British Museum recommendations

As you probably know the British Museum deals with world prehistory not just British history. It’s huge and crowded, especially on a weekend. My priorities will not necessarily be your priorities but there are mine. The BM has the largest collection of Egyptian and is my main area of interest. The most famous of the Egyptian artifacts is the Rosetta Stone - there is usually a huge crowd around it! One of my favourite must visits are .the artifacts from Ur in Mesopotamia - the Ram in a Thicket is a particular favourite of mine, along with the reconstructed harp and some stunning jewellery. The Roman Portland Vase made of layered glass carved in the manner of a shell cameo is stunning and provided Josiah Wedgewood with the inspiration for his blue and white pottery. I remember seeing some jewelled medieval chalices and goblets but that is not something I’d be particularly interested in. Of course there is a large collection of Greek and Roman statuary, vases etc. Check the website for the very informative maps listing all the rooms and what they contain. There is a sidebar containing the “must sees” on each level. There is a lot of addition information the deeper you go into the website.

And for the ancient world I would add to these good suggestions, the Assyrian palace reliefs, the. Mildenhall treasure (Roman Britain), and the Parthenon sculptures (a/k/a the Elgin marbles).

There are two rooms tracing the development of clocks and watches, which I found fascinating.

For an overview, London Walks do a 2 hour walk covering the British Museum. www.walks.com

Saturday is a very very busy day at the museum. What time are your tapestry tickets? Whatever you decide to prioritize viewing, I'd arrive before the museum opens so you're in line, go straight to your top choice(s) or things that are often extremely busy (Rosetta stone). The museum offers object trails that focus on highlights in specific time increments if you're having a hard time deciding: https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/object-trails

This may or may not be an option you’d take, but just 3 blocks northwest of the British Museum, on little Malet Place, is the free Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology. Full of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the 5,000-year-old Tarkhan Dress, the oldest surviving garment in the world, it’s part of the University College London (UCL), and open Tues-Sat. Not as many mummies as at the British Museum, but way more Shabtis, lots of other items, and practically no other people visiting - none of the massive crowds at the British Museum!

Another potential option, for Medieval armor (including for horses), and tons of swords and other weaponry, is a mile west, on the lower level at the free Wallace Collection (which also has art), on Manchester Square in the Marylebone neighborhood.

I visited the Petrie museum last year, and frankly, I didn’t think much of it. Lots of objects to be sure, but most of them unimpressive and repetitive, and displayed in a very old fashioned way, crammed together in display cases that look like they may themselves date back to ancient times, in a small and cramped space. If you’re fanatic about Egypt, have some spare time and are in that neighborhood, it’s worth a quick look, but I don’t think it’s remotely comparable to the British Museum’s Egyptian collection, let alone the rest of the BM. I say this meaning no disrespect to the more favorable review above.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! My Tapestry ticket is for 10.10, so first thing. Other exhibits (and potentially other museums) will be afterwards for me. I may be able to get back on another day too.

I may be able to get back on another day too.

The museum is open late on Fridays until 8:30, book a time slot. https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/late-opening-on-fridays

Yes, that's under consideration. Thanks for the reminder to pre-book!

Go on one of the hourly guided tours. Even if its an area you didn't think you were interested in, the guides make it amazing and you will learn so much.

Do they still have maps with the highlights? I'd follow that. I remember the Rosetta stone -fabulous.

Thanks, all! I am using the resources at the museum website. 🙂 Just wanted to get the recommendations of travelers here as well.

The British Museum has an audio guide that has self guided tours and commentaries of over 250 items.

If you pay for it and download it in advance, you can decide what you should prioritize seeing. (which I'm sure would be different from anybody else's priorities on this forum.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/audio-app

If you just want the highlights (the priorities) tour, take a 90 minute highlights tour.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/tours-and-talks#around-the-world-in-90-minutes

There’s also a good section on African art and artifacts, and their collection of Benin bronzes and gold is amazing. Much of it was “collected” during the colonial conquests and so may go back to its home in the future, like the Elgin Marbles

On my Friday visit to the British Museum a few years ago (post-COVID), it began to get quieter by mid- to late-afternoon. That was a very pleasant time to be there. The second floor always seems to be quieter than the first floor, so you might take that into consideration as you plan your visit. The thing about Friday, though, is that (unless it has changed recently), the hours of the food sources are not extended to match the late closing time. I wouldn't count on finding food after 3:30 PM.

I'm not positive all the museum's Lewis Chessmen and all parts of the Sutton Hoo treasure are off to France, though that may be the case.

We’ve been to the museum on Friday nights, and while it is open late, they start closing things up at least 30 minutes before closing, and start ushering people towards the door. The guards are clearly ready to head home for the night, and it seems they want everybody out by 5 minutes before the stated closing time. And not every part of the museum is open during those late hours, either, just so you know.

Thanks, everyone! Very helpful.

Does anyone have suggestions for guided tours of the museum. We will be visiting mid week, and it appears the BM guided tours are only on weekends. So any recs on outside tour guides? Thanks! 😊