I’ve got a day off tomorrow and fancy spending the day bimbling around a museum (preferably art based but not exclusively so).  I’ve got my eye on the Design Museum but I’m open to suggestions for anything away from the usual suspects (I’ve done the Science, Natural History, V&A, Tate, National Art, National Portrait, Commonwealth and Imperial War).

Many thanks.

British Museum – see all the stuff our forebears stole from around the world..

Museum of London near the Barbican is my favourite, and without millions of tourists.

Wallace Collection. Definitely art based. Just north of Oxford St.

Wallace Collection. Fascinating ephemera.

+1 for the British Museum. You’ve got art, history, anthropology, science etc all in one place.

If you’ve not done the British Museum then you haven’t done the usual suspects, it’s awesome- days worth of stuff there and like the NHM the place itself is impressive. I tend to do a wee pilgramage to teh elgin marbles every year or so.

(and I always thought we should give them back, til I saw how we have them displayed, in their own inside-out amazeballs parthenon)

Museum of London kind of depends on what they’ve got in as the temporary exhibition, their Great Fire one was brilliant.

Alternatively, if the weather holds go and wander around some gardens or St Dunstan in the East or something like that, London is pretty lovely this time of year

The design museum sounds good but is actually pretty boring I found.

There’s a museum a block or two down from Euston called medical curiosities, or something similar. That’s interesting although I whizzed round it in half an hour..

I quite fancy the viktor wynd museum of curiosities and fine art.. Never got round to it though

+1 for Museum of London before it moves away from the Rotunda. Also, while in the area the Guildhall is worth a visit for art. It has some interesting stuff and is always very quiet because nobody knows that it exists!!

I notice that you haven’t mentioned the Tate modern either which is definitely worth a visit (and also in pretty much the same area).

Tate modern deffinatly … I assumed he’d have done both tates..

There’s a museum a block or two down from Euston called medical curiosities, or something similar. That’s interesting although I whizzed round it in half an hour..

At the Wellcome Collection, I’d assume.

In the Egyptian collection in the British museum there is a cabinet of alabaster sculptures of turtles.  That sounds dull enough but there are some which are obvious caracatures and they get more and more extreme.  One was about 120mm round, almost perfectly round but with tiny tiny protrusions for head feet and tail.  When I saw it I laughed out loud.

Amazing that a sculptor thousands of years ago made a joke and I laughed at it.  It gave me the strongest connection to the past I’ve ever felt.

Courtauld at Somerset House, Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Field, the Guildhall is a joy and you can also look at the Roman ruins below it.

Thanks all (yes I have done both Tates), I reckon the British Museum has it and then the Medical one next time I’m down.  Many thanks everyone.

Just had a look at St Dunstane as well, I quite fancy a tour of little-known gardens and parks.

as reco above ^

Sir John Soane’s Museum and the Wallace are my favourites.

Quiet, contemplative, detailed. And the Wallace has a tidy wine bar in the covered courtyard to dwell a while.

The Royal Academy has an exhibition of Klimt and Schiele drawings and also a big exhibition on Oceania, if that floats your boat (haha)

Oooh, the RA looks good.  It seems that my next few trips are sorted, glad, as usual, that I delved into the STW-mind.

Courtauld is shut for renovations at present.

Just had a look at St Dunstane as well, I quite fancy a tour of little-known gardens and parks.

It’s not big or little known – but Kew. Do Kew.

Chelsea Physic Garden is small and the oldest in Britain after Oxfords Botanical Garden. It has a rather rich scientific and medical history if you are into that kind of thing.

It has the biggest fruiting olive tree in Britain and the worlds most northerly grapefruit tree.

Pacific exhibition at the RA is only on until 10th Dec (must go!)

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/oceania

How did I get to the age that I really want to see the world’s most northerly grapefruit tree?

The Horniman: comedy name and an overstuffed walrus.

Victoria Miro in Shoreditch

I haven’t been but hoping to soon, you have to book ahead

Somerset house also has Peanuts! 🙂

https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/good-grief-charlie-brown

The flasheart museum of shoes. Spiffing.

As well as those mentioned

Tate Britain is well worth a visit – the paid exhibitions are well worth the money I find.

Some of the Courtaulds collection is in a paid exhibit at the national gallery

If you are going to the British museum – now with extra fun terrorist searches – make a note to go to the Japanese rooms – a constantly changing display so always worth a visit

The Sutton Hoo collection is my favourite part of the British Museum, and has the advantage of not being so well known to foreign tourists so there’s usually less of a crowd.

The Museum of London is another good call, again not so many tourists which makes for a better experience. It’ll be fine today, but if you turn up at the weekend be aware it’s surrounded by offices and there’s nowhere to eat nearby as it’s all closed.

And as a Kew boy I have to second the recommendation for “our” Gardens 🙂

All the “normal” museums have been covered here already.. some good, some just dull..

So..

Cartoon Museum, Holborn.

Brands, packaging and marketing, Notting Hill

Toy museum, Fitzrovia

Magic Circle museum, Euston

BoE, The City

The Royal London, Whitechapel

Architecture museum, Holborn

Cinema museum, Kennington

Pertrie museum, Euston

Sir John Sloanes, Holborn

Two Temple Place, Victoria

Fashion & Textile, Bermondsey

Clockmakers museum, South Kensington

The Order of St John museum, Clerkenwell

To name a few off the “normal” circuit..