Latest / UK Travel Planning / Visiting London’s Top Museums: How to Choose And Plan Your Visit

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Visiting London’s Top Museums: How to Choose And Plan Your Visit · UK Travel Planning

• 0:00
  Tracy Collins: London has some of the best museums in the world, and in this episode we'll help you understand the main museum options so you can pick the ones that interest you most and feel confident planning your visit.
• 0:11
  Intro: Welcome to the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 0:14
  Intro: Your host is the founder of the UK travel planning website, Tracy Collins.
• 0:18
  Intro: Each week, Tracy shares destination guides, travel tips and itinerary ideas, as well as interviews with a variety of guests who share their knowledge and experience of UK travel to help you plan your perfect UK vacation.
• 0:30
  Intro: Join us as we explore the UK from cosmopolitan cities to quaint villages, from historic castles to beautiful islands, from the picturesque countryside to seaside towns.
• 0:42
  Tracy Collins: Before we get started, we'd like to thank our sponsor, Walks and Devour Tours.
• 0:46
  Tracy Collins: If you're planning a trip to London, you'll already know the challenge.
• 0:50
  Tracy Collins: There's a lot you want to do and only a limited amount of time to fit it all in.
• 0:53
  Tracy Collins: That's where the right tour makes all the difference because you want experiences that are the best use of your time with more access, less waiting, and a deeper sense of the city.
• 1:02
  Tracy Collins: That's why we recommend Walks and Devour Tours.
• 1:05
  Tracy Collins: They offer walk-in tours and food tours designed to make your time count, often with early or after hours entry.
• 1:12
  Tracy Collins: You'll also be with exceptional local guides who add the stories and context so you leave with a richer understanding of what you're seeing and a trip that feels genuinely memorable.
• 1:21
  Tracy Collins: If you're visiting London as a couple with family or you simply prefer a more intimate experience, walks and devour tours also offer private tour options.
• 1:30
  Tracy Collins: To learn more, you'll find the link in the show notes.
• 1:32
  Tracy Collins: Now let's get into this week's episode.
• 1:35
  Tracy Collins: Hi everybody and welcome to this week's gallery.
• 1:39
  Tracy Collins: Was actually I met Susan who came on and did a podcast.
• 1:42
  Tracy Collins: Um did you come on and do the podcast?
• 1:45
  Tracy Collins: Ignore that.
• 1:46
  Tracy Collins: The last time I went to national uh yeah, so as you note, uh myself and Doug are uh the founders of UK Travel Planning and the podcast.
• 1:56
  Tracy Collins: And so this week I've invited Doug on again because we're going to talk about uh one of my favourite things to do in London, something you enjoy as well.
• 2:03
  Tracy Collins: Yeah, I do.
• 2:03
  Tracy Collins: Uh, which is including some of the London museums into your itinerary.
• 2:08
  Tracy Collins: Now we know that including the museums comes up in a lot of the itinerary consults and reviews that we do.
• 2:16
  Tracy Collins: Um, but and there are a lot of options.
• 2:18
  Tracy Collins: So obviously, in this podcast, we can't cover all of them.
• 2:21
  Tracy Collins: So we're gonna focus on London's most popular larger museums, the ones that most first-time visitors are choosing between.
• 2:29
  Tracy Collins: Um, and we know this from consult because these are the ones that come up, aren't they?
• 2:32
  Doug Collins: That's right.
• 2:33
  Doug Collins: Yeah, I mean there's so many.
• 2:35
  Tracy Collins: There are so, so many to talk about.
• 2:37
  Tracy Collins: So we will be doing another podcast there on the air talking about some of the smaller museums for sure.
• 2:42
  Tracy Collins: But this one, we kind of talked about which ones we enjoy the most, which ones we know that people ask us about the most.
• 2:48
  Tracy Collins: So we thought what we'd do is talk about each museum, what they offer, um, whether it's free or ticketed, because some are free, some are free, which is a surprise, I think, to some people.
• 2:59
  Doug Collins: But we don't always agree on museums, we'll know things.
• 3:02
  Tracy Collins: No, we don't.
• 3:02
  Tracy Collins: Um, yeah, and kind of talk about like if you need to book ahead, we'll share some practical tips to and help things to just know generally about visiting museums in London.
• 3:11
  Tracy Collins: So we'll share some practical tips at the end of the episode.
• 3:13
  Tracy Collins: So stick, stick to the end to hear those kind of things that you need to know about visiting all the museums, actually.
• 3:20
  Tracy Collins: Um, but one thing we talked about was the fact that actually, well they were not covering some of the smaller museums, that if um you're visiting London between when this episode comes out and later on in the year, um if you have a particular interest, like you were saying before, there are museums that that will kind of cater for quite some variety of interests.
• 3:41
  Tracy Collins: If you have a particular interest and you're not sure if there's a museum uh by name that covers that or has an exhibition that covers that topic, do a search, have a look at these main museums because you may be surprised they may have an element within these that covers your interests, but also there might be a specific exhibition somewhere.
• 3:59
  Tracy Collins: Yeah, or a specific museum, or just a museum which we don't know everything.
• 4:03
  Tracy Collins: There's so many, we don't know them all, I'm sure.
• 4:05
  Tracy Collins: Well, there are so many, and I certainly haven't visited um all of them by any means.
• 4:09
  Tracy Collins: I'm gonna try and include a lot more into my itinerary in London, but um you know it's it's just whatever I can fit in.
• 4:16
  Tracy Collins: That's right.
• 4:16
  Tracy Collins: But what we do tend to do whenever we go is that we visit one of the larger museums.
• 4:21
  Doug Collins: That's right.
• 4:22
  Tracy Collins: Um, so that's what we're gonna start talking about.
• 4:23
  Tracy Collins: We're gonna talk about the the larger museums and London.
• 4:26
  Tracy Collins: Um, and then also we're gonna talk about who they're who they're good for, like who will they kind of cater for, who might be most interested in visiting money.
• 4:33
  Doug Collins: So that's right.
• 4:34
  Doug Collins: I mean, if you go in with a large, large group, it's sometimes difficult to find attractions and entertainments that covers everybody.
• 4:40
  Doug Collins: And it's the same with museums because the museums are so wide and varied.
• 4:44
  Tracy Collins: Yeah, that's true.
• 4:45
  Tracy Collins: And we tend to not go the same places anyway.
• 4:47
  Tracy Collins: You have different museum interests than I do.
• 4:49
  Tracy Collins: So um, yeah, so we're gonna start off by talking in specific, in fact, we're gonna talk about the areas that you can find these most museums are located in, um, because that's often the easiest way to actually visit if you want to visit more than one museum in a day.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: Um, but I will say don't include three, which is what I'm gonna the first destination or area in London we're gonna talk about is South Kensington, where you're gonna find three of the biggest um and most famous museums surprise, surprise, you're starting in South Kensington.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Well, I am because I'm starting with my favourite museum, uh, which I'm sure everybody is aware of, is the is a Victorian Albert museum, the VA.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: And how many times have you been there?
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: I don't know, I've lost track, to be honest.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: It's uh I I love the VA, it's uh a very special place.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: I just enjoy going there.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: Now the VA is free to enter.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: Uh, they they do have special exhibitions which have which you have to buy a ticket for.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: Um, but um VA, it's you know, you don't have to worry about really um booking a ticket or anything.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: You can just go in there.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: I've never had a problem going in.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Um if you're interested in fashion design, photography, jewelry, or interiors or anything like that, it's it's the perfect museum to go to.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, it's huge, it's a large museum, there's a lot to see there.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: I mean, I tend to always go to the same places I enjoy.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: I love the cast courts, I love the fashion, I love the jewelry.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Um, there's but there's just so much to do and see.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Now I visited I don't know how many times, um, and there's some places I say that I go to every time, and and then I try to add in a new area.
• 6:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a good idea.
• 6:20
  unknown: Yeah, yeah.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: I've got loads of photographs from the VA, which I will share in the show notes.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Now, one other thing that you've got to do, well, two other things you have to do if you're going to the VA.
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Um, one is check out the museum shop.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: Well, I'll say this a lot actually, because all of the museum shops are fantastic.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: VA is or I think it's my favorite.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: It's just amazing.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: It's the most beautiful, beautiful shop.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: Most beautiful things uh on uh for sale, for presents or for souvenirs.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Uh so do check that out.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: The other thing to do in the VA, and I've again I've mentioned this in uh quite a few podcasts, is to make sure that you go to the cafe.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: It was the oldest museum cafe in the world, the first, um, and it's an art deco style.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: And you will seriously be missing out if you do not go to the cafe in the VA because uh it's just beautiful.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: If you've been send me a photo, send me an email with your photos because I just absolutely love it.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: It's just a gorgeous, gorgeous room.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: You can have afternoon tea as well, there.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: So very, very nice.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: There's a seating area outside as well, isn't it?
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, there is around a like a like a pond, I don't know what you call it, like a water feature, fountain, yeah, which is really nice in the summer, and people are always kind of sitting out there enjoying it.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: Um, so that's the first museum in uh South Kensington.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: It's actually easy to get to when you come on the tube because you just walk out signposters and you can stay underground and walk down the tunnel and straight into the into the side entrance of the VA.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, uh, next uh museum to talk about in South Kensington is one that is familiar to every child in the UK.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: And that is the natural history museum.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: Most children have been there.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: It is a destination that I'd say most British families will take their children to to visit at some point.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: And I know I I can't remember how old I was the first time I went.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Same hand.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: Um but it's very famous for went down by train, obviously.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, of course, of course it did.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's very famous for uh dinosaurs and its blue whale.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: It used to have a big dinosaur in the hall as you walk in, yeah.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Um, which I don't think it's there anymore.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: Is it Diplodicus?
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: Something like that.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: So just a big dinosaur skeleton, anyway.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so the Natural History Museum is really, really popular with family, it's very popular with children.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Children love it, as I say.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: Like I can I can remember going as a child, going there.
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: School parties in there.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely.
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: It's very, very popular.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: Now, for the Natural History Museum, do book a timed slot.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: It is free, but if you have your timed slot, um, you won't have to queue up as long.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: Because believe me, the last time we went, actually, we didn't book a timed slot because it was a one of those kind of last-minute decisions.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: It was raining, we decided to go to the museum.
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: We should have actually looked at the forecast a few days before, because what we didn't do was book a slot.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: In fact, we gave up.
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: We gave up, and yeah.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: And and that's the thing, if the weather's bad in London for a day, you'll find a lot of people head to the museums.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: Absolutely.
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: If it's a weekend or school holidays, it'll be even worse, even busier.
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: So if you look at the forecast and you see rain a couple of days off and you think, oh, you know what, we're gonna head to the museums that day.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: So is everybody else in London?
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: So book a time slot.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: If you're on a budget as well, these are free things to yes, yes.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: That's that's the other thing one can kind of say is that you know, if you are thinking about you know the budget when you're going to London, when it's expensive, this is a great option to save money.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Uh so natural history museum is also free, but as I say, make sure you get your time slot.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Another way to save money, actually, go to the natural history museum, um, is you can take your own food.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: You can take go to the supermarket and get a meal deal before you arrive.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: Um, and you can bring take your own food and have a there's you can have it in the picnic area which is on the lower ground floor.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: Um, so that's great.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: So if you've got kids, just go and go and get a picnic and go and you can have it in the museum at the lower ground floor.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: They also um have afternoon teas there, they've got some great cafe options, so plenty of places to eat.
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: And of course, they've got another fantastic museum shop that I would pop into.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Um, it can get really busy in the natural history museum, so maybe head upstairs um rather than avoiding that kind of ground floor area because as that's where the dinosaurs or uh exhibition is kind of off the side of that ground floor, very, very popular.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: But again, prepare before you go by checking out what it is that you want to see in the natural history museum itself.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: Um, it is big.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: Um, and I will say that we're gonna talk about the next museum in the South Kensington area is the science museum, which is the next one we're gonna talk about.
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: Now, what I am gonna say is do not try to do what I tried to do last time, which was to do all three of these museums in a day.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: Makes me tired thinking about it.
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: It was impossible.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: So I went to the VA and I went to the science museum, and then I had every intention of visiting the natural history museum, not a chance.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: I was too tired, my feet were too sore.
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: I just was no so you've got to get to the museum in the first place, and then you're led somewhere afterwards, you know, that just adds.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: So I just was like, no, yeah.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: So I actually the natural history museum was the one I missed out, so I'll go back this year and have another look around the natural history museum.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: But science museum is also free, but also um book ahead just in case, because again, if school holidays raining, blah blah blah, etc., it's gonna get busy and um you might be standing in the queue for quite a while.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Um again, as I say, it's free, but there are some um options in the science museum which are worth paying for.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Um, I know we did a podcast episode with uh Rob and Heather, oh, right in the early days, I think, of podcasting.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: And um, they'd taken their son uh Beckett to Wonderlab, uh, which was really popular, but basically it's like becoming a scientist for a day, um, very hands-on and interactive.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: Um, so yeah, I know they absolutely thoroughly, thoroughly enjoyed that.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Um, it's lots of experiments and lots of exhibits to have a look at, yeah.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: The other thing that you can pay for at the Science uh Museum is Power Up, where they have a hundred this is great for gamers.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: So if you've got a teenager, and this is a great place to go, so there's 160 consoles showcasing five decades of gaming, which I think is absolutely fantastic.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: So I'm actually quite interested in that because I used to be a big Game Boy fan in the 1980s.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: Um, so you can do that, but those are um paid for, and also there's an IMAX cinema there where you've got immersive 3D films.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: Um, we've got T-Rex on at the moment, Antarctica, um, lots of other uh films, so have not checked that out.
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: But again, you've got to book those and pay for those.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: Um, they also have, which I think is high on my agenda to do, a science themed afternoon tea.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: That appeals, I just can't imagine what that would be.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Oh, just really I'll tell you what, I'll do it and I'll send you pictures and videos because I think it's gonna be really, really fun.
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: Um, again, there's cafes, uh uh places to eat at the science uh museum.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: So it's a perfect, perfect place to go if you've got yeah, it's really, really good fun.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: So I'd recommend them.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: So those are the kind of three main museums uh in London that London is famous for, except the next one, which I'm gonna talk about.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: But they're all based in South Kensington.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, close by, yeah.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Close, yeah, close to each other, so very easy to do.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: But as I say, pick one or two, don't try and do all three.
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, the next museum is probably the one that we get asked about the most.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think this is probably the most well-known one for overseas visitors.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and that is the British Museum, which is located in Bloomsbury.
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: It's pretty iconic, and it's really the one that I think people want to go and visit.
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Uh, generally to see particular things like the Sutton Who Mask is there.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Um, the Rosetta Stone is probably the top number one visited um artifact at the uh British Museum, um, and that's in room four.
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: What I suggest you do, one of the best tips I can give you for visit visiting the British Museum is to look online at the website and choose what you want to go and see.
• 14:01
  Doug Collins: Yeah, which could be tricky if there's quite a few in your group and you don't want to see the same thing.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: Well, I'll just split open each year.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: You have to go and do because there's a lot of walking between these rooms.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and they can get very busy.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: I mean, around the Rosetta Stones, always, always packed.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Also, the Egyptian um displays are always really, really busy.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Lewis chess men, yeah, really, really busy.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: It does get busy.
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: You can take book a private tour with somebody to take you around and show you around the British Museum if that's what you prefer.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: If you have a specific interest, yeah, I think that would be really good.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: Or kids, that's a really good way to show kids around.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Um, what I would say as well as well as planning it is to book a time slot um so that you know you know what time you need to arrive because it there can be very long queues to get into the British Museum.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Again, it's free, but the lines can still be there.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: Um, if there are specific exhibitions on you will have to pay for those, yeah, um, book ahead.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Um now I do want to say that is one uh exhibition that's coming this year at the British Museum, which I'm so excited about, but unfortunately, not going to be in London to see.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: Both of us want to see this.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: Ah, anyway, is it the Bayer Tapestry?
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: The Bayer Tapestry.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: So the Bayer Tapestry is going to be displayed at the British Museum.
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: It's on loan from France.
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: Um, unfortunately, I guess for visitors, if you have got an interest in some of the Sutton Who and the Lewis Chess men, is they're doing a swap.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: So um they are going to go to London to uh France and the Bayer Tapestry is going to come from they're going to do the swap.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: So they're that's going to come from France and be displayed at the British Museum.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: So um that's from late 2026 into 2027.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: September, I think.
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's a once-in-a-lifetime possibility to see it.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: I just think it will be fantastic.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: I'm a bit sad that I'm not going to get a chance to do it.
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: There's one tip for visiting the uh British Museum if it's full at the front entrance, isn't it?
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Yes, even if you booked a slot, is to go round the back.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Um, so go to Montague Place, which is actually the north entrance to the um museum.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: The the main entrance is on Great Russell Street, but if you go literally opposite, so walk round the back and get in that entrance, it's usually much quieter.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: Um so I'd recommend that.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Definitely again, it's a really nice place to eat.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: We enjoy having the food there as well.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: Um, sitting down and having a cup of tea and a bit of cake or a sandwich.
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: Victoria sponge, thank you very much.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: They also do a classic afternoon tea there as well.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: Um, not had it there, but I'd like to I'd like to uh try that actually.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: I bet that's pretty good.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: I bet it is.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Um, and also um very good museum shop.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: It's a lot of books.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: Lots of books, yeah.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, some really, really good stuff for sale in that one.
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: So um, yeah, absolutely worth going to.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: And that tea room does get busy.
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: It does, because I remember last time I was struggling to get a seat actually, trying to get seated.
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: So um, yeah, so plan ahead for that sort of thing and think about what time of day that you're gonna go.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Um, so next we're gonna head into Covent Garden to a museum that you really enjoy.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I like I enjoy it.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's actually it's it's a museum for people of all ages.
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is the London Transport Museum.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: This is the side of Covent Garden, so you can make a whole day of this if you're visiting.
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: But it's uh London Transport through the ages, really.
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: It is now this one isn't free, you have to buy a ticket, it's an actual annual ticket.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, but we do recommend that you book ahead, that you get your annual ticket.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: It's free, I believe, to under age 17.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: Uh, but you will still need to have a slot.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: Um, because it gets very busy, it's very popular, it's actually really good.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: It's lovely seeing the different transports.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: Is it different types of the buses and the trains and that's right.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: Uh yeah, it's it's uh and kids love it.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: It's another popular museum with kids and adults and adults.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: Um, but the shop you can go and you don't have to go like normally through museums in the shops on the way out.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: This isn't the case here, is it?
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: No, it's kind of separate.
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: So, well, actually, you go in and you kind of go left into the actual museum, but straight ahead of you is the actual museum shop, which is actually very, very popular.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Very good.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was there in the last year.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: Um, did you buy anything?
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: I seem to have bought a mug.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Yes, what with the London Underground on it?
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I got a London uh transport underground map on it.
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: They also have, which I think is really cute, all of the underground lines are different colours, yeah, and they have different patterns, yeah, material.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: And so you can go in the that the London Transport Museum shop and you can buy like cushions and all sorts of different themed things.
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: What's it called?
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Maquette.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: Maquette, okay, it's a new word out of it.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Um, so for example, you got like the district line which is green.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: So then you can buy that particular district line green.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, or central line being red.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and so they have the different merchandise which reflects the colour and the patterns.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: So that's quite cute.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: I think that's really good.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: And for the expert, the different types of stock, roll rolling stock, different types of underground trains as well.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: Perfect, right.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: And also posters, you get fantastic posters at the London Transport.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Legos in this actual pop-up uh books as well, you know.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: For yeah, it's there's so much at that.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: We always go to that one.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: And there's also a little tea room there as well.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there is, yeah, upstairs.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: So that's absolutely worth going to.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: Uh now we're gonna head south of the river.
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: We're gonna go towards South Bank and Waterloo now.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, for another museum that you particularly enjoy, and this is Imperial War Museum.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I really enjoy the Imperial War Museum.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: This is a free museum.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: This is part of the Imperial War Museum group of museums, but this is a free one.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: So the the the Imperial War Museum um group of museums includes RAF Duxford, which is a little way outside London.
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: It also includes the HMS Belfast, which is the ship birthed on the River Thames opposite the Tower of London, uh, which is like it's a museum ship.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's a museum ship, I think that's what it's described as.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: But it's really, really interesting.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: So you've got those museums, you've also got the um Churchill War Rooms, which I'll again mention later.
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: Uh, but it's it's really good.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: But this museum is free, and this is all about British uh war past.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, so that one I know I've visited before with you, and that's one museum that if you take a bag in, they do have lockers, but we will talk a little bit further along about um about luggage and things like that in museums and we'll talk about tips in general.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: It's good for all ages, it's it's not a what you might call a stuffy museum, it's you know it it's engaging.
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's uh it's an interesting museum to uh to visit, that's for sure.
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: And um I think if you marry that up with something like HMS Belfast or the the Churchill war rooms, it it's quite quite good.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: Another one actually, which we're not talking about particularly in this episode, um, is the code breakers at Bletchley Hall, which is outside of Blesley Park.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Sorry, Bletchley Park.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's right.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: That's actually in Bletchley, which is if you want to go by train, that's from London Houston up to Bletchley itself.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and then so another thing about the Imperial War Museum is that the best way to get there is by bus, and then you've got about an eight-minute walk uh to the actual museum entrance itself.
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: Otherwise, you can just get an Uber or a black cab to drop you off just outside uh the museum.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: That's another option that you can do that.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: I know the last time we went, we actually went to the Imperial War Museum, and then we got a cab over to the uh war rooms.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Um okay, so we're now gonna go from South Bank Waterloo.
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: So again, we've talked about the Imperial War Museum's a free museum, but you head across to some more free museums that are probably a bit more my street than yours.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, not really my thing.
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: Um, and that is in Trafalgar Square, it's the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: Now, these are both free.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: The National Portrait Gallery actually was just reopened a couple of years ago.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: I was there the day after it opened.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: That's my favorite of the two, but you can easily do do both, and I would.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Um the National Portrait Gallery, I particularly like the um photography section.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: I just think that's really, really cool.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: Um, it's just a beautiful building, absolutely worth going to.
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: Uh, National Gallery as well.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Last time, I again I'd recommend that you book a free um slot because the last time I went was actually end of November, and I had to stand in a long queue and it wasn't raining, there wasn't Weather wasn't bad, it was just busy and it was a weekend, and there was a lot of people who want to go into the National Gallery.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: Um, so I would just book a slot so that you just jump that you don't have to stand in this great big long queue for half an hour or 40 minutes or whatever it was, uh waiting to get in.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: Also, just to mention that you will have to have your bags checked going into most museums.
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: And also, while talking about that, also uh be careful not wearing too many clothes because some of these museums can be very hot.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, hot.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: We'll talk about that a little bit actually about being prepared for that, actually.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, so I think the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery, great ones to pair up together.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Again, lovely shops, lovely cafes to go to.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: The last time I went to the National Gallery, actually, I met a friend there um with her daughter, and she'd bought uh her daughter a book which had um a lot of the pictures of the different photos of the different pictures in the gallery, and then we did a kind of um art hunt.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we went to have a look for all the different art, which was really, really good.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, um, and she could tick them off in this book.
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: So really interactive, a great way for kids to learn about art.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Um, so if it in that area, um I wouldn't probably combine this at the same time, but if we just talked about previous to talking about the two art galleries in Trafalgar, we talked about Imperial War War Rooms, and a great combination is to also head to Westminster to the Churchill War Rooms.
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was really good.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: It used to be called the Cabinet War Rooms Museum, but it's uh it was renamed a few years back, or quite a few years back now, to the Churchill War Rooms.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: It's really good to visit.
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: Uh really interesting to give you um a guided tour headset, but it can, if you get a bit claustrophobic, which you can it can get a bit hot and a bit crowded in there.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: A tip for that one is to maybe visit in the afternoon if you can, because when it opens in the morning, it can get very full.
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I did get it was it was hot and it was summer and it was crowded.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: And I just didn't it so I did it in 20 minutes the first time I ever went there, which was probably you know, yeah world record.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: Uh next time I went back, I spent a lot longer there.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: But it's very interesting.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: But yeah, it is really interesting.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: A good combination with really the Churchill War Rooms, Imperial War Museum.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: If you you know go to um to the Codebreakers at Bletchley Park.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: Um, in fact, we have got an article and we've got a full podcast all about World War One and World War II um places to visit in the London in London and London area.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: So you can check that out if you're particularly interested.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: I should point out that it's it's more about Churchill as a person, it's not just war.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: Yes, it's uh you know it's parts of it all about Churchill his upbringing, yeah, and yeah, about his background, yeah, stuff like that.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: And of course, I know that's another shop that you bought a mug at.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: I did, and this one was with the quote on the side says, Where there's tea, there's hope.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Well, I like that.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: And who can argue with exactly well with both absolutely love or tea?
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: So I I totally agree with that one.
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: Um, so next set of museum, I'm gonna pick out one of the museums actually.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: Um, but actually in Greenwich, you've got the Royal Museums, and you can get a ticket for all of them, and that is basically the National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Queen's House, and Cody Sark.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: Um, so actually the Queen's House I think is free uh anyway.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: But um if you go to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which is included in that kind of set of museums.
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: This is actually a whole museum or Greenwich, the uh observatory, the whole area is one thing we do actually agree on.
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we we love go.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Well, we both love Greenwich.
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: We might have different tastes in some museums, but we both enjoy going.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, Greenwich is a but it's Greenwich is a day out, it's just a day out, and it gets you away from like kind of the hustle and bustle of the the city.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Um it's up, you know, the park, you can walk up to the observatory, got beautiful views.
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: Choose an ice day if you can.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Take a picnic and really go enjoy it.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: Um, so obviously the Royal Observatory, it's on the top of a hill because it's an observatory.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: It's also where you'll find the Greenwich Meridian.
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Um, so you can stand with a foot in each hemisphere.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: That's it.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: Uh, which is always really cool to do and get a photograph.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: And everybody wants a photo of that, don't they?
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: They do, absolutely.
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: If you go and take a photo of your feet, make sure you've got your best shoes on.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: That's that's a good point.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: Because I think I've got some photos of me with some pretty yeah, dirty trainers on of them walking around puddles, I think.
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: Um, yeah, so that's a really good point.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: But um also if you're there at 12 o'clock, I think it's 12 o'clock, there's a big red wall that kind of drops, which signals that it's 12 noon, which it was you can see that from quite far away.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: There's a time piece for it.
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's quite cool to see that as well.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: Um, but yeah, plan the day, go and have a look around the National Maritime Museum, go to the painted hall.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's amazing.
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: That's amazing.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: Uh go to the Queen's house.
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of good artwork in there.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: There's a tour-up staircase in there, which is absolutely worth going to.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and then there's the um tea clip at the cutty sock.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: Yes, that's right.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Which is yeah, worth going to.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: So it's not just one, but I want to- I have never been around the cutty sock.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: Have you not?
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: No.
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: Oh I've walked round the the building, but I've never actually been inside.
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: I think I've been inside twice now.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, okay.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Well you have to include that.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: But the main one I want to talk about is the role observatory, because that's the one that comes up.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Um, and again, it's very popular with kids because kids like the idea of one foot new telescope.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: It's actually a very interesting museum.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: It is, yeah, it is really good and uh definitely worth including, and also having that lovely ride down on the boat, down to Greenwich itself.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: Uh so you see the uh London from the river, which is always great, and the bridges.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: That's lovely.
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: So that's a nice in autumn, actually, as well with the trees out of the way.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's a really fantastic kind of experience.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, yeah, the boat experience is really good.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's really good.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: So, so that's kind of talked about some of the main museums that we tend to always.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: It's not an exhaustive list, there's so many more museums.
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: No, absolutely there's now.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about some of the general tips.
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: So we've kind of skirted on some of these as we've been talking.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: But first thing is bags, do not take a suitcase or a big bag because you're just it's just you won't be allowed in some of the museums for a start off.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Um, some have uh got uh left luggage that you can leave stuff, yeah, but you're still better off not just having a small day pack.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: That's what we have when we're in London.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: We'll have that.
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: Uh just small, keep your bottle of water in it or whatever, and your um, you know, your phone or whatever you've got in there, so you don't need a huge amount.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Um, like Doug said, the museums can get very hot.
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, they really can.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: Um, I think I'm not sure I should have checked actually if the British Museum was installing air conditioning, or am I mixing up with a featy in Rome, in in Florence, potentially.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: Um, so I just make sure that you are in even in winter, because in winter you'll be dressed with all your layers on and you go to the museum and then you swelter.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you've got to carry your coats around with you and your hats and yeah, so have a small backpack that you can put those in.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: Now don't skip the cafes and the restaurants in these places, they're absolutely fantastic, really good food.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, whether it's just a sandwich or a snack or a piece of cake, and I'm gonna say Victoria's sponge dog.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: Victoria SpongeBob wants a cup of tea.
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: Also, if you're looking to buy uh souvenirs and gifts when you're in London, or fridge magnets.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: Fridge magnets, or whatever you want to buy in London, uh the museum shops are the place to go.
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: Most definitely.
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: They're excellent, they're really, really good.
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: Um, main thing I want to say as well is to um plan in advance what you want to see.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: Um, so check on the museum website.
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: So if there's a particular museum that we've talked about that you want to go and see, check on the website.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: So you can check on the website for like how to get the ticket.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: So you'll be able to get a ticket from the website.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: You'll be able to find out what exhibitions are on, if there are paid in exhibitions that you can book for, you'll be able to find out about accessibility.
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: Most definitely.
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: Most people got lifts and sort of uh step.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Step three, but double check, plan in advance, planning, planning, planning.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: The best you can plan, uh the better experience you get.
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: Websites are really good actually for these museums.
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: They're excellent, they're all really, really good.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: So I will include in the show notes for this episode, I will include um a link to the various museums that we've spoken about.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: Um, and also I'll include some photos because we've been through all of these.
• 29:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and as I said, just reiterate what started with if you have a particular interest and you're not sure there's a museum that covers it, do a search or check that these main museums might have a section that covers your so I'd say later in the year we're going to cover some of the smaller London museums.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: So including, like I've mentioned before, there are some there's some really, really good uh kind of uh smaller museum, for example, the Florence Nightingale Museum, and that's a one we talk about a lot in consults with we do a lot of consults with nurses um who are particularly interested in going to visit the Florence Nightingale Museum.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: So I've been to that.
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: You haven't been closed when I was yeah, so that's worth going to.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: We're gonna talk, I've been at the Foundling Museum, I've been at the London Mathraeum.
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: What's that one?
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: That's a Roman temple, which is in it's in the city of London, and you have to go down quite a few stairs to get to what was the Roman level, which is amazing.
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: Is that a free entry one?
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Uh I think it was free, but don't quote me on that.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Um, might be paid.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Um, and then I'm also planning to go to quite a few places, museums I haven't been to.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: For example, the Charles Dickens Museum I haven't been to, the old operating theatre museum.
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: You missed one.
• 31:02
  Speaker 2: Don't forget the Sherlock Holmes.
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: Well, I know you've been to that a few times.
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: That's another shop that you really like.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: Um, there's the Museum of Brands, which I hear a lot about, Handel Hendrick's house, Dr.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Johnson's house, the postal museum with its little train.
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: So I can't wait to visit that.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: So if you've been if you've been to any of those museums or even any of the larger museums, or you have another museum in London that you'd like to either find out about or you have been to and really enjoyed, um, leave us a message on Speakpipe.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: We want to know.
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: We'd love to know.
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: Um, you know, we might might play that in another episode, but we'll certainly get back to you because we love to hear from you what you enjoy, what you want to do.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: Also, if it has a nice cup of tea and a nice lass of cake.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, of course that's important.
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: But um, yeah, so honestly, um, if you're planning an itinerary for London, definitely look at including one or more of the London museums into your itinerary because it it they're just brilliant.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: They really are um excellent world-class museums in London.
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: The main thing, as I said, is to understand your options, do the research, and then plan your visit.
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: That's right.
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: Um, as I say, most of them are free, but you what you don't want to end up turning up on a day where it's a little bit rainy or a little bit cooler at a weekend, and you really want to go to the Natural History Museum and you get there, and the other line is really big, and you didn't book a timed entry ticket.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: So say it's free, it won't cost you anything, so make sure that you do that.
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: Um, as always, you'll find links and resources in the show notes, which are uktravelplanning.com.
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: Um, I think that just leaves us to say, as always, until next week.
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: Happy UK travel planning.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in to this week's episode of the UK Travel Planning Podcast.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: As always, show notes can be found at uktravelplanning.com.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: If you've enjoyed the show, why not leave us feedback via text or a review on your favourite podcast app?
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: We love to hear from you, and you never know, you may receive a shout out in a future episode.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: But as always, that just leaves me to say until next week, happy UK travel planning.