Great Court Restaurant
Above the Reading Room, under the glass. Lunch and afternoon tea; booking advised at weekends.
Opening hours
Open every day but four
Galleries begin to close fifteen minutes before the Museum does. Occasional galleries close for maintenance, refurbishment or private events; closures are listed here before your visit.
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Closed24 to 26 December, 1 January
Late opening
Fridays until 20.30
The quietest hours in the building. Selected galleries stay open late, with talks, music and the Great Court bar. Check which rooms are open before you travel.
Tickets
Free entry, since 1759
The Museum has been free to enter since it opened, and remains so. A free timed ticket is recommended rather than required: it gives you priority entry at busy periods and the practical notes before you travel. Without one, entry depends on capacity and there are queues at busier times. Please arrive at your booked time, which keeps the security check moving. Special exhibitions are ticketed separately, and Members go free.
Two entrances
Great Russell Street for the colonnade and the Great Court. Montague Place, on the north side, is quieter and step-free.
Bag checks
All bags are searched at the door. Large luggage cannot be admitted; the cloakroom takes coats and small cases for a fee.
Quieter times
Late Friday afternoons and the last two hours of any weekday. The first hour after opening is the busiest in the Egyptian galleries.
How long to allow
An hour for a highlights trail, half a day for three departments, a lifetime for the rest. Nobody sees it all in one visit.
How to book
Choose a day and an entry slot. Nothing is charged and no card is needed. Bring the confirmation on a phone.
Members
No entry ticket needed at all. Exhibitions are free and book in a priority window before general release.
Groups of ten or more
Book as a group and come in through the Montague Place groups entrance, which avoids the main queue.
School groups
Self-led school visits are free and booked separately, with a lunch space allocated and taught sessions in the Clore Centre on the lower floor.
Getting here
Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury
London WC1B 3DG. There is no visitor car park, and the surrounding streets are inside the Congestion Charge zone. Walking in from any direction takes you past a bookshop.
Underground
Tottenham Court Road, 5 minutes
Holborn, 7 minutes
Russell Square, 7 minutes
Goodge Street, 8 minutes
Rail
Euston, King's Cross St Pancras, Charing Cross
Accessibility
A building anyone can cross
The Museum is largely step-free, with lifts to every floor and a level route from the Montague Place entrance. Wheelchairs can be borrowed, and assistance dogs are welcome throughout.
Read the full access guideStep-free routes
Lifts serve the lower, ground and upper floors. Ramps at both entrances.
Touch tours and BSL
Handling sessions, British Sign Language tours and audio-described routes.
Sensory support
Backpacks with ear defenders and fidget objects, plus a map of quieter rooms.
Seating
Benches in most galleries; folding stools can be borrowed at the entrances.
Companion entry
Essential companions go free to ticketed exhibitions.
Large print
Gallery texts in large print and easy-read formats at the information desks.
Food and drink
Eat under the roof
Three places to stop without leaving the building, and a courtyard to sit in when the weather allows. Picnics are welcome on the front lawn.
Court Café
Sandwiches, cakes and coffee on either side of the Great Court, open all day.
Pizzeria
The easiest stop with children, at the north end of the Great Court.
Audio and trails
Take a route, or a curator
The audio app runs on your own phone with headphones; trails are printed sheets you can pick up at the desk or follow here.
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Family visits
Buggy parking, baby-changing on every floor, and object trails written for children who would rather look than read. Backpacks and activity bags at the desks.
Group and school visits
Groups of ten or more book a free time slot and enter by Montague Place. Schools visit free, self-led or with a taught session.
Tours and out-of-hours
Curator-led talks daily, and out-of-hours tours of the Egyptian and Assyrian galleries before the doors open to the public.