Despite having been to London countless times, I never managed to visit any of the free museums that London offers. So when I had a day in hand to do anything on my own, I discarded seeing the top attractions in London and immediately jumped into the decision of visiting British Museum without any second choice. There can’t be any better place than British Museum to experience the world history under one roof.
Suggested Reading: Other Things To Do in London
When founded in 1753, British Museum became the first national public museum in the world. There’s a little story behind the foundation of this museum that you will find interesting. Sir Hans Sloan (1660-1753) a physician, naturalist and collector had written in his will that he wanted to preserve all his collectible objects (more than 71,000 collections over his lifetime!). He bequeathed the collections to the then King George II for a return of £20,000 to be left for his heirs. The gift was accepted and an act of parliament established British Museum.
The museum now hosts a startling 8 million objects demonstrating the evolution of human culture from stone age tools to 20th century artifacts, from the Greek and Roman history to the mummified Egypt, gorgeous Buddha statues to the Nataraja of Indian subcontinent, Chinese porcelain to coins and jewels that were used centuries back, you name the country, you find it!
Practical Information
It’s practically impossible to see the whole museum in single day. You will get tired and overwhelmed. Break them down into few days, or see which part of history/culture interests you.
NOTE: If you are interested in being part of Museum Monday or Monument Monday series, please write to us at countryhoppingcouple@gmail.com. We are looking for interesting story about a historic monument or museum with words between 100-150 and a good picture (no sourced photos, please).
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Destination Infinity
Obviously exhibits from most countries will be there. I think this maybe the best place to see exhibits from around the world in one place!
Destination Infinity
Bikram
Yes DI british museums are the best in the world …
come over , I will take you to them all 🙂
Bikram
THIS One I have seeeeeennnn yayyyyyyy finally something i can say i seen 🙂 only been living in uk for over a decade now 🙂 he he hee
Bikram's
countryhoppingcouple
Finally, there's one museum you've seen Bikk!!
Kanika
Will surely visit it when i come to London.
Saru Singhal
Looks very interesting. Imagine I haven't seen the Metropolitan Museum yet. I think will plan it soon.
countryhoppingcouple
I have heard of the museum Saru. You should definitely visit, and you'll never regret!
Chaitali Patel
Interesting piece of trivia…
Catherine
I'm a little ashamed to say I've lived in Britain my whole life and never once visited the British Musem! Sounds very interesting though, will have to check it out next time I'm in London.
countryhoppingcouple
There's nothing to be ashamed about Catherine. We always tend to forget what is in our frontdoor, and look to explore places far and beyond.
Ashwini C N
Wow. So much from around the world in one place? Very interesting.
countryhoppingcouple
Yes Ash. Trust me, one day is not sufficient to see all the galleries inside. Excellent collection!
LuxuryColumnist
I love the British Museum, you can't see it all in one go and I definitely need to go back!
Suze | LuxuryColumnist