The best museums and galleries in the UK

Eight weeks into the year and the chances are you have already run out of things to do when the weather is rubbish and the children are bored and you have already spent far too much on tickets to the latest interesting looking activity, the cost of which made you do a double take.

Thankfully, however, all across the country are museums and galleries with totally free admission. From enormous science and natural history museums you could spend an entire weekend in, to smaller, lesser-known galleries adorned with colourful paintings you can’t look away from, here are the best options for a purse-friendly, weather-resistant day out…

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Glasgow

One of the most-visited museums outside of London, Kelvingrove has become a beloved institution for good reason. Its collections are extraordinarily varied, from Impressionist paintings through to 17th-century suits of armour. Among the most famous exhibits are The Wassail, a painting by Glasgow local Charles Rennie Mackintosh; an Egyptian noble’s sarcophagus, dating to around 656-640BC; and Sir Roger, an enormous stuffed Asian elephant who spent the 1890s in a travelling circus, and has been the star of the museum for more than 100 years.
glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/kelvingrove

Young V&A

London

Formerly The Museum of Childhood until it reopened in 2023 after a major redevelopment project, the Young V&A was awarded the Museum of the Year prize last year – and it isn’t hard to see why. The space is split into three main galleries: Imagine, a textural landscape filled with colourful tactile materials aimed at babies and toddlers; Play, where you can see the original Superman costume and the much-loved dolls’ house collection; and Design, home to both a mini factory and a variety of activities and workshops for 11- to 14-year-olds. This interactive ode to creativity and childhood might be aimed at young ones, but adults can’t help but enjoy themselves here too.
vam.ac.uk/young

National Waterfront Museum

Swansea

The history of Welsh industry and innovation is told across 15 themed galleries in this impressive quayside museum. Charting different periods from 300 years ago until now, National Waterfront explores how Wales was once at the forefront of industrial technology that not only changed communities at the time but also continues to shape our lives today. Some of the exhibits on display include coal wagons and tinplate mills, while a free temporary exhibition exploring 200 years of the RNLI will run until June. Interactive workstations throughout the museum help visitors immerse themselves in the past.
museum.wales/Swansea

Ulster Museum

Belfast

Covering everything from art and history to natural science, this vast collection of artefacts has something for everyone and can keep entire families entertained all day long. Highlights include works from the Belfast painter Sir John Lavery and ongoing exhibition The Troubles and Beyond, a dynamic collection exploring both the politics and human impact of the conflict. Set in the lovely location of Belfast’s Botanic Gardens, the Ulster Museum makes for a wonderful day out.
ulstermuseum.org

National Museum of Scotland

Edinburgh

A gigantic whale skull and a life-sized, 12m Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton are among the unmissable natural history exhibits in this utterly diverse museum, while Dolly the Sheep – the first mammal to be cloned, in Edinburgh in 1996 – can be seen in its Science and Technology gallery. The art, fashion and design area houses gems from Vivienne Westwood and Picasso, while the bright, soaring-ceilinged building itself is as beautiful as some of the art on display.
nms.ac.uk

St Fagans

Cardiff

This wonderful open-air museum chronicles Welsh heritage, lifestyle, culture and architecture through its 40-odd original buildings re-erected from various locations across the country. Setting foot in the likes of a tannery, a village schoolhouse, a workman’s institute and a nonconformist church – all looking just as they once would have – allows you to step back into history. Set in the grounds of St Fagans Castle, a Grade I listed Elizabethan manor house, complete with woodland trails, it was once named the UK’s favourite visitor attraction by Which? magazine.
museum.wales/stfagans

Royal Armouries Museum

Leeds

Housing a large part of the UK’s national collection of arms and armour – and more than 70,000 objects strewn across the five galleries – anyone with even the vaguest interest in military history (or indeed any family partial to a bit of fighting) ought to visit this museum. Weapons on display include samurai swords and the armours of Henry VIII, as well as famous film props. The Hall of Steel, meanwhile, is a giant staircase adorned with 2,500 objects shown as they would have been in the Tower of London during the 17th century.
royalarmouries.org

Discovery Museum

Newcastle

The first sight you come face to face with as you enter Discovery Museum is Turbinia, a 34m steam-powered ship that was once the fastest in the world and an iconic part of Tyneside’s heritage. Across the many rooms that follow, the museum continues to delve into the region’s maritime history as well as science and technology, including through a new exhibition called From Steam to Green, which charts the North East’s move to climate-friendly energy sources.
discoverymuseum.org.uk

Natural History Museum

London

You could return here once a month for many years without feeling like you have completed it. This world-class museum is divided into four zones – covering geology, birds and fossils, human biology and evolution, and nature and wildlife – and is filled with awe-inspiring exhibits including the blue whale skeleton that hangs in the entrance hall. Always popular with visitors, make a beeline for the earthquake room and the dinosaur gallery.
nhm.ac.uk

Nottingham Contemporary

Nottingham

Hosting regular changing exhibitions featuring works from artists around the world, this award-winning venue is one of the largest galleries of contemporary art in the UK. In a stylish sunken building which is an architectural wonder in itself, artists from David Hockney to Allison Katz have had their work displayed. Alongside the art, Nottingham Contemporary puts on a range of talks, screenings, performances and family activities.
nottinghamcontemporary.org

Fitzwilliam

Cambridge

The dizzying array of more than half a million artefacts housed in Cambridge’s prestigious arts and antiques museum means that you could be looking at a Renaissance sculpture one moment and an Egyptian coffin the next. Rare coins and ancient ceramics jostle with paintings from Monet, Picasso, Rubens, Rembrandt, Cezanne and Van Dyck. Founded in 1816, its airy, pillared rooms make the perfect place to while away the day.
museums.cam.ac.uk

Lapworth Museum of Geology

Birmingham

Taking in 3.5bn years of natural history with its deep dive into dinosaurs and volcanoes, fossils and minerals, this small but mighty site run by the University of Birmingham is one of the oldest geological museums in the UK. Founded in 1880 by Charles Lapworth, a former professor of geology, it is set in a stunning Edwardian Grade II listed building and houses around 250,000 objects – all of which give an insight into how the world began, and how it has evolved.
birmingham.ac.uk

Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum

Hampshire

Adjacent to Farnborough airfield, this family-friendly attraction features real and model planes, as well as engines, satellites, wind tunnels and simulators. There is also an extensive archive of photographs and artefacts related to air travel through the ages, making it a must-visit for aviation fanatics
airsciences.org.uk

Tate Modern

London

The capital offers art lovers plenty of choice – the National Gallery, Tate Britain, the V&A, and the Wellcome Collection are all great free galleries – but the Tate Modern is perhaps the most consistently exciting. Here, in a former power station, is one of the world’s biggest and most impressive collections of art from 1900 onwards. Works from Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Roy Lichtenstein are among those which set this museum alight with a riot of colour. Tate Modern might regularly host popular ticketed exhibitions exploring particular art movements or artists, but the permanent displays will always make for a great free day out.
tate.org.uk

Ashmolean

Oxford

Dating to 1683, Oxford’s esteemed museum of art and archaeology is home to an intelligently curated collection which spans both Eastern and Western civilisations from the Neolithic era to today. Here, you can see the world’s best collection of Raphael drawings, as well as incredible Anglo-Saxon treasures and even one of the foremost displays of modern Chinese painting in the West. All of which explains why the Ashmolean has garnered a great reputation as one of the best galleries outside London.
ashmolean.org

People’s History Museum

Manchester

Telling the story of the development of democracy in Britain, the People’s History Museum serves as a kind of national hub for the collection, preservation and study of workers’ rights over the past 200 years. Located inside a Grade II listed former hydraulic pumping station – a fitting nod to Manchester’s industrial past – it covers everything from the women’s suffrage movement to 19th-century trade unionism. One of the largest collections of political movement material in the country, the displays include photographs, badges, posters and campaign clippings.
phm.org.uk

The Box

Plymouth

Although relatively new, The Box is well on its way to reaching a million visitors since it opened in 2020. Current displays include Planet Ocean, which delves into our relationship with the sea both past and present, and Carnivalesque, a major retrospective of the Caribbean British artist and poet John Lyons, while permanent exhibitions explore Plymouth’s naval history. The Box also runs regular family-friendly activities, workshops and competitions.
theboxplymouth.com

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery

East Sussex

This compact, hidden gem covers a terrific range of paintings, archaeology, fine art, costume and textiles, with nearly 100,000 objects from the local area and the world beyond. Located in John’s Place, a fine, redbrick building originally built as a rather large private home, it was converted into the museum in 1928. It includes a wildlife gallery with dioramas of local habitats, a dinosaur gallery, and an ode to life of Hastings-born conservationist Archibald Belaney, who adopted the name Grey Owl.
hmag.org.uk

National Science and Media Museum

Bradford

An enormously fun deep dive into the science of photography, animation, film, TV and video games, this interactive museum keeps kids entertained and adults enlightened. At the heart of it is the renowned Wonderlab gallery, which explores light, sound and perception, as well as an Imax cinema which was the first of its kind in Europe when it opened in the 80s. Display object highlights include the first photographic negative and the world’s first colour moving pictures. Given that Bradford is this year’s UK’s City of Culture, there couldn’t be a better time to visit.
scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk

World Museum

Liverpool

With a planetarium, a bug house and an aquarium, this venue leaves children spellbound. Its fascinating World Cultures gallery showcases 1,600 artefacts from around the globe, including Chinese ceramics and treasures from the Americas. As the largest and oldest museum in Liverpool, you could while away a long day here without even scratching the surface of its displays – never mind its programme of hands-on activities, family-friendly tours and fun workshops.
liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/world-museum

National Railway Museum

York

Devoted to telling the story of rail transport and its impact on society over the past three centuries, York’s best museum holds the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles. There are more than 100 locomotives, mostly British but also featuring the only bullet train outside Japan, as well as fun virtual-reality experiences. Having opened in 1975, this year it celebrates its 50th birthday, while 2025 also marks 200 years of the modern railway – so now is the perfect time to go.
railwaymuseum.org.uk