London on a budget: Museum Guide

August 11, 2010

This past weekend I wrote about the ridiculous extravagance of this city (and just last night I found this article on a flat selling for £140 million) but I have to admit that there are many ways to enjoy London on a small budget.  We’ve spent the whole summer discovering affordable, beautiful, London.  And I’m going to share what we’ve found in a multiple-part series of posts.  Today:

Museums

Perhaps one of the things I love most about London is that it holds some of the world’s most precious collections of art.  And despite her staunch and wealth, Her Majesty the Queen has been generous enough to ensure that museums are free to visit!  FREE!  Here are my favourites:

The British Museum (nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road)

I’m not particularly interested in all of the Greek vases they have in this place (and some of my own Greek friends that this museum houses more Ancient Greek artifacts than do the museums in Athens) but what I love about the British Museum is the architecture of the place.  It’s one of the most beautifully designed buildings I’ve seen.  We come to browse for a little while and then go upstairs to have a coffee under the filtered light passing through the atrium sun roof.

The National Gallery (nearest tube: Leicester Square)

A wonderful place to spend a weekday afternoon away from the crowds.  I discovered my favourite Van Gogh painting here, The Two Crabs, on loan to the museum by a private collector.  And surprisingly, this painting, called Whistlejacket by George Stubbs is magnificent in person.  It hangs in a grande room and feels as large as a house.

The Tate Modern (nearest tube: Waterloo)

Weird, large, contemporary, hip and located on the south bank of the River Thames.  It’s a converted factory and is one of my favourite modern art museums in the world.  Always, there is something shocking in there that will give you pause.

The Victoria and Albert Museum (nearest tube: South Kensington)

I love this museum for one reason and one reason only: the jewel room.  There are colourful shiny things in all shapes, forms and sizes.  Tiaras made of diamonds, the greenest biggest emeralds you’ll ever see, necklaces so heavy with pretty coloured stones that you’d be sure to drown in the sea if you fell overboard.  The National Art Library is in there too (see picture above).

The National Portrait Gallery (nearest tube: Leicester Square)

The kind of paintings so real, you will think they are photographs.  I am always amazed whenever I come out of here.  Go.  Often, I can be found nose-to-nose with a painting trying to figure out where photography and paint converge on the canvas.

The Natural History Museum (nearest tube: South Kensington)

Life-sized whales, dinosaurs and mammals.  This place, like other natural history museums, will make you feel like a little kid again.  Impressive scale and excellent exhibits.

This is just a short list of my all-time favourites but if you want ful details on all museums in the city, you can go to the Visit London website to find out more.

Next in this series:  London on a budget – Great Walks.

 

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