Founded in 1753, the British Museum ⭐⭐was the first national public museum in the world, and today it is Britain’s most visited with more than 7 million people arriving per year.
British Museum
Entry has always been free and includes access to the institution’s
most important and sought-after acquisitions, such as the
Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures and Ancient Egyptian structures. The museum is an architectural gem itself, with the newly refurbished
Queen Elizabeth II Great Court a highlight. See the open hours below:
Every day, except Fridays, the Main entrance closes at 16.00 as the Museum closes at 17.00. On Fridays, due to the late opening of exhibitions, the Main entrance closes at 19.30 as the Museum closes at 20.30.
However, the museums and public galleries stay open with only Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day closures.
Please note that Montaghue Place entrance shown on Figure 3 is not for general public. On the day of my visit, I've seen it was only used for tour groups, but not for individual visitors. If you're a member of the museum, you also need to enter via the main entrance. But, you can join a shorter line which is solely used by members (do ask the gatekeepers first before joining any line).
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Figure 2. British Museum Map (Courtesy: Google map) |
How to Access
Closest underground stations:
You can download Citymapper app to your mobiles, which will get you to your destination easier. You can also download Tfl Go app to complement what Citymapper app misses. For example, Tfl Go covers Heathrow Express train ride, but not Citymapper.
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Figure 3. Room 30 Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery Ground floor, Level 0 |
Exhibitions
There are multiple exhibitions and events held now and then. For example, a special exhibition "
Hieroglyphs unlocking ancient Egypt" will be displayed in
Room 30 (see Figure 3) from
13 October 2022 to
19 February 2023.
Hieroglyphs were not just beautiful symbols, they represented a living, spoken language.
We could only glimpse into this hidden world, until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone provided the key to decoding hieroglyphs, allowing us to read this ancient script. The breakthrough expanded our understanding of human history by some 3,000 years.
Marking 200 years since the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, this major exhibition takes you through the trials and hard work that preceded, and the revelations that followed, this ground-breaking moment.
You can start your visit early by downloading Audio App from either Apple App Store or Google Play Store and purchase the "Full bundle" for a price of £4.99. But, remember to bring your headphones with you or purchase earbuds from the Guide Desk and British Museum Shop.
Detailed Level 0 Map
Both Guide Desk and Membership Desk are in the Great Court.
References
- British Museum
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- London Stansted Airport (STN)
- How To Visit The British Museum In 2023: Tickets, Hours, Tours, And More
- One hour at the Museum trail
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- Museum map (link)
- Museum Restaurants (link)
- Great
Court Restaurant—Open: daily, 11.30–17.00 (last sitting
16.00)
- Lunch*
– daily, 11.30–15.00 (last sitting 15.00)
- Afternoon
tea* – daily, 11.30–17.00 (last sitting 16.00)
- Court
Cafés—Open: daily, 10.00–17.00
- Pizzeria—Open:
daily, 12.00–15.00
- is
in the south-west corner of the Ground floor – just turn
left immediately after you enter the Main Entrance and keep
going.