Natural History Museum
The blue whale, the dinosaurs and a cathedral of a building, free in South Kensington. The most visited museum in the country.
The lowdown
The Natural History Museum looks more like a cathedral than a museum, and that is before you get inside. The great Hintze Hall, with a real blue whale skeleton diving through the air above your head, is free to walk into and one of the best rooms in London.
Beyond it lie the dinosaurs, the earthquake floor, a wall of glittering minerals and seventy million specimens gathered over centuries. It is built for kids but it floors adults just as hard, and not one of the permanent galleries costs a penny.
It is the most visited museum in the country, so timing is everything. Get there for opening, dodge the school holidays if you possibly can, and you will have the whale to yourself for a few quiet minutes before the crowds pour in.
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