The little black book

Free museums when it’s pouring

Free museums for a rainy day - big indoor halls, no ticket for the permanent collections. Rank so the Tube ride is fair for everyone.

The British Museum is free, with the Rosetta Stone in Room 4, just off the Great Court. The glass-roofed Great Court is the easiest place for a group to meet....

Holborn 7 min · Walk-in

Walk-in

Hope, a 25.2-metre blue whale skeleton, hangs over Hintze Hall at the Natural History Museum. The permanent galleries are free. Book a free ticket to skip...

South Kensington 5 min · Walk-in

Walk-in

The Science Museum's free Space gallery holds the Apollo 10 capsule alongside a Soyuz, and Energy Hall has historic steam engines. Book a free admission ticket...

South Kensington 5 min · Walk-in

Walk-in

Tate Modern's Turbine Hall is free, with no booking needed, and big enough for any group. It opens from 10am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and until 9pm on Fridays...

Southwark 8 min · Walk-in

Walk-in

Frequently asked questions

Which free London museums are actually good on a rainy day?

Free Museums in London filtered for rainy day keeps big indoor halls that can take a wet group without feeling cramped - not a tiny gallery where you drip on the floor. Add origins and rank so nobody doubles their commute for a soggy day out.

Do we need to book a free museum in advance?

The permanent collections are free and usually walk-in, but weekends get busy. Special exhibitions need tickets. Check the museum’s site before you promise the headline show, then rank the shortlist for the journey.

It’s raining and the kids are bored - which one should we go to?

Natural History Museum is the classic family rainy-day choice; the Science Museum sits next door if queues are long. Both are free walk-ins. Or switch to the families filter if kids are the main reason for the trip.

Is the permanent collection really free?

Free Museums in London focuses on free permanent collections. Special exhibitions often need tickets: check before you promise the headline show. FairWhere still helps pick which museum is fairest for everyone's journey.

What's best for a rainy Sunday with kids?

Filter for rainy day or families. Natural History and the Science Museum sit next to each other in South Kensington, then run a FairWhere plan so the meet is reachable from every origin.

How does FairWhere rank places on Free Museums in London?

FairWhere ranks venues on this Placelist by FairWhere Score: journey fairness for your whole group, not by popularity, sponsorship, or who suggested the place first. Open Plan a fair meet to add origins and see the ranked shortlist.