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The Best Museums
British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1 (tel. 020/7323-8299; www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk): When Sir Hans Sloane died in 1753, he bequeathed to England his vast collection of art and antiquities. This formed the nucleus of a huge collection that's come to include such remarkable objects as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon sculptures (which Greece wants back).
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2 (tel. 020/7747-2885; www.nationalgallery.org.uk): One of the world's greatest collections of Western art -- from Leonardo da Vinci to Rembrandt to Picasso -- dazzles the eye at this museum. The gallery is especially rich in Renaissance works.
Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1 (tel. 020/7887-8888; www.tate.org.uk): Sir Henry Tate, a sugar producer, started it all with 70 or so paintings. The collection grew considerably when artist J. M. W. Turner bequeathed some 300 paintings and 19,000 watercolors to England upon his death. Having handed International Modernism over to the Tate Modern, the Tate Britain now concentrates on British work dating back to 1500.
Victoria and Albert Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 (tel. 020/7942-2000; www.vam.ac.uk): This is the greatest decorative arts museum in the world, boasting the largest collection of Renaissance sculpture outside Italy. It is also strong on medieval English treasures and has the greatest collection of Indian art outside India.
Gilbert Collection, Somerset House, the Strand, WC2 (tel. 020/7240-9400; www.gilbert-collection.org.uk): This is the permanent home of the Gilbert Collection of decorative arts, one of the most important bequests ever left to the state. The exhibition of some 800 objects in gold, silver, and mosaics, and gold snuffboxes -- collected by Sir Arthur Gilbert -- is hailed as one of the greatest in the world; its silver collection rivals that of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Science Museum, Exhibition Road, SW7 (tel. 087/0870-4868; www.sciencemuseum.org.uk): The collection here of scientific artifacts is among the largest, most significant, and most comprehensive in the world. Everything is here, from King George III's collection of scientific instruments in the 18th century to the Apollo 10 space module.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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