Above: British Museum
London is home to countless historical and modern attractions. It represents a vibrant and tranquil fusion of the past and the future.
This 10-part article will hopefully help you decide which ones to visit, or when to visit given you’d want (trust me you will) to visit all of them.
Take your pick from the ten most popular London attractions. Don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity. Indulge yourself with the London experience.
#10 British Museum
The imposing British Museum exhibits the works of man from prehistoric to modern times. Its collections were gathered from all around the world; covering 2 million years of human history. The museum houses roughly 7 million objects. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world.
Above: South Metope
There you will see the Rosetta Stone - an Ancient Egyptian artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of hieroglyphic writing; sculptures from the Parthenon – the temple built for the Greek goddess Athena that dates back to 5th century BC on the Athenian Acropolis – one of which is the South Metope 3 (pictured above); the Portland Vase (pictured below) - a first century BC Roman cameo glass vase, which served as inspiration to many glass and porcelain makers from the beginning of the 18th Century onwards to this day.
Below: Portland Vases
The treasures of Sutton Hoo – Sutton Hoo is the site of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery of the 6th and early 7th century, which contained an undisturbed ship burial that had a wealth of artifacts of outstanding artistic, historical, and archaeological significance – most of which are displayed in the British Museum, like this golden shoulder clasp that has exceptional artistic and technical quality for its time.
Below: Sutton Hoe Armor
The Mildenhall Treasure is a major collection of 33 Roman silver objects found in the Mildenhall area of the English county of Suffolk. Believed to have been buried in the 4th century, the hoard was discovered in January 1942. The entire collection was acquired by the British Museum. Here are some the pieces being displayed in the museum.
Below: Mildenhall Treasures
The British Museum was visited by nearly 5 million people last year. It was founded in 1753, making it the oldest national public museum in the world. The museum itself is one of Britain’s largest architectural landmarks and London’s largest covered public square.
There are a lot of scheduled guided tours of the museum every day – some of which you can enjoy for free. If you want to get a free tour, all you have to do is choose a particular civilization and a particular schedule for that civilization, and the guided museum tour will be given to you for free. If however you want to get the entire experience in one breeze through, you can avail of the highlights tour for a minimal charge. The highlights tour is also available every day.
Below: Great Court
If you were not able to research on some of the collections, a reading room in the Great Court (pictured above) offers interactive computer screens that will brief you on the different objects in the museum, the collections, and the numerous civilizations available for exploration in the British Museum. Reading up on the info will help you understand and appreciate more all the available wonders of the museum (hopefully I helped a bit with some of the samples I discussed in the earlier paragraphs).
The British Museum truly is a fantastic opportunity to experience the world through different times - all in one roof. What’s best is that, with or without knowledge on the different subjects, you can still enjoy the British Museum free of charge – it’s open to the public. You can discover a lot of things, and maybe discover even more about yourself, your religion, and your culture.
The British Museum is generally open from 09.00 to 17.00. Entrance is free. It is located at Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Public transport is by tube: Tottenham Court Road, Holborn and Russell Square. For more info, you can call +44 (0)20 7323 8181.
