Mishventurer

I love museums! From Australia to Paris, I’ve always enjoyed art and historical museums of all kinds. Remember that National Railway Museum in York? That was so much fun! London is no different, and the museums there are so amazing. If I lived there, I would probably be going for exhibitions every month.

I visited three of London’s biggest and most popular museums – if you’re a fan of museums, this would probably be a good guide for you on your next visit. I also managed to catch the amazing Alexander McQueen exhibition – check it out below!

As always, you can head on over to my main post for all the links to all the places I’ve visited, plus tips on traveling around the UK.

BRITISH MUSEUM
Address: Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG
Admission fee: FREE

Most of the museums in the UK are free, like this one. You can help support by shopping at the gift store (it could get expensive, but the quality is amazing) or by joining as a member (from £42–£62). This museum contains an extensive collection of artefacts and paintings from the Middle East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa and so on. The entrance hall is huge and airy, with a cleverly designed sky-light to brighten up the area without needing any electricity – I absolutely love it! The sun casts a beautiful shadow upon the white marbled enclosure, making everything look so dreamy.

The place is huge, and would probably require a week to properly cover every exhibition. No joke.

We visited the Egyptian section and looked at the artefacts and dead mummies encased behind glass. Some of them were sort of creepy, I mean it is a real corpse after all, but so cool. I always had this fascination for the Egyptian culture, but I never finished learning how to read hieroglyphics (an actual book I owned) or finished reading all the mythical stories.

There were also really tiny coffins, specially made for their cats because well… when they die, their pet cats must die with them too, like it or not. Poor kitties! 😦

I also enjoyed the clocks and watches section for timepieces. Everything related to horology, from olden day pocket watches to ancient motion clocks are on display, and they are soooo exquisite. I learned that the British Museum houses over 900 stunning clocks and 4,500 watches in its collection. That’s a lot of time!

To give you an idea of how amazing some of the creations showcased here, a very apt quote from British Museum itself:

“Extraordinary clocks such as Hans Schlottheim’s amazing automated nef – a medieval galleon which moved, played music and fired canon and the truly spectacular mechanical celestial globe made in 1575 by Eberhardt Baldewein, were the envy of the age.”

I swear, the very same clock played such extraordinary music at the strike of the hour, it gave me the chills.

These were the only exhibition rooms we managed to cover, given that we only had a few hours. We rummaged through the beautiful souvenirs in the gift shop and my mom got a few fridge magnets and books. They were pricey, but think of it as a means to support the museum and its efforts in making the admission free for all.

I definitely would like to come back to London again to discover the other rooms. If you are in London and you love museums, set aside 3 days to explore the British Museum, there is loads to see & learn about, I can promise you.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM
Address: Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD
Admission fee: FREE (charges only apply to some temporary exhibitions)

Just say the word dinosaur, and I’m there! Unlike the British Museum, this museum would be a little more fun for kids (and those who are kids at heart). It covers everything from dinosaurs to volcanoes, birds to bees and even fossils. Overall, it’s a very vibrant museum, that gives a great learning experience.

I enjoyed the dinosaur section most, mainly because there were moving dinos and loads of fun facts to learn. I cannot imagine anyone not having fun when in here!

Then there’s the bird section which is littered with realistic bird models, which in all honesty, pretty amazing. If you are a fan of taxidermy, I promise that there are loads in store for you. The stuffed birds look realistic and I half expected some of them to move (as I get ready to run for cover).

I didn’t really see the rest of the other rooms (the place is massive!) but I made good use of their fairly priced gift shop. You can buy some bird postcards and even some real marble candle holders (I bought one)! For those who are into gems, there are natural quartz, amethysts and even agate slices for you to purchase and they are so very pretty!

There isn’t much for me to say about the museum because it is all very scientific and covers on all topics related to nature. Pretty straightforward. But I would like to point out that the museum has a very interesting façade. Its architecture is very intricate and gothic, but instead of using gargoyles, they feature various animals all across the building. Very cool. Check out the monkeys climbing up the arch! So adorable. 😀

VICTORIA & ALBERT MUSEUM
Address: Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
Admission fee: FREE (charges only apply to some temporary exhibitions)

Right next to the Natural History Museum, stands the V&A Museum which is focused on contemporary art. If you’re an art student, this is probably the place to study amazing prints, ceramic works, installations, architecture and fashion. It is a gorgeously curated museum with hold a vibrant selection of works from all over the world. There is even a dedicated exhibition to Asian artistic media and collections. It is a gorgeous, gorgeous museum.

However, I was here for one reason, and one reason only. The late Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty exhibition. It was one of the temporary exhibitions, and it cost us £16 to get in, a fair price. I was literally shaking in excitement while waiting in line, had I been a week late, the exhibition would have already ended.

We weren’t allowed photos inside, but I took a few sneaky shots, because all his creations are absolutely unique! From the famous duck feather outfit (illustrated on the ticket) to his antler and butterfly headdress, to all the outrageously sharp and surreal outfits – his work is definitely one of a kind. You can see for yourself how wonderful and intricate some of his works are.

So there we have it, the three different museums in London that are worth the visit. However, there are a few more museums in London that I haven’t been to, but also sound pretty amazing. Those are definitely on my list for the next trip. They are:

• Science Museum
• Tate Modern
• London Transport Museum
• Design Museum
• National Gallery

I hope you enjoyed this post because I have another museum post coming out after this – of the Louvre in Paris. Stay tuned! 🙂



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