Location: Westminster
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What to do and see in Westminster, England: The Best Museums
The crown jewels, Buckingham Palace, Camden Market…in London, history collides with art, fashion, food, and good British ale. A perfect day is different for everyone: culture aficionados shouldn't miss the Tate Modern and the Royal Opera House. If you love fashion, Oxford Street has shopping galore. For foodies, cream tea at Harrod’s or crispy fish from a proper chippy offers classic London flavor. Music and book buffs will love seeing Abbey Road and the Sherlock Holmes Museum (at 221B Baker Street, of course).
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1. The Institution of Civil Engineers Visitor Centre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 27 reviews
The Institution of Civil Engineers showcases the vital role civil engineers play transforming lives and safeguarding our future. The new 2019 exhibition explores the hidden depths of water engineering and the work of behind-the-scenes heroes who fight fatbergs and flooding. The main installations include Sir Joseph Bazalgette's Captain Sanitation character built of LEGO bricks and a giant Fatberg Monster sculpture. The exhibits celebrate Bazalgette's 200th birthday this year and his pioneering work in creating the London sewer system, while also highlighting the modern day challenge of fatbergs. Explore the educational exhibition displays that walk visitors through various engineering projects that help keep the water infrastructure supported. Watch films in the ICE media cube, explore VR worlds and get hands-on building some civil engineering models in the activity zone with LEGO.
Reviewed By 528gilesb
I visited while in charge of 40 Italian teenagers and have to say we all loved the experience. The group were left to their own devices and each found something that interested them - made my job very easy! Thank you to our guide Debra for being kind, helpful in navigating the exhibition and - most of all - fun!
2. Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 28 reviews
Reviewed By KentChris - Manchester, United Kingdom
I cannot recommend strongly enough paying the extra £5 to visit this gallery, high up within the abbey. The exhibits are fascinating. There before you, for example, is one of the few extant copies of the Magna Carta, beautifully illuminated medieval religious texts and stained glass and so many more fascinating objects. Add to that the magnificent views down into the abbey and it makes for a wonderful experience. I spent well over an hour there, and that's even before exploring the abbey proper.
3. Churchill War Rooms
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22,912 reviews
Discover the secrets of the Second World War in the underground nerve centre where Churchill and his war cabinet lived and worked.
Reviewed By 31cheriel - Melbourne, Australia
We were kept fully interested for 3 and a half hours .. this was so informative and even our teenagers were engaged the whole time.. Loved every part of this history tour.. you see Churchill map room, his sleeping quarters, the tiny kitchen, and the phone room.. and loads more.. can't imagine how hard what they all had to do in such small quarters.. well done Chuchhill and team..
4. Banqueting House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 642 reviews
Admire the epic Rubens' ceiling and discover the site of Charles I's execution at Banqueting House, Whitehall - a magnificent survivor of the lost royal Palace of Whitehall. Once the principle setting for the passions, intrigues and ceremonies of the Tudor, and later, the Stuart monarchies, Charles I was executed on a specially built scaffold outside the Banqueting House on 30 January 1649.
Reviewed By 661coryc
After arriving in London on a Red Eye, we stumbled upon the banqueting house and dropped in to kill time before checking into our hotel. It turned out to be one of the most interesting and relaxing experiences I had in London. Lounging on the brown poofs spread all over the banqueting hall’s ornate floor enabled us to gaze up at Peter Paul Rueben’s spectacular frescos and listen to informative and entertaining audio guide in the comfort reminiscent of the indulgence guests were originally offered. An interpreter was on hand to answer questions and Jacobian garb was available for all guests to try. A fun welcome to London and great place to feel immersed in a vibrant era that often goes overlooked.
5. The Guards Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 251 reviews
The Guards Museum at Wellington Barracks tells the story of the five Regiments of Foot Guards using a unique and rich collection, which stretches back over 350 years of proud service to the monarch. Along with the two regiments of Household Cavalry they make up Her Majesty’s Household Division and enjoy the treasured privilege of guarding The Sovereign and the Royal Palaces. Did you know that from their inception during the English Civil War right up to the present day the Foot Guards have always been fighting soldiers? The museum displays cover both the military achievements of the Regiments and the ceremonial aspect for which they are so well known. If you have watched the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace come and visit us to learn more about the soldiers you saw, and the history of their striking uniforms.
Reviewed By BigHugh51 - Adelaide, Australia
Whilst enjoying another extended stay in the great city of London, we made our way on a Saturday morning, to Buckingham Palace to view the Changing of the Guard ceremony. Afterwards, we made our way along the short Spur Road into Birdcage Walk and then into Wellington Barracks. Here, we were able to use our London Passes to gain admittance to the Guards’ Museum. Despite having stayed in London, three times previously, this was our first visit to this small but very interesting museum. Once, we had shown our London Passes and been admitted, the gentleman on duty at the front counter requested that we be seated and view a short video. The video only ran for a couple of minutes and provided some interesting information about the history of the guards’ regiments and also in relation to the museum itself. After the video was over, we were free to explore the museum and exhibits by ourselves. Fortunately for us, there were only a few other visitors in the museum at the time of our visit. This meant that we were easily able to move about and view the various fascinating displays at our leisure. This museum is in our opinion a “hidden gem”. It turned out to be much better than we had expected and we spent much longer there than we had predicted that we would. Highly recommended for those with an interest in military history and also for tourists in general!
6. The Household Cavalry Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 454 reviews
Situated at Horse Guards, Whitehall between Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey the Museum lies at the heart of historic London in magnificent mid 18th century vaulted stables. Dazzling displays of uniforms, weaponry and other prized exhibits present a celebration and history of the British Army's senior regiments the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals, who uniquely form Her Majesty The Queen's mounted bodyguard. Personal audio-visual guides are included in the admission price. These are available in English, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Open daily from 10am.
Reviewed By haydndavies2016 - Johannesburg, South Africa
This is a small in area but large in content museum. I'm interested in British military history and my wife and our teenagers in horses, so this was ideal for us, although I would say that you only need a remote interest in either of these topics to make this tour worthwhile. The audio tour is included in the entrance price - you would be doing yourself a grave disservice to not make use of it, because it is very well put together and informative. If you are using the audio tour and listening to all its content then I would allow for about an hour and a half for your tour. Without the audio tour, I would say 30 minutes, but that would be short sighted because you really would be missing out. Entry and exit is at their small shop selling memorabilia and forming part of the museum. From the shop you walk into the opening display areas, followed by an area where you can look through a screen to see the horses in their stables and with the area in which you are standing having various military uniforms that you are welcome to try on - makes for some nice photographs! From there it is on to some more displays - I found the bit on the Cavalry's participation at Waterloo very interesting. Then it was back to the stable area and exiting through the shop. The museum was not at all crowded, which is a big plus, although given how good it is it should be. A less trodden gem that we all agreed was well worth the visit.
7. Horse Guards Building
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 349 reviews
Reviewed By TeamWard - Nottingham, United Kingdom
A majestic building is the Horse guards building approach from Horse Guards ave to get a good view, see a member of the cavalry and wander through the arch.
8. The Queen's Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 779 reviews
The Queen's Gallery hosts a programme of changing exhibitions from the Royal Collection.
Reviewed By 227ianc - London, United Kingdom
The Royal Collection has an amazing collection of art from over the centuries, despite the Civil War in the 17th century when Charles I lost his head and much of the collection was then sold off. The Queen's Galleries in London and Edinburgh create excellent themed exhibitions around different aspects of the collection, the last being on Leonardo di Vinci's amazing intricate drawings which has now moved from London to Edinburgh. The 19th century kings before Queen Victoria were a funny lot, living in their own world King George IV has a mixed reputation. With a variety of mistresses, several illegitimate children and huge debts, he was also a collector and patron of the arts and of architecture, enhancing the Royal art collection by buying works by a variety of artists including Rubens, Rembrandt and the Scottish artist David Wilkie, along with major remodelling of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle and creation of the unique Pavilion in Brighton. The exhibition at the Queen's Gallery tells the story of George IV - his life, his interests, his art collection and his architectural achievements. There is more however - he was instrumental in the foundation of one of our great universities, King's College London.
9. CAMA Gallery
CAMA (Contemporary And Modern Art) Gallery is an registered international institution that has been formed in re-sponse to an increasing global demand for Iranian artistic production. CAMA aims to encourage and facilitate the dis-semination of Iranian art, honouring the pioneers and established masters while also identifying and attracting young talents. Amongst its primary goals, CAMA also professes the desire to encourage and facilitate the culture of buying and selling artworks, building an infrastructure to boost the economy of Iranian art market and taking advantage of a variety of specialised services. Through extensive collaborations with a network of professors, professionals and lead-ing experts in various fields of the art world, offering support and services across a education, research, exhibitions, curating and consultation, CAMA provides a unique context for thriving entrepreneurship for artists and art enthusiasts alike.
