Natural History Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)
Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
4.5
Natural History MuseumsHistory Museums
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:50 PM
About
A center of scientific excellence in the discovery of taxonomy and biodiversity, this world-famous museum promotes the discovery and enjoyment of the natural world through such exciting exhibits as the Life and Earth Galleries, wildlife garden and geological collections.
Duration: More than 3 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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The area
Address
Neighborhood: Kensington and Hyde Park
How to get there
  • Gloucester Road • 6 min walk
Reach out directly
See what travelers are saying
  • P1P1968
    Hastings, United Kingdom26 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great Titanosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum
    Booked to see the Titanosaur exhibition at the Natural History, a fantastic exhibition well worth going if you can. Booking is a must if you want to avoid the long queues outside. The only downside is that the staff were not particularly knowledgeable and couldn’t really answer any questions we had.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written April 25, 2023
  • Baartos
    35 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fascinating museum
    This is undoubtedly one of the greatest museums in UK and a real must-see in London. Dinosaurs, volcanoes, minerals, animals, earthquakes, there is all of this and much more. On top of that the building itself is wonderful. Natural History Museum is a real gem, worth seeing.
    Visited May 2022
    Traveled solo
    Written April 30, 2023
  • mirunavrn
    Bucharest, Romania394 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting museum - must visit
    The museum's premises are large, with various exhibitions. The entrance to the Earth evolution exhibition is interesting and unique, like enterning the core of the planet. One thing I enjoyed was the simulation of an earthquake in a mock-up store. I found it quite creative. Unfortunately, we arrived late and didn't have time to visit the other building, with the dinosaurs exhibitions. There is no entrance fee, which was surprising considering the exhibits.
    Visited September 2022
    Written May 1, 2023
  • lubumbashi13
    174 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fascinating old building
    Loved our visit and loved seeing this beautiful historic building. Would love to see them admit less people at a time. We reserved free tickets in advance and no one checked the time. The museum (during Easter week) was PACKED to the gills. People everywhere and a very long line outside. The museum would have been a much more pleasurable experience with about half the people there.
    Visited April 2023
    Written May 3, 2023
  • Kevin
    Mountain View, California91 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Good Natural History Museum
    This natural history museum has a good collection of dinosaurs, mammals/sea life, and other things related to science. It's decently sized, though I would say in terms of variety of subjects, other natural history museums (like the one in New York) offer more to see. It's hard to complain too much since admission to the museum is free. It can get pretty busy, so make sure if you plan to spend a lot of time here to come as early as you can to avoid the crowds.
    Visited April 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written May 10, 2023
  • James A
    730 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Wildlife Photographer of the Year
    We went for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year with an 11 year old. We thought it was very good but she was bored there was nothing that we could see the interacts with kids. We also spent time in the Dinosaur room, which was great. The photography we have been before a few years back and thought this time lacked a wow factor. I would say its good to go every few years The Dinosaur exhibition I personally would have liked to see more real fossils and not models.
    Visited May 2023
    Written May 15, 2023
  • Robert B
    London, United Kingdom22 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Not all museums are created equal
    Not all museums are created equal, this one stands out. The atmosphere created by the architecture and fittings are a bit special and the exhibits are beautifully presented. It was too hot, but this might be to preserve the artifacts, it was also overcrowded, but that's not surprising given what's on offer. Well worth visiting.
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled with friends
    Written May 28, 2023
  • clh333
    Norwich, United Kingdom171 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great but kids probably with cope with it all.
    We enjoyed our visit. The dinosaur section was the biggest hit with the kids although they also enjoyed the other animal sections. The earthquake floor is great. It is a bit generally limited on interactivity though and we didn’t do all the floors due to that as the kids got bored
    Visited May 2023
    Traveled with family
    Written May 29, 2023
  • SK
    6 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lots to see, nice way to spend a morning
    Went by myself, it was half term so very busy, not sure if it's always so busy. Great morning though, went round each area, Hope was magnificent this was my favourite part the hall was beautiful, but loved the animated dinosaurs too. Tried out the earthquake simulation too which was fine but wished it lasted longer. Was going to have food there but was very busy and the gift shop was very expensive, but other than that great way to spend a morning.
    Visited February 2023
    Traveled solo
    Written June 4, 2023
  • Dingbat1982
    Midsomer Norton, United Kingdom676 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great museum
    Beautiful museum, lots to see and we were lucky to visit during half term and there were a couple of dinosaur related activities and shows for the children, the show in particular was great and very funny. The museum building itself is stunning. Staff were helpful. Didn't have to queue as we prebooked tickets, but queue for those that didn't have tickets was crazy.
    Visited May 2023
    Written June 4, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles38,051 reviews
Excellent
25,137
Very good
8,912
Average
2,927
Poor
743
Terrible
334

CH1982
Evesham, UK585 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2020
A great London museum. Tickets currently need to be pre-booked on the website and you can choose your time slot, still free to enter but you can make a donation of your choice if you desire. Actually found this booking system better than standing in the usual long queue to get in. Good variety of fantastic exhibits both fun and educational covering a lot of natural science, our 5 year old loved the dinosaurs in particular. Some of the sections that are "hands on" are naturally closed at the moment to reduce risk of multiple people touching items. There is seating available if you take food in to eat. We arrived early and were allowed to sit on the grassed area outside while we waited our time slot. Spent around 90 minutes inside.
The building itself is an architectural masterpiece and worth arriving early to look at the amazing masonry on the exterior. South Kensington Tube station is the closest and a very short walk to the museum.
Staff were doing a good job on a sweltering August day and were friendly and helpful.
Written August 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Geoff B
London, UK9 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Family
Visited the Natural History Museum in London on Saturday 4th January 2020 primarily to skate on their ice rink but when we arrived there was over a two hour wait to get on the ice. Therefore we decided to go into the museum. However soon found that the queue to get in was huge, we queued for around 35mins. Once inside it was great but didn’t have sufficient time to see more than the dinosaurs. Loved the animatronic dinosaur exhibit.
Written January 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

InspiredToTravel
Adelaide, Australia186 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2019 • Family
We went on New Years Eve and when we got there at 9:45 the line to get in was huge already. Many exhibitions and full of information. Initially I thought that this museum would only take an hour or so but we ended up spending a good 4 hours there. T-REX grill was a good spot to have lunch but they added a dessert onto our bill which we never received. Our waiter did not appear to be attentive whereas the server on the other side was always on the lookout for her tables and conversing with them. It did get crazy busy in the museum but it was well worth it. I don’t know how busy it gets during the summer months but I would say it was quite busy throughout the morning. Dinosaur exhibit is fantastic and there were many interactive activities for children. The volcano and earthquake section was great and it is recommended that time is spent taking in each ‘zone’. I also recommend taking a bottle of water with you which you can fill up in the museum - it can get hot. Highly recommend visiting - the time is well spent!
Written January 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Margaret2
England210 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020
Visited London for a long weekend so had our small case with us, security told us it had to go into the cloakroom which was fine but at a cost of £5 which we thought was a bit steep. However, we left it the whole day whilst we popped into the Science museum too, which meant we were hands free.
We visited on a Friday and the place was full of school parties which is fine if the adults in charge kept them under supervision and gave them basic rules for not running and especially not bumping into other members of the public that have equal rights to see the exhibits!
I would suggest that the museum is pitched towards younger children as descriptions were not very in depth, but still enjoyable to walk around.
There seem now to be more places to eat and have a drink which is great, we had tea and scones with clotted cream and jam, all of which was very good and not too expensive.
Written January 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Chatterboxmegan
Appley Bridge, UK1,002 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2020
We visited the museum on Saturday 31st October. We booked tickets for opening at 10am and were really pleased we did as it was pretty quiet for the first 2 hours. We enjoyed looking around the varied exhibits before stopping for a spot of lunch around 12pm.

I wanted to give a specific mention to the gent with the beard who works in the cafe. He was working his absolute socks off and was extremely efficient, but still took the time to talk with all customers and was very friendly. He also looked to be training a new member of staff, talk about multi-tasking! Food was pretty fairly priced, with 2 lunches and 2 drinks coming to around £20.

When we went to carry on our visit about 12:30pm and found it was much busier. By this stage there were loads of kids running around which we expected due to half term, so at times there was little in the way of social distancing. Nonetheless staff were working hard to wipe down high touch areas and remind visitors around masks/social distancing. Overall a really enjoyable visit and we will certainly visit again when we're in the area.
Written November 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WanderT&G
Aspley Guise, UK62 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Family
BUT don't go on half term! The queues were very long from all entrances! We got there about 11.00 and we had to que for over 45 minutes to get in. Once inside, it was quite busy, and there were certain areas where you had to que again. The dinosaur area was quite disappointing, too small, narrow corridors and one way system, forcing you to get stuck in more queues! Entry is free, we contributed to voluntary donations, lots of little cafe areas inside for a quick sandwich and a drink, but quite overpriced. I would like to do it again but maybe not on school holidays. All this said, the building inside is impressive and so are some of the exhibits.
Written February 20, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cian Loughlin
2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2020
I went to The Natural History museum in London last week. I ament very interested in museums and wasn’t expecting much. The museum was free but you have to pay to see exhibitions and special tours. As soon as I walked in it was amazing. The dinosaurs were awesome, it was like being in Jurassic park! There were dinosaur bones everywhere and even fully formed dinosaur bones.
Other primary sources that I loved in the museum were animal bones (the elephant bones were interesting), fossils of animals like dinosaur fossils and hyraxes fossils and there were a number of stuffed animals that were interesting. There were also a hummingbird section which is a hit or miss but still interesting to me.
My favourite exhibition was the massive mammals. It was very interesting especially the massive blue whale. The cabinets were a hit or miss. I found them slightly boring and wouldn’t go back to that section again. The dinosaur exhibition was amazing as well it was so interesting to see the fossils and just amazing to think about them being here on this earth.
The tour was realistic and the dinosaurs, massive mammals and stuffed animals were engaging by the way they were presented them, yet the cabinets weren’t interesting and not engaging at all.
Sadly there was no video commentary. It would’ve been great if there was, it could’ve made the cabinets slightly more interesting. There was still signs giving information about the animals yet some of the information was very small and not quite readable.
I would recommend this to a friend because it’s so interesting to see and to learn about the dinosaurs that used to roam our earth. It is also interesting to see the mammals and stuffed animals and the fossils were so cool as well. I wouldn’t recommend the cabinets as they aren’t as engaging as the animals. Highly recommend. There is also a number of nice restaurants around like PierinoRestaurant Pizza Pasta.
Written May 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

NigePlymouth
Plymouth, UK227 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020
Excellent experience throughout. We arrived just as it was opening and there was a long queue, this went down very quickly and was very well managed by staff.
Once inside the building is stunning on its own even without all the exhibits. we stayed about 4 hours and still didn't see all of it. Very educational for both children and adults and well worth a visit.
There are several food and drink outlets located throughout the museum and although they can be a bit pricey this is offset by the fact that entry to the museum is free.
Brilliant place and will be back again at some point.
Written February 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachel P
Crawley, UK30 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2020 • Couples
This museum is free, but it’s recommended that you give a donation to the upon entry. You can do this by cash or card. It’s worth the donation, so that this remarkable place can keep providing so much fun and information to the public. This museum has it all- exhibits on dinosaurs, space, endangered/extinct species, and even gem stones. There are plenty of facilities that make doing an all day trip here quite easy- I even saw plenty of enterprising families with their own snacks, so you don’t have to worry if you don’t want to splurge on buying something from the cafe.
Written January 26, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sorellina
Lytham St Anne's, UK1,244 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2020 • Couples
This is a stunning museum and always a joy to visit and spend time in. We went to the Wildlife Photography exhibition which was excellent if a bit overpriced.

Food from The Kitchen was ok with friendly service. Purchasing coffee and a cookie from the Central Cafe later in the day was an ordeal with abysmal service and the cookie cost £2.65 which seems a bit excessive for a biscuit! If we come again we’ll bring a picnic.

There are lots of things to see here and I first visited over thirty five years ago so it’s always like a trip down memory lane. Some of the exhibits could do with updating though - children of today don’t have patience with very slow electronics even if they were cutting edge on my first visit!!

The building is wonderful though and I could spend hours just looking at the architecture!

Still worth a visit - and so special that it is free to enter.
Written March 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Natural History Museum - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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