British Museum

We were just there mid September, I believe on a week day. We arrived about 2:30. We were let in without tickets and there was no line for security.

Re: your question #2, if you fully intend to visit on both days, then I would not call that "greedy." But if you're not sure I would reserve for the date you really want and try for walk up tickets if you decide to go back. If you are there on a Friday, it's open late and it's typically not as busy as a weekend.

you don't need timed tickets - just rock up

There can be a queue for security (bag checks) when the museum opens particularly in School Holidays. Next year the Easter holidays run from Monday 30 March to Friday 10 April (in London, at least). If you can go earlier than the 30th, the BM will probably be quieter and quicker to get into.

The easiest way, at least as of last year, to get in quickly and easily is to not carry any kind of bag or purse. This allows you to bypass the long security line and you generally breeze right through.

I have typically spent about 30 minutes in the security line when I arrived just after opening time between May and September. I imagine the line is usually shorter in the afternoon, so if you want to take the museum in 2- or 3-hour bites, going in the afternoon could reduce the waiting time. You should expect the museum to be crowded until late afternoon, though--especially the ground floor. A museum staffer told me it is worst on weekends, holidays, Fridays and rainy days. It seemed noticeably quieter during the late-opening hours on Friday. Unfortunately, during my most recent visit (2022?), there was no food service available after 3 PM or so even on Friday, so consider that as you decide when to visit.

The shortest security queue I've ever seen at the British Museum was on a glorious sunny Saturday afternoon in May - I imagine most people were out enjoying the weather 😅.

But under normal circumstances, having as little with you as possible does indeed speed things up quite a bit as a walk-up.

1. On several visits to the British Museum in the last few years, we’ve gotten in without a reservation using the Montague Place entrance on the north side of the museum, the “back door,” if you will. There was a queue there once, but it moved fairly quickly, and the rest of the times, there was really no line, just a quick Security check tent.

2. Greedy? Not at all. It’s free, after all, but the museum will gladly accept cash donations dropped in clear boxes located inside the entrances, and the suggested (but not at all enforced) “price” for a museum map flyer is £2.

It will be much busier than the last time you were there. The Rosetta Stone, which stood out in the open before Covid, is now in a big glass case, with throngs of selfie-takers making it hard to view the actual stone. School groups and the occasional private tour can make things even more crowded. The late hours on Fridays, mentioned above, do offer a respite from crowds, although they start closing off various rooms (as well as the Montague Place entrance/exit) early, and ushering visitors towards the main entrance as the closing time draws near.

There's a copy of the Rosetta Stone elsewhere in the building--I think upstairs. You should easily be able to get close enough actually to see the copy.

Cyn's right about the entry point on the north side of the building. However, it gives priority to tour groups. On one occasion they were turning everyone else away because the scanner wasn't working and they had to do bag checks by hand. It was a time-consuming walk all the way back around the building to the line at the front. Take a look at a map to choose the Underground station closest to the entrance you plan to use; that will save some pre-visit walking.

We walked by the British Museum on a rainy day and the line was very very long. We didn't try the back door. So weather may be a factor.