One of the best things about London is the world class, free museums and galleries. But there are also loads of less well-known, unusual museums to be explored too!

Quirky museums and Galleries

  • Visit the Thames Tunnel at the Brunel Museum | Look Up London

    Visit the Thames Tunnel at the Brunel Museum

    In Rotherhithe, you can descend into part of the Thames Tunnel, a ground-breaking slice of engineering history. Here you can step down into the world’s first tunnel dug under a navigable river, built between 1824-1843. Today it’s part of the Brunel Museum and until 15......

  • The 20 Best Small Museums in London

    London is home to an incredible selection of world-class museums but we’re also spoilt for choice with quirkier, small ones too. In no particular order, here is my selection of the 20 best small museums in London. How many have you visited?! 1. The Hunterian......

  • Hunterian Museum, London | Look Up London

    Visit The Hunterian Museum

    The Hunterian Museum, one of London’s best niche museums, reopened last week. Sat within the Royal College of Surgeons on Lincoln’s Inn Fields, it charts the development of surgery and pursuit of medical knowledge through the centuries. If that sounds a bit dry, think again.......

  • Young V&A, Bethnal Green | Look Up London

    History of the Young V&A, Bethnal Green

    The Young V&A (formerly the Museum of Childhood) in Bethnal Green isn’t just a fabulous museum, its building also has a fascinating history to tell. Travelling back 350 years or so, Bethnal Green was a popular suburb for London’s upper classes. There were some large......

  • Sambourne House | A Victorian Time Capsule

    Sambourne House | A Victorian Time Capsule

    I was recently invited to a preview of Sambourne House, the family home of Linley Sambourne. You can find it at 18 Stafford Terrace and by stepping inside you enter a Victorian Time Capsule. Meet Linley Sambourne Edward Linley Sambourne (1844-1910) was an illustrator and......

  • History of Eltham Palace | Greenwich’s Other Royal Palace

    Eltham Palace is a bit of a mad place, full to bursting with strange juxtapositions and quirky details. Here are some of my favourite discoveries from a recent visit...

The Classics

Sometimes, as Londoners, we don’t make the most of what’s on our doorstep because it’s ‘touristy’. Nonsense to that. Why let tourists get all the good stuff?! Here’s are the top spots that are worth visiting (as viewed by a Londoner)…

  • Visit Buckingham Palace | Special Coronation Exhibition | Look Up London

    Visit Buckingham Palace | Special Coronation Exhibition

    Last week I was invited to a preview of the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace. As you probably know, it’s the official London residence of the King and typically members of the public can book to see inside the State Rooms each summer. As this......

  • The Old St Paul's Chapter House | Look Up London

    Lost London: The Old St Paul’s Chapter House

    As a tour guide, you tend to try and focus on what you can actually see around London. So this week’s blog is a little odd in that it’s all about something that no longer exists. Happily though, there are clues which aid our imagination.......

  • Discover the West End’s Royal Warrant Holders

    In celebration of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, I’m working with Art of London to put together a special ‘Royal Warrants’ tour of historic businesses with Royal connections in the West End. Art of London brings together the UK’s biggest cultural institutions and showcases art in......

  • The Library (c) Westminster Abbey London

    Go Behind the Scenes at Westminster Abbey

    I often give private tours in Westminster Abbey, but this was a real treat to go to the areas not usually accessible!...

  • The Garden at Buckingham Palace | Look Up London

    Explore The Garden at Buckingham Palace

    Peer over the walls and explore some of the history in The Garden at Buckingham Palace......

  • Buxton Memorial | Look Up London

    A Closer Look at the Buxton Memorial

    The story behind the Buxton Memorial, the jewel-like gem in Westminster that celebrates the abolition of slavery....

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