London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Six of London’s best small museums and why you should visit them now

Six of London’s best small museums and why you should visit them now

Beyond the capital's famous museums are over 100 smaller cultural institutions, many at threat of closing due to the impact of coronavirus. From the Garden Museum to Pitzhanger Manor, here are six hidden gems to discover now.

For museum-lovers, London is hard to beat. Some of the world’s best museums are here, and no other city boasts as many entries in the world’s top 10 most-visited. Tate Modern, the National Gallery, the British Museum and Natural History Museum are ranked among the most popular on the planet.

But London’s reputation as a museum capital is not just because of the big names. Crammed into all corners of the city are well over 100 small museums that bring millions of art, culture and history fans flocking to explore them each year. That is, until 2020 - the year the global pandemic arrived.

International visitors have all but dried up, and the hesitancy of domestic visitors to visit museums is reflected in largely lacklustre booking figures. For London’s small museums, which nearly all rely on admission fees, shops and cafes for their income, this has dealt them a financial blow. Many are facing a fight for survival.

So, as they begin to reopen after lockdown (employing resourceful social distancing and safety measures), now's the time to start ticking them off. Small museums can be fun and fascinating, and visiting now will provide a much-needed financial lifeline to these important institutions in these precarious times, helping to ensure London’s rich museum scene continues to thrive. Here are six of the best to get started with.

1. The Garden Museum


A calm oasis away from the hustle and bustle of city life, the Garden Museum is a real treat for horticulturalists and amateur gardeners alike. Housed in a converted medieval church in Lambeth with a sleek modern extension, the museum celebrates all there is to love about British gardens through historical objects, art and temporary exhibitions.

After exploring the displays, visitors should enjoy the inner courtyard of exotic plants. There are even two Victorian mausoleums hiding among the foliage. Admission £10 for adults. Concessions and family tickets available. Free for children under six. gardenmuseum.org.uk


Housed in a converted medieval church and a sleek modern extension, The Garden Museum celebrates all there is to love about British gardens.



2. Pitzhanger Manor


The Regency country manor in which this west London museum is set would be worth a visit in its own right, but this is no ordinary house. It was built by one of Britain’s most visionary architects, Sir John Soane, as a rural retreat when Ealing was just a village.

It was the ‘laboratory’ where he put all of his most innovative ideas into practice, and today it’s open to visitors after a major restoration. It’s a pure joy to explore, a magnificent temple to the tastes of the early 19th century. Plus, a new gallery for contemporary art alongside just adds to the draw. Full price admission £7.70. Free for under-18s. pitzhanger.org.uk

3. Charles Dickens Museum


Literary history was made in this five-storey townhouse in Holborn. It was here that Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby, turning the author into an international superstar by the time he moved out in 1839. To visit now is to step back in time to early Victorian London, as the museum is presented as Dickens and his young family lived in it.

You can nose around everything from the study where he penned these iconic novels, to the wine cellar and servants' washhouse. Full price admission £9. Concessions and children's tickets available. Free for children under six. dickensmuseum.com


The Florence Nightingale Museum explores the life and pioneering career of the Lady with the Lamp. 2020 has been designated the Year of the Nurse and Midwife in honour of her bicentenary year, and a new exhibition, Nightingale in 200 Objects, People & Places, is open now.



4. Florence Nightingale Museum


Easily missed in the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital, on the south side of Westminster Bridge, this small museum is the very definition of a hidden gem. Once located, visitors explore the life and pioneering career of the Lady with the Lamp (said lamp from the Crimean War is one of the highlight objects).

New for 2020 is an immersive display looking at her legacy in the bicentenary of her birth. It would be a tragic irony if the museum celebrating the founder of modern nursing falls victim to the current health crisis. Admission £9. florence-nightingale.co.uk

5. Museum of London Docklands


Often overshadowed by its larger sister museum in the Square Mile, the Museum of London Docklands punches well above its weight. Fascinating displays on the history of London as a port city are fused with full-sized replicas of a 19th-century ramshackle riverside district. (Not many museums allow you to sit in a sailor’s tavern!)

It’s one of London’s most family-friendly museums, but there is plenty here for all ages. Entry is free, so donations will be welcome. Admission free. museumoflondon.org.uk


A major new exhibition opens at the Museum of London Docklands on Friday 11 September, entitled Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery. Entry is free but timed slots must be booked in advance.



6. The Brunel Museum


This tiny museum is a celebration of an engineering feat briefly regarded as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The Thames Tunnel, designed by Marc Isambard Brunel, was the world’s very first underwater tunnel, opening in 1843. The turbulent story of the project is explored, but the real treat is a visit to the Grand Entrance Hall.

Recently reborn as a performance venue deep beneath London, this cavernous space is half the size of Shakespeare’s Globe. Descend to the bottom to be just inches from the hurtling trains now using the Tunnel. Admission £6. Concessions and family tickets available. Free for children under five. thebrunelmuseum.com

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×