Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
attraction · London
Free Entry to a Power Station Full of Modern Art, and the View Is Free Too
Review of Tate Modern
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Share your experienceTate Modern occupies the former Bankside Power Station, and the building is the reason to go even if the art leaves you cold. Admission to the permanent collection is free, with opening from 10.00 Sunday to Thursday. The Turbine Hall is the space everyone photographs, a vast former machine room now used for single large commissions. It is free, it takes ten minutes, and it is one of the few genuinely surprising interior spaces in London. The upper levels give wide views across the Thames to St Paul's, and they also cost nothing. On a clear afternoon that view is competitive with paid viewing platforms elsewhere in the city.
What was great
Free admission to the permanent collection, free views over the river, and a building that would be worth visiting empty. Under-11s go free with a parent, 16 to 25-year-olds can join Tate Collective for cheap exhibition tickets, and companions of disabled visitors go free.
What nearly ruined the trip
The permanent collection is uneven and the labelling is often more confident than the work. Paid exhibitions sit inside a free museum. Weekends in the Turbine Hall are extremely crowded, and the layout across two linked buildings confuses almost everyone on a first visit.
Value for money
★★★★★ BargainSafety
★★★★★ Felt safeMore from London
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