Seeing the Bayeux Tapestry in London

It's easy for me to suggest you go see it no matter how busy it gets; since we saw it in Bayeux last spring with a crowd of less than 20 people. But, it's not like trying to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre with everyone clamoring for one spot and then standing in front of it; blocking it for others. It's massively long and in Bayeux you can listen to the audio for a descriptive segment then keep moving down the line for the next segment. I'm sure it will be set up in some similar fashion in Britain.

I've been searching for more info as well but it appears it's still too early. My guess is that advanced tickets will be required and there will be a cost. I've based that on reading between the lines on the Museum's website that says that the permanent collection is free and when I try and book one of the current special exhibitions there is a charge; one is £49. I bet they won't have a problem selling out tickets no matter what they charge for the tapestry. My understanding it will be the focus of a large exhibition featuring Norman and Anglo Saxon history.

Thank you KD and Allan!

I'll keep on pursuing this trip, then.

I should keep a close eye on ticket sales opening - these important exhibitions usually sell out in a flash.

We saw it in Normandy years ago and it is AMAZING.

I emailed the British Museum 2 days ago asking about tickets but they couldn’t say when they wished go on sale yet.

Expect tickets to go quickly

Thank you! I'll surely be checking their site frequently. I hope that tickets open in advance early enough to know that we've secured them before booking flights and hotels but maybe not. It'll be OK if we can't make it, although disappointing, for sure.

It will be a ticketed event and I’d expect the tickets to be in the £25-£30 range but who knows? I think it could be hard for the museum to charge more as people tend to feel they have a right to see these great treasures and so the price should not be astronomical. It will be incredibly popular, with the suggestion being that it could be the most visited exhibition the museum has ever held.

If you become a member of the museum you get free entry to special exhibitions and usually you don’t need to book in advance. This is a good way to be able to see sold out exhibitions, although obviously it comes at a cost (currently £74).

Meanwhile, a petition is gaining signatures in France asking the government not to loan it to the UK....

In case you are not aware, the British Museum is extremely popular even when there is no big-deal special exhibition running. The ground floor, in particular, is usually massively crowded. In my experience, it gets a bit better after about 4 PM. I'd expect presence of the Bayeux Tapestry to increase the crowds even more as people figure they're already at the museum, so why not see some of it.

If you're interested in seeing some of the other displays, spend some time on the museum website to see what is there and where it is located.

There are three food sources in the museum (grab-and-go sandwiches and snacks on the ground floor, a sit-down restaurant serving lunch and afternoon tea on the upper floor, and a pizzeria for which I've seen signs but which I have never actually encountered). The sit-down restaurant would need a reservation. Because of the lengthy security line at the museum, you would not want to go outside for food and then return.

Regarding pricing, I was slightly shocked to read this, having just gone to an exhibition at the British Museum a few weeks ago: "when I try and book one of the current special exhibitions there is a charge; one is £49." Those may be normal prices in the US/Canada, but would be astronomical here!

I went to check and confirmed this is not correct. When you go to book a ticket to an exhibition, a pop up appears asking if you'd like to become a member for £49/person/year. The actual exhibitions are usually £20, tho this one may be more. If someone is spending a lot of time in London visiting museums, I would high recommend getting an Art Pass. In addition to free entrances at many museums and historic sites across the country, you get half price entrance to paid exhibitions at many of the major museums (including British Museum, the Tates, and the National Galleries). It pays for itself pretty quickly.

Thank you. I haven't been to the British Museum before but am planning a full day in May (before this trip) and I was imagining it to be roughly as busy as the Louvre? We'd definitely want to see more of the museum than the Bayeux Tapestry.

I'll look into that pass and see if it's a good value for our trip. We're so used to high admissions with having 4 minor children (most museums here don't have free admission ,though a few do).

For crowds, I would say it's not as bad as the Louvre, especially midweek. Certainly getting in is faster- the last time I was at the Louvre was 2022 and we queued for an extremely long time to get in, even tho we had timed tickets. The queue at British Museum tends to be more like 5-10 minutes or even less if you have a timed ticket.

Meanwhile, a petition is gaining signatures in France asking the government not to loan it to the UK....

Which is a bit rich considering it was made in England by English artists. We should get it and keep it and give the Greeks their marbles back.

And it isn’t a tapestry.

You can feel free to call it the Bayeux Embroidery. However, nobody else will know what you’re talking about.

“The Canterbury Embroidery” could catch on.