & Natural History Museum), a viewing platform (Sky Garden) where you can take in the views of London, some shopping ideas (Oxford Street), and best of all, dining experiences (Dishoom, Tortilla, My Old Dutch), which are your favorites? Would you like to know more about the best museums in London or about other places to visit in or near London? Let me know in the comments!
This post has been enhanced using AI for text improvement.