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The 10 Best Art Museums in England, United Kingdom
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1. The Timehouse
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 481 reviews
The Timehouse is due to re-open 21 June 2021 subject to the Covid situation. Check here and elsewhere online for updates.
2. Mining Art Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 108 reviews
The Mining Art Gallery will provide a permanent home for more than 400 works from prominent local artists connected with the regions mining communities, including Tom McGuinness and Norman Cornish. The gallery will be located in the former Old Bank Chambers in the heart of the Market Place. Parking available at North Bondgate car park, DL14 7PG. PLEASE NOTE: We are temporarily closed due to Covid-19.
Reviewed By 74alanm - Durham, United Kingdom
Took an elderly relative, who is an ex miner, to The Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland Market Place. Excellent ...Oil paintings, sketches & drawing of life down coal mine and in the community. Not only if interest to ex pitmen. Assistance & info available from helpful guide. Price included a look up the nearby, newly built observation tower which has local historical info & fantastic high point views of Auckland Castle and surrounding area. A must do trip
3. The British Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 72,631 reviews
A museum of the world, for the world. Discover over two million years of human history and culture. Some of the world-famous objects include the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and Egyptian mummies.
Reviewed By kb147 - Lafayette, United States
Nearly everyone has heard of the British Museum and with good reason. The collections are absolutely amazing. This is the home of the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and one of the best collections of Egyptian artifacts outside Egypt. (Controvery over whether Britain should be the custodian of these things aside.) But that is only the beginning. There are artifacts from all over the world: an amazing collection of Greek and Etruscan terracotta objects, Roman glass, the Sutton Hoo treasure, some of the most famous Maya stellae, beautiful torquoise mosaic objects of the Aztec culture; sections devoted to China, Japan, and the South Pacific. A serindipity of German "notgeld". And much more! One of the most wonderful areas is King George Library, the "Enlightenment Room": one could spend an entire day just there! That being said, one has to be prepared for crowds, particularly at popular exhibits like the Egyptian artifacts and King George Library. During the week there are numerous school groups clogging these areas and multiple tours in a variety of languages. One has to be patient: go see something 'unpopular' at peak times and try the popular things later. We actually saw the Rosetta Stone at one point with not another soul around. It helps to have several hours to devote here.
4. V&A - Victoria and Albert Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 31,918 reviews
The world's greatest museum of art and design.The V&A's collections are unrivalled in their diversity. Explore historical and contemporary art and design, including works of art from many of the world's richest cultures. Admission free.
Reviewed By TalDarkLeanMean - Staines, United Kingdom
The holy trinity of all museums. The V&A, Natural History and the Science Museum. Not in particular order but in one place. Named after the Royal love birds and power couple of arts & culture, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In fact the whole area is littered with their legacy. There's Royal Albert Hall, Albert Memorial, Imperial College and God knows what else. It's really a bad idea to to give yourself overdose and kill three birds with one stone (see all three in one visit) unless you're in London for a day or so otherwise you'll neither be doing justice to these wonderful places nor to yourself. Just to give you an idea in a nutshell that what this beautiful building holds inside, There are sculptures, textiles, photography, paintings, jewelry, fashion, music instruments, poetry, metalwork, woodwork, furniture, books, architecture and my personal favorite, ceramic and glass section. One lifetime is not enough to see all that.
5. Wallace Collection
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,471 reviews
A free to visit, national museum in the heart of central London. Originally a private collection, the artwork was bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace in 1897. This attraction features one of the world's best collections of French 18th-century pictures, porcelain and furniture, plus a fantastic array of 17th-century paintings.
Reviewed By RoySensei - Mount Claremont, Australia
This is a MUST SEE - conveniently located off Oxford Street, in the Wallace Collection you'll have the most delightful collection of art works, suits of armour, elegant writing desks, exquisite porcelain, and other magnificent heritage items. Arrive mid morning and you can spend a whole day there - time very well spent and you won;t be disappointed. It's a one-stop-shop of culture and heritage.
6. Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,986 reviews
From Renaissance masterpieces and cutting edge contemporary art to Egyptian mummies and the iconic HP factory sign, Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery showcases a world class collection and offers fascinating glimpses into Birmingham's rich and vibrant past. Highlights include the finest collection of Pre-Raphaelite art in the world and the largest find of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered - the Staffordshire Hoard. Don't miss the Birmingham History Galleries - packed with artefacts, local treasures and interactive displays that reveal captivating stories of Birmingham from the last 500 years.
Reviewed By vinblue - Birmingham, United Kingdom
Have visited Bmag many times and really enjoyed the Black Sabbath "Home of Metal" exhibition in Gas Hall, I met a friend who I escorted to the Edwardian tea room and she was blown away by the splendour and style of the tea room and can't wait to visit again and show her friends this fabulous facility on our doorstep.
7. National Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 39,791 reviews
The National Gallery houses the national collection of paintings in the Western European tradition from the 13th to the 19th centuries. It is on show 361 days a year, free of charge.
Reviewed By Noraatc - Sudbury, United States
It always happens to me: National Gallery takes much more time than I originally plan. I started with the Renaissance painters, spent plenty of time enjoying my all time favorites, Leonardo’s “Virgin of the Rocks”, Botticelli’s “Venus and Mars” and his portraits. Moved on to amazing El Greco, phenomenal “Rokeby Venus” by Diego Velázquez, Van Eyck and Vermeer, several Rembrandt’s portraits, which I had seen on display recently in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh... the list is very, very long, so I do not want to bore you with it... Around 2 pm the swarms of noisy school children have become unbearable, so I decided to take a break for lunch in the lovely National Gallery Cafe. After much needed lunch, I went to the Impressionists, the reason why I got stuck in the National Gallery for so long. What a stunning collection! The best Cezanne, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, whom I adore... phenomenal Renoir’s portraits, beautiful Claude Monet’s landscapes, famous Manet’s paintings “The Music in the Tuileries” and “Execution of Maximilian”... I stopped paying attention to noisy school kids and completely drowned in the beauty of the paintings forgetting about everything around me. Forgot about time as well... it was already 6pm, the Gallery was closing. Will be back and hopefully soon.
8. Fitzwilliam Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,499 reviews
Museum houses vast collections of antiquities from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, including exhibits of English and European pottery and glass, furniture, clocks, Chinese jades, and ceramics from Japan and Korea.
Reviewed By Sebulus-Palmer - March, United Kingdom
I've been going to 'The Fitz' since I was a kid. My first favourite area, back as a nipper, was the arms and armour area. Then I moved on to the contemporary art galleries, in my teens (around secondary/sixth-form age I used to love to go and sketch there; learning from the masters in an inspiring environment!). More recently my wife and I have been getting more into the medieval, renaissance and suchlike, and enjoying such a temporary exhibitions as appeal to us, and these can be very varied: from medieval illuminated manuscripts to early gold coins, or Dutch paintings of Vermeer's era, etc. There's a nice cafe and shop area as well. And they even put on talks, concerts, and all sorts. We've moved further from Cambridge recently, making trips to The Fitz less frequent, and I/we miss it. It's like having a London style museum out in the 'the sticks'. Highly recommended.
9. Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,487 reviews
Timed tickets are required. Please book in advance from website. The Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden contains the largest group of Hepworth's works, permanently on display where she lived and worked from 1949 until 1975.
Reviewed By RedJock
Lovely little sculpture garden in the middle of St Ives with some amazing sculptures set in a lovely garden.
10. Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 4,160 reviews
Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is the UK’s leading outdoor art gallery and an international centre for modern and contemporary sculpture. It is an independent charitable trust and registered museum situated in the 18th-century Bretton Hall estate in West Yorkshire. Founded in 1977 by Executive Director Peter Murray, YSP was the first sculpture park in the UK, and is the largest of its kind in Europe, providing the only place in Europe to see Barbara Hepworth’s 'The Family of Man' in its entirety alongside a significant collection of sculpture, including bronzes by Henry Moore and site-specific works by Andy Goldsworthy, David Nash and James Turrell. YSP mounts a world-class, year-round temporary exhibitions programme including some of the world’s leading artists across six indoor galleries and 500 acres of open air. YSP also offers an outstanding learning and family programme, award-winning shops and restaurants, a varied events programme, and a beautiful setting to enjoy nature.
Reviewed By 1949etwall - Ashbourne, United Kingdom
We find this a superb destination- easily accessible, good walks, interesting sculptures and other artistic installations, quality shop and good food. In particular we have always found the other visitors courteous and considerate- probably because the visitor base is family orientated. Highly recommended.
