Visit us

Plan your visit to the Natural History Museum in London, or our Museum in Tring, Hertfordshire.

Welcome to the Natural History Museum at South Kensington

Open daily 10.00-17.50
(last entry 17.30)
Closed 24-26 December

Tickets

Visiting the Natural History Museum is free. Book a ticket before your visit for the best experience, especially during our busy times. We do reserve space for walk-up visitors, but you may have to wait longer to get in.

Skip the queues

Our supporters (including our Members) can jump the queues, get free entry to all of our paid exhibitions and get great discounts. 

Plan your visit

  • Getting here

    Entrances

    You can enter the Museum through any of our three main entrances. 

    Transportation

    By Tube

    The nearest Tube station is South Kensington. It’s about a five-minute walk from both our Central Entrance via our East Gate and our East Entrance. Piccadilly, District and Circle line trains stop at South Kensington. This station is not step free but there’s a lift from the platforms to the station. From the station use the subway tunnel for step-free access to our Central Entrance via our Subway Gate.

    Gloucester Road station is about a 12-minute walk from our Central Entrance and a seven-minute walk from our West Entrance. Piccadilly, District and Circle line trains stop at Gloucester Road. This station is not step free but has a lift.

    Find the quickest route to visit us by using Transport for London's Journey Planner.

    By bus

    Several bus routes stop near the Museum. Visit Transport for London's website for details.

    By bicycle

    There are cycle racks on Exhibition Road. The nearest Santander Cycles docking stations are on Exhibition Road and on Thurloe Place, near South Kensington Tube station.

    By coach

    For groups travelling by coach, the drop-off point is outside the main entrance on Cromwell Road.

    By car

    We do not have parking facilities on-site and parking around the Museum is limited.

    Disabled parking

    We have a very limited number of parking spaces on site for Blue Badge holders. Availability cannot be guaranteed. Please book in advance by calling us on +44 (0)20 7942 5000. You can access these spaces via Queen's Gate, SW7 5HD, to the west of the Museum.

    There are also twelve Blue Badge parking spaces on Exhibition Road. These spaces are managed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and cannot be booked in advance. You can park there for four hours between 8.30 and 18.30. Find out more on the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's website.

Visions of Nature

Watch a pine tree grow in a matter of seconds and come face to face with a beluga whale in our new mixed reality experience.

Be transported to the year 2125 and discover how our actions have shaped the future of the natural world.

Open now

Birds: Brilliant and Bizarre

Unravel the epic story of birds, from surviving a mass extinction event to inhabiting every continent on Earth. Discover the secrets to their success and their surprising and often shocking tactics for survival.

Closing 5 January

Our gardens

Scan the pond for dragonflies, follow in the footsteps of our earliest human ancestors and learn what the future of our planet might look like, all in our new gardens.

Open daily

Looking for inspiration on what to see?

Whether you're visiting for the first time or the fiftieth, discover what you can see and do in our free galleries, and where you can eat, drink and shop.

Become a member from just £5 a month

You can now pay monthly for a membership to the Museum, making it even easier to get the most from your visit and enjoy all the exclusive benefits.