Free Museums in London
Quick answer
10 museums in London are always free to enter — Imperial War Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, and more. Another 2 offer regular free days or evenings. World Museum Guide lists the exact free-entry rules from each museum's official site below.
Verified 2026-06-30 against official sources.
Always free (10)
Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum London tells the story of conflict involving Britain and the Commonwealth from the First World War to the present day. Founded in 1917 while the Great War still raged, it was established to record the experiences of those who lived, fought, and died in the conflict.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeNational Portrait Gallery
Founded in 1856, the National Portrait Gallery moved to its current building beside the National Gallery in 1896. It reopened in 2023 after a major refurbishment by Jamie Fobert Architects.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeNatural History Museum
Alfred Waterhouse's Romanesque-revival building opened in 1881 to display the natural-history collections that had outgrown the British Museum. The terracotta facade is decorated with sculptures of living and extinct species.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeScience Museum
Founded in 1857 with material from the Great Exhibition, the Science Museum has grown to hold more than 300,000 items charting the history of science, technology, medicine, and industry.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeTate Britain
Founded by sugar magnate Henry Tate in 1897 as the National Gallery of British Art, the building was rechristened Tate Britain in 2000 when the modern collection moved across the river.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeTate Modern
Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art created from 1900 to the present day. It is part of the Tate group, together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St Ives.
✓ Free standard admission; charges for special exhibitions
Always freeThe British Museum
The British Museum, located in the Bloomsbury area of London, United Kingdom, is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture. Its permanent collection of some eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeThe National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeThe Wallace Collection
Bequeathed to the British public by Lady Wallace in 1897, the collection was built by four generations of the Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace. It opened to the public in 1900.
✓ Free standard admission
Always freeVictoria and Albert Museum
Founded in 1852 in the wake of the Great Exhibition, the V&A was conceived as a museum to inspire British industry and design education. It moved to its current South Kensington site in 1857 and has expanded continuously ever since.
✓ Free standard admission
Free on select days (2)
Standard admission applies outside these windows — verify dates on the official website before visiting.
Which museums are free in London?
Imperial War Museum, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, The British Museum, The National Gallery, The Wallace Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum — 10 museums in London with always-free standard admission. Special exhibitions may charge separately.
Which London museums have free days?
Churchill War Rooms: Imperial War Museums members free · Design Museum: Permanent collection free for members · Under 6 free
Are special exhibitions also free at London's free museums?
Usually not — always-free admission covers the permanent collection, while blockbuster temporary exhibitions typically require paid, often timed, tickets. Check the official site linked from each guide.