- Location: Bloomsbury, London
It might be called The British Museum, but its exhibits represent the cultural history of much of the world. With artifacts from dozens of ancient and modern countries, exhibits include the Rosetta Stone, Aztec pottery, Phoenician clay masks, Roman coffins and mummy cases, medieval European coins, the Elgin marbles, Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, and jewelry from around the world and through the ages.
When Sir Hans Sloane died in 1753, he bequeathed his collection of some 71,000 objects, his library and his herbarium to King George II for the benefit of the nation. In return, he asked that £20,000 be paid to his heirs. If England was unwilling to pay the price, Sloane's will stipulated, the collection would be offered to foreign institutions of learning. On June 7, 1753, Parliament passed an act which established The British Museum, based on this collection and a collection of manuscripts belonging to Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. It was displayed in Montagu House in London's Bloomsbury district and opened to the public in 1759. The collection quickly overran the building, and in the mid-1800s, construction began on the large quadrangular structure that shares the same site and is home to the museum today.
The British Library was originally established as part of the museum, with the manuscripts and books donated by Cotton, Sloane and Robert Harley; it grew to include endowments by King George III and others, and, in 1973, an Act of Parliament established the library as a separate entity. It was moved to larger quarters in St. Pancras (Kings Cross), London. Today, the library holds more than 150 million items in most known languages, and grows by some 3 million items a year. It also includes a copy of every book published in the UK and Ireland.
Since the goal of Parliament, when establishing the museum, was to bring the cultural exhibits to the people, it has never collected a fee for general entry to the museum, although tickets much be purchased for select exhibits.
How to get there:
- By tube: The nearest tube stations are Holborn (Central and Piccadilly lines), Tottenham Court Road (Central and Northern lines — Charing Cross branch), Russell Square (Piccadilly line), Goodge Street (Northern line — Charing Cross branch), Covent Garden (Piccadilly line) and Euston (Northern and Victoria lines).
- By bus: Routes #1, 7, 8, 19, 25, 38, 55, 98 and 242 stop on New Oxford St. Routes #10, 14, 24, 29, 73, 134, 390 stop on Tottenham Court Road (northbound) and Gower Street (southbound), and routes #59, 68, X68, 91, 168, 188 stop on Southampton Row.
- By bicycle: There are bike racks inside the museum gates on Great Russell St.
- By car: Since there is very little available parking space in the area, and the museum is located in the London Congestion Charge zone, taking the car is not advised. There is limited parking on the grounds for disabled visitors only. To reserve a space, call ahead: +44 (0)20 7323 8299.
The museum is open daily, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. It is closed on January 1, Good Friday, and December 24, 25, 26. Selected galleries are open later on Thursdays and Fridays. Some galleries may have slightly different schedules; it is advised to call ahead (ph: +44 (0)20 7323 8181) if there are particular exhibits on your list of must-sees. There are several audio tours available at the information desk; tours cost £3.50 for adults, £2.50 for children under the age of 12, and £10 for a family group (2 adults, 2 children under 12). There are free short tours (30-40 minutes each) to selected exhibits each day. A 90-minute tour of the museum with a Blue Badge guide is scheduled daily at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tickets cost £8 for adults and £5 for children under 12, students with ID and British Museum Friends.
The information desk is in the Great Court (ph: +44 (0)20 7323 8299; email: information@thebritishmuseum.ac.uk). Free floor plans of the museum are available there, including the location of galleries, special exhibits and elevators. Most of the museum is fully wheelchair-accessible. Guide dogs are welcome in the museum, too.
The museum is family-friendly, with plenty of exhibits and activities for children, areas in which to snack and dine (all equipped with high chairs), and restrooms on each floor. Diaper-changing facilities are also available. A number of cafés and restaurants can be found on the premises. A bookshop and souvenir shops are located in the Great Court.
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