Natural History Museum In London

How to Attend, Where to Stay, and What to Expect

Welcome to our guide to the Natural History Museum in London. A museum, home to towering dinosaurs, ancient fossils, sparkling gemstones, and unforgettable exhibitions.

Whether you are visiting for the first time or returning for another visit, this guide covers everything you need, to plan the perfect museum trip.

Located in the beautiful South Kensington area, the museum is easy to reach. Best of all, it is completely FREE to enter unless you are visiting one of the paid exhibitions.

Think of this as your hand-picked, easy-to-follow companion, to one of London's most iconic attractions.

Blue whale skeleton inside Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum in London.Hope the Whale Floating Above Visitors
☰ Index

Navigate Your Visit with This Quick Index

Quick Facts About the Natural History Museum

Having a quick and brief analysis of the museum is a great way to start, in order for you to learn about the essential stuff before visiting.

📍 Location: Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London SW7 5BD.

🕒 Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 - 17:50 (Last Admission 17:30). Closed only from 24th to 26 December. Kindly note that opening hours do vary during the year.

🎟️ Admission: Free, apart from some exhibitions which charge a fee.

🚇 Nearest Tube: South Kensington Station (Piccadilly, District, Circle lines).

🍴 On-Site Amenities: Cafés, Restaurants, Gift Shops, Picnic Area.

📸 Photo Friendly: Yes, however, flash use is limited.

Natural History Museum building with trees and buses.The Façade of the Natural History Museum

Getting to the Natural History Museum In London

The Natural History Museum sits in one of London's most popular areas, South Kensington. This makes the museum very easy to reach, since there are a variety of transportation options just steps away.

  • 🚇 By Tube: Take the Piccadilly (Blue), District (Green) or Circle (Yellow) lines from central London to South Kensington Station. Then a 5-minute walk to the museum.
  • 🚆 By Train: No direct trains to South Kensington, however, you can arrive at major London train stations like Victoria or Paddington, and then easily catch the tube.
  • 🚊 By Tram: No tram service is available in central London.
  • 🚌 By Bus: Several bus stops around the museum block. Visit the Transport for London's website for live bus updates.
  • 🚴‍♂️ By Bicycle: There are bike racks on Exhibition Road. Santander Cycle docking stations can be found on Exhibition Road and on Thurloe Place close to the South Kensington Metro station.
  • 🚗 By Car: There are no parking facilities on-site or nearby. Parking spaces are limited.
  • 🚖 By Taxi: You can take a taxi, but if you are travelling from far away, take note of the high fees and distances involved.
  • 🚐 By Shuttle Bus: There is no shuttle service available.

🔗 Read More: Dive deeper into how to get around London easily with our complete transport guide.

Extinct elephant skeleton inside museum gallery.Massive Tusked Skeleton in Stone Hall

Natural History Museum London Map

We always suggest that you have a map of the interior either in your hand or on your phone. This will help you get around the museum efficiently.

🔗 Check out the full interior map of the museum.

Use the Google Map below to help you find your way around London towards the Natural History Museum. We have carefully marked all the necessary landmarks and transportation options, in order to give you a helping hand when travelling around London.

Tips For First-Time Visitors

Just before visiting, here are a few tips to consider if you are going for the first time.

🎟️ Before You Go

  • Book your free ticket online to skip the queue.
  • Get yourself updated with any exhibitions going on. These will be against a fee.
  • The museum is located in South Kensington London.
  • Transport is very accessible to and from the museum.
  • Learn about the museum before going so that you know what to expect.
  • Know the practical stuff of the museum such as the location, entrances, and opening hours.

🧭 While You Are There

  • Give yourself at least half a day as the museum is massive.
  • Pick up any maps or brochures upon entering the museum.
  • Admire the exterior just as much as the interior.
  • Don't forget to snap some pics while roaming the museum.

🔁 After Your Visit

  • If during your visit you would like to visit a second time, you are more than welcome to do so. Just book another free ticket.
  • If social media is your thing, don't feel shy to post a couple of picks of the museum. You are only spreading love and promotion towards a dedicated museum open for free to millions of people.

8 Mind-Blowing Facts about the Natural History Museum in London

🏛️ The Museum is over 140 years Old! It originally opened in 1881, but its origins date back to 1753.

📚 The Museum holds over 80 million collective items! The range of collections is so extensive that it ranges from microbes to whales.

🐋 'Hope' The majestic Blue Whale! It's not just a model, but a real-life bone structure. An astonishing 25.2 metre (83 ft.) whale is displayed in Hintze Hall. It is a powerful symbol of humanity's ability to protect and preserve the natural world.

🦕 Dippy the Dinosaur Is a Star! Dippy, the Diplodocus replica was the first to be displayed anywhere in the world. It was displayed in the London History Museum in 1905.

🔬 Scientists Discover New Species All the Time! Every year hundreds of new species are discovered inside the museum's own collections.

🌋 Tokyo Supermarket Shake Test! Within the museum is a Volcano and Earthquake simulator, simulating a supermarket that shakes.

🪐 You Can See and Touch a Piece of Mars! It might not sound real, but it's true. From May 2025 to February 2026, you’ll have the rare chance to wrap your hands around a fragment of the Moon and snap a selfie with the Allende meteorite, a rock that's even older than Earth itself.

🎨 The building itself feels like a piece of art! If you look closely at the stonework, one can notice a fascinating secret, that no two sides are identical. Across the pillars, arches and façade, there are different carvings of animals, plants and even extinct species.

Discover the Museum: Layout and Suggested Itinerary

We have all had that moment when visiting a place for the first time and not knowing what to expect. This is exactly why we created this section.

Having visited the museum ourselves, we can not only give you a better and more brief version, but also a first-hand idea of what you will find inside. To keep things simple and clear, we have split this section into two parts; Zones and Itinerary.

Museum Zones and What You Will Find in Each

🔵 Blue Zone: Dinosaurs, mammals, and marine life

  • Dinosaurs Gallery
  • Fishes, Amphibians & Reptiles
  • Fixing Our Broken Planet
  • Mammals (with whales)
  • Marine Invertebrates
  • Fish, Amphibians & Reptiles

🔴 Red Zone: Earth sciences, volcanoes, minerals, human evolution

  • Earth Treasury (with the giant Earth sculpture)
  • From the Beginning
  • Volcanoes & Earthquakes
  • Human Evolution
  • The Lasting Impressions gallery
  • Restless Surface

🟢 Green Zone: Treasures of nature, minerals, birds

  • Birds
  • Creepy Crawlies
  • East Pavillon
  • Fossil Marine Reptiles
  • Giant Sequoia
  • Investigate Centre
  • Minerals
  • Treasures
  • The Vault
  • Waterhouse Gallery

🟠 Orange Zone: Science and research

  • The Cocoon (Darwin Centre)
  • Attenborough Studio
  • Wildlife Garden
  • Zoology Spirit Collection

🔗 Check out the full interior map of the museum.

Suggested Itinerary Based On Your Time

No two visits to the Natural History Museum are ever the same. If it is your first or your third, there is always something new to see. But since you are most likely planning your first visit, let's start there.

There is no set time you have to spend at the museum. When booking your free ticket, you must however select a time when you will visit. You are free to explore at your own leisure. Some visitors pop in for an hour, others spend the whole day. An average stay is around 3 to 4 hours.

To help you plan, we have outlined a few sample itineraries based on how much time you have.

🕐 1-Hour Visit: If you are short on time, and want to just pass by and enter, you are free to do so. Book your free ticket beforehand so as not to waste time in the queue. On an hour visit, you only have time to visit the highlights.

  • Hope the Blue Whale — The 'main' highlight of the museum, the 25.2-metre masterpiece. Start by glancing at the centrepiece attraction of the entire museum as soon as you enter the Hintze Hall. Glamour at the architecture and surroundings while taking memorable photos.
  • Dinosaurs Gallery | Blue Zone — Come face-to-face with the roaring T. rex, admire the massive Triceratops skull, and explore ancient fossils that truly bring the world of the dinosaurs to life.
  • The Vault | Green Zone — Before you leave, do not miss one of the museum's most mesmerising areas. The vault showcases nature's most extraordinary treasures, from rare gemstones and glowing crystals to real Martian meteorites. It is the perfect final stop on your visit to the Natural History Museum.

🕑 2-Hour Visit: If you have a little more time to explore, then we recommend following the 1-Hour highlights itinerary above, and additional stops around the museum.

  • Follow our 1-Hour Plan above.
  • Human Evolution Gallery | Red Zone — Discover the story of how humans evolved over seven million years. Starting from the earliest hominins to the last surviving species; today's humans.
  • Earth Hall | Red Zone — Step inside and you are greeted by a glowing Earth sculpture, pretty hard to miss! Take the stairs to the Volcanoes and Earthquakes Gallery, where you can even try the Japan supermarket quake simulator. Do not miss the Earth Treasury nearby as it is full of glittering gems and minerals from all over the world.
  • Mammals Gallery | Blue Zone — Walk through and admire the life-sized models and preserved skeletons of mammals, both past and present. From towering elephants and enormous whales to long-extinct megafauna, this gallery gives you a real sense of the scale and diversity of life on Earth.
  • Gift Shop Visit – Leave some time for a quick visit to the shop to grab some memorable souvenirs.

Travelling with kids? Pick up a free activity sheet online, at the entrance or join one of the family-friendly trails.

🕓 Half-Day Visit: The museum is a great place to spend 3 to 4 hours if you have the time. You can explore all the major sights in 4 hours by following our 1-hour and 2-hour plans. You can then use your extra time to explore the museum at your own pace. Here are some other areas to visit.

  • The Cocoon at the Darwin Centre | Orange Zone — You will get a great glimpse into the real scientific research inside the giant white spiral at the Cocoon. Here you can see specimens preserved in glass as well as scientists working just beyond the glass.
  • Microbiology & Parasites | Orange Zone — One of the biggest and most comprehensive collections of parasitic worms in the world can be found at the Natural History Museum, so you can see something a little weird but at the same time wonderful. Casual visitors usually overlook this area, so it's worth checking out.
  • Café Break — In order to unwind and relax, we recommend that you take a 15 to 20-minute break at one of the museum cafés halfway through your visit.
  • Visiting Tip — You may want to revisit any galleries you feel you rushed through earlier. If you do not want to, you can continue exploring the vast museum.

🕛 Full Day-Visit: If you are planning a full day at the museum, you are in for a treat. Our full-day visit itinerary is for around 6 to 7 hours. We firstly recommend you start following our 1-hour, 2-hour and half-day plans above, before visiting the other areas we will mention below. Being here for a day will allow you to revisit galleries and also explore areas other visitors usually miss or skip due to time constraints. The following will easily add 1 to 2 hours to your visit to the museum.

  • Relax Outdoors — Within the museum is the Wildlife Gardens for visitors to enjoy a peaceful spot to sit and enjoy nature. During the summer months, there are often outdoor exhibitions or wildlife trails to explore.
  • The Attenborough Studio | Orange Zone — This studio is part of the Darwin Centre, a modern extension of the museum created to highlight ongoing scientific research and natural history collections. It honours the legendary Sir David Attenborough and regularly hosts Nature Live talks, live demonstrations, and short film screenings. Make sure to check the event schedule during your visit to see what's on.
  • Longer Lunch Break — Since you have more time to explore the museum, you are more than welcome to take a longer lunch break at one of the restaurants and cafes.

🔗 Related Guide: If you are planning to include the museum in a 1-day or 3-day London itinerary, here is how to fit it all in.

Grab a museum map at the entrance or check their official app to stay on track. You could also download the map straight from here.

Victorian-style museum hall architecture view.Iconic Arches and Windows in the Museum

Top Hotel Picks Near the Natural History Museum

Staying close to the London Natural History Museum makes it easy to explore both this museum and the surrounding museums, parks and shopping areas.

We have compiled a short list of hotels within walking distance of the museum.

🏨 Hotel⭐ Rating🚶‍♂️ Distance On Foot✨ HighlightsReservations
The Ampersand Hotel⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐4 minuteChic boutique hotel with science-themed rooms, inspired by the museum!Book Now
The Bentley Hotel London⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐11 minuteGrand, elegant vibe with a perfect if you want a pampered experience close to Kensington attractions.Book Now
The Exhibitionist Hotel⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐4 minuteArtsy, quirky boutique hotel with bold designs ideal for creative travellers.Book Now
The Rembrandt Hotel⭐⭐⭐⭐6 minuteClassic London hotel charm with comfy rooms and an excellent breakfast.Book Now
Radisson Blu Vanderbilt⭐⭐⭐⭐5 minuteHistoric townhouse setting with modern rooms and a relaxed feel.Book Now
Park International Hotel⭐⭐⭐⭐11 minuteSpacious rooms, afternoon tea service, and just a short walk to museums.Book Now

Related Guide: Not staying nearby? Check out our full guide to where to stay in London based on budget and location.

Things to Do Near the Natural History Museum

Finished exploring the museum but not ready to call it a day? South Kensington is not just home to the Natural History Museum, but it is also surrounded by some of London's most popular attractions.

Steps away from the museum are world-class museums, peaceful parks and iconic landmarks. 

Here are some of the best spots to explore nearby along with how long it takes to walk there:

  • 🧪 Science Museum – Just 2 minutes away. Packed with hands-on exhibits and space exploration for all ages.
  • 🏛️ Victoria and Albert Museum – 2-minuite walk. A treasure trove of art, fashion, and design.
  • 🌳 Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens – 8 to 10-minute walk. Perfect for a relaxed stroll or picnic. Explore more of the best parks in London here.
  • 🎶 Royal Albert Hall – 10-minute walk. A historic music and events venue with stunning architecture.
  • ☕ Exhibition Road – 3-minute walk. Lined with cafés and restaurants which are great for lunch or a coffee break.
  • 🛍️ Harrods in Knightsbridge – 15-minute walk. London’s most famous department store for luxury shopping and gifts.
  • 🖼️ Serpentine Galleries – Around 15 minutes through Hyde Park. Ideal for a quiet, contemporary art stop.
  • 🏰 Kensington Palace – 20 to 25 minutes walk. A royal residence with gardens and photo-worthy views.

🔗 Check out our full list of other free museum in London.

🔗 Rainy day? Here are some rainy day activities in London, including the museum, which is also one of the top choices.

Your Top Questions About the Natural History Museum in London

Where is the Natural History Museum in London?

The Natural History Museum in London is located in South Kensington, London.

How much does it cost to enter the Natural History Museum in London?

Completely Free! The museum is completely free to enter, apart from the exhibitions around the museum which are subject to a fee. All details about exhibitions can be found on the museum's website.

Can I visit the museum without a ticket?

Yes, it is possible, however, you would need to stay in the queue to get in. Booking your free ticket beforehand will give you the advantage of skipping the queue. If you are booking tickets for the exhibitions, those will need to be booked beforehand.

How do I get to the Natural History Museum?

There are several ways to get to the museum, either by train, metro, bus, taxi, bicycle or even private car. In this guide we have given a thorough explanation on how to get to the museum.

How long should my visit take at the London Natural History Museum?

The museum is open for almost 8 hours every day. You can spend as much time as you need to. The average time spent is between 3 to 4 hours.

What are the opening hours of the Natural History Museum in London?

The opening hours are from 10:00 to 17:50. These can always vary during the year so always double check before going.

What time does the Natural History Museum close?

The Natural History Museum in London closes at 17:50. The last admission is at 17:30. Note that the hours do vary during the year.

On what days of the year does the museum close?

The museum is open every single day of the year, apart from 24th, 25th and 26th December.

When is the best time to visit the Natural History Museum to avoid crowds?

The best time to visit is definitely during the weekdays and usually during the early hours.

Is there parking at the Natural History Museum?

Parking is quite difficult as they are very limited, and parking areas are quite far away.

Can I take photos inside the museum?

Yes, you are more than welcome to take photos inside the museum. Try to avoid using flash.

Is there a shop or café inside the Natural History Museum?

Yes, there are several inside the museum, perfect for a quick bite or souvenirs.

Can I leave and re-enter the Natural History Museum on the same day?

We would recommend that you ask a member of staff when you arrive at the museum.

Is the Natural History Museum suitable for children?

Yes, most definitely. The museum is perfect for the entire family. Kids will enjoy the interactive exhibits such as the roaring T. rex, hands-on science zones, and family-friendly galleries. Also, baby-changing facilities, cafes, and buggy access make it an easy and enjoyable day out.

That wraps up our full guide to the Natural History Museum in London!

Whether you spend an hour or all day exploring this museum, you will find something memorable around every corner. Hope you found this guide useful in planning your visit. Explore more of South Kensington while you're there by checking out what's nearby.

Enjoy yourself, take photos, and maybe even spot a dinosaur or two!

top-rated things to do in london

Powered by GetYourGuide

Want To Share This Page On Pinterest? Pin It Here!

The Natural History Museum London Guide.

free tours in london england

other articles in london to read about

want to share what you read? share below