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!