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, Enormous, and Best Visited in the Last Two Hours of the Day
Review of Natural History Museum
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Share your experienceThe Natural History Museum is free, and that single fact changes how you should plan it. There is no ticket to justify, so there is no reason to try to see everything, and no reason not to come twice. The museum offers free entry tickets you can book in advance, which is the practical lever: booked ticket holders skip the general queue. On a wet weekend in school holidays that queue is the entire difference between a good visit and an hour on the pavement. The building itself, Waterhouse's terracotta cathedral of a museum, is the thing many people remember longest. The main hall is worth ten minutes and is where almost everybody stalls; the galleries beyond it empty out considerably.
What was great
It costs nothing, which makes a short focused visit completely guilt-free. Free entry tickets let you skip the queue. The architecture is a genuine attraction in its own right, and the mineral and meteorite galleries are consistently quiet while the crowd is downstairs.
What nearly ruined the trip
The queue without a booked ticket can be long and is entirely avoidable, which makes it more annoying. The main hall and the dinosaur gallery are the two most crowded rooms in the museum and are the two everybody heads for first. Paid special exhibitions sit inside a free museum, which is a jarring transition.
Value for money
★★★★★ BargainSafety
★★★★★ Felt safeMore from London
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