Greater London & City of London Art Galleries and Museums
Greater London & City of London Art Galleries and Museums, many with brief details of disabled access. Along with the attractions listed on this page you may also find places of interest on the Greater London & City of London Attractions, Heritage and Nature pages. We suggest that you also visit the pages for the neighbouring counties to see what else there is in the area.
We support ‘Accessible Countryside for Everyone’ in providing a brief guide as to the access / facilities for the sites listed, where we have them.
18 Stafford Terrace - Kensington - The Sambourne Family Home, booked public tour only, step through the front door of 18, you are instantly taken back in time and welcomed into the home of a Victorian family, "The house gives an insight into the personal lives of the Sambourne family, and also provides a rare example of what was known as an 'Aesthetic interior' or 'House Beautiful' style", guided and costumed tours available - Unfortunately we have no accessibility information for this site
www.rbkc.gov.uk
Bank of England Museum - "Discover the history of the Bank, its buildings, and the people who have shaped it over more than 300 years", several collections, talks and presentations, gift shop - Wheelchair access via portable ramp, "On arrival at the Museum, a member of staff will escort visitors with wheelchairs to the Bank’s main entrance to gain access via a lift", accessible toilet
www.bankofengland.co.uk
Barbican Art Centre - "Explore the Barbican in this do-it-yourself adventure trail for families", also Architecture Tour and Backstage Tours, "Grade II listed building...remains one of London’s best examples of Brutalist architecture", cafes or bars - "There is ramped access from our main entrance at Silk Street to the Level G Foyer where lifts service all levels...There is provision for wheelchair users and systems for the hard of hearing in all of our venues", the Camera Cafe has a "Changing Places" accessible toilet 
www.barbican.org.uk/artgallery
Benjamin Franklin House Grade I Georgian building, the world's only remaining Franklin home, a dynamic museum and educational facility, "between 1757 and 1775, Dr Benjamin Franklin – scientist, diplomat, philosopher, inventor, Founding Father of the United States and more – lived behind its doors", Architectural tours, Historical Experience - Unfortunately we have no accessibility information for this site
www.benjaminfranklinhouse.org
Bloomberg SPACE - not a conventional corporate art collection, but rather a dynamic space, where artists and audiences can explore new ideas and relationships in an innovative way - Unfortunately we have no accessibility information for this site
www.bloombergspace.com
British Library - "The collection includes well over 150 million items, in most known languages. We have manuscripts, maps, newspapers, magazines, prints and drawings, music scores, and patents. The Sound Archive keeps sound recordings from 19th-century cylinders to CD, DVD and MD recordings. We house 8 million stamps and other philatelic items", coffee shops, cafe, bar - "From the Ossulston Street entrance, the principal disabled entrance, there is step-free access by level surfaces and ramps...All lifts have voice announcements and controls at a height suitable for wheelchair users. They also have alarms for emergency use which are designed to be accessible...Induction loops are installed in the Conference Auditorium and portable hearing loops can be provided for use in the meeting rooms in the conference centre if requested in advance", accessible toilets on all floors
www.bl.uk
British Museum - over 8 million objects spanning the history of the world's cultures: from the stone tools of early man to twentieth century prints. Free tours and talks throughout the day, Object handling sessions, audio guide, exhibitions, events, cafes, shop - "There is level access at the Montague Place entrance...The majority of galleries and all special exhibitions are fully accessible...There are accessible toilets in the Great Court, the Ford Centre for Young Visitors, the Clore Education Centre and to the north of Room 66...Wheelchairs are available at both entrances to borrow...The British Sign Language (BSL) guide is available free of charge for deaf or hard of hearing visitors. The audio descriptive guide is available free of charge for blind or partially sighted visitors and others who find audio description helpful
www.britishmuseum.org
The Brunel Museum - Rotherhithe - "Find out about the Thames Tunnel and SS Great Eastern in this exhibition...Descend into the underground chamber where Brunel nearly drowned, the original Grand Entrance Hall", Engine House, Cafe, Terrace and Gardens (Combine your visit to the Museum with a trip to the nearby site of Brunel’s final project, the Great Eastern Launch Site) - Unfortunately we have no accessibility information for this site
www.brunel-museum.org.uk
Charles Dickens Museum - Bloomsbury - "This is the only remaining house of Charles Dickens in London and the one in which he began married life, became established as a writer, and rose rapidly to international fame. The Museum houses the world's finest and most comprehensive collection of material relating to Charles Dickens with over 100,000 items including furniture, personal effects, paintings, prints, photographs, letters, manuscripts, and rare editions", exhibitions, cafe, shop - "Step free entrance and egress to the Museum. There is one step onto the café, but a wheelchair ramp is available. The Museum covers five floors, four of which can be accessed by our lift. Visitors should ask a staff member if they wish to use the lift. There is no lift access to the attic rooms; a touch screen interactive facility is located on the second floor which enables visitors to view the fifth floor is they are unable to use the stairs. Due to limited space within the Museum, we regret that mobility scooters cannot be accommodated...Audio Visual Guides are available in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian", accessible toilets
www.dickensmuseum.com
Churchill War Rooms Part of the Imperial War Museums - "Visit the secret WW2 bunker and museum that tells the story of Winston Churchill’s life and legacy...Discover the stories hidden beneath the streets of Westminster in the Cabinet War Rooms. Discover more about the life and legacy of Britain's great wartime leader in the Churchill Museum", audio guide, cafe, shop - "If you have mobility issues we recommend you make your way to our front entrance via Birdcage Walk by St James Park. Once inside, the historic Churchill War Rooms is wheelchair accessible throughout", a descriptive guide is available for visitors with visual impairment, accessible toilets
www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms
Courtauld Institute Of Art Gallery - "The collection stretches from the early Renaissance into the 20th century and is displayed in the elegant setting of Somerset House, one of the city’s most dynamic cultural venues. The Gallery is particularly renowned for its unrivalled collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, including masterpieces by Monet, Van Gogh and Gauguin and the largest collection of Cézannes in the UK. The Gallery also holds an outstanding collection of drawings and prints and fine works of sculpture and decorative arts...Somerset House is a spectacular 18th century building on the banks of the Thames. Once the home of the Royal Academy of Art", cafe, shop - "The Courtauld Gallery is fully accessible to wheelchair users...a lift provides access to all levels including the galleries, café, toilets, and locker facilities...A hearing loop is installed at the Admissions Desk. Please switch your hearing aid to the ‘T’ position", accessible toilet and baby changing facilities are located on the ground floor
www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery - Dulwich Picture Gallery is England’s first public art gallery: it was founded in 1811 when Sir Francis Bourgeois RA bequeathed his collection of old masters “for the inspection of the public”. "The Gallery houses a collection of over 600 works rich in European masterpieces including Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Canaletto and Poussin", Permanent Collection, Exhibitions, Lectures and Talks, Tours and Walks, garden, cafe, shop - "All areas of the Gallery are on one level...The Gallery has wheelchairs available for visitors to borrow during your visit...An induction loop operates in the Linbury Room, Art Room, ticket desks, Friends desk and Gallery shop", accessible toilets are located next to the Linbury Room.
www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art - a Grade II listed Georgian building, contains six galleries, an art library, "The Collection is known internationally for its core of Futurist works, as well as figurative art and sculpture dating from 1890 to the 1950s", cafe and bookshop - "Wheelchair access to galleries 1-2, café, shop and toilets only"
www.estorickcollection.com
Florence Nightingale Museum - "The Florence Nightingale Museum celebrates the life and work of the best known figure in nursing history. Located within St Thomas’ Hospital, the museum was opened in 1989 and now forms a key part of London’s medical heritage. The collection consists of personal material associated with Florence Nightingale, items relating to the Crimean War and nursing artefacts", Guided Tours, exhibitions, shop - "The Museum is fully accessible for wheelchair users and has a wheelchair accessible toilet. There is a loop system for the hard of hearing"
www.florence-nightingale.co.uk
Foundling Museum - The Foundling Museum reveals the stories of the Foundling Hospital’s founder Thomas Coram, the artist William Hogarth and composer George Frideric Handel. It houses significant collections of eighteenth-century art, interiors, social history and music, Artists’ Projects, Exhibitions, Events, activities for families, workshops, cafe, shop - "The Museum has ramped access, a lift to all floors, accessible toilets with baby-changing facilities and a cloakroom. A wheelchair, facilities for guide dogs, large print interpretation texts and magnifying glasses are also available on request"
www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Freud Museum - the home of Sigmund Freud and his family, contains Freuds remarkable collection of antiquities: Egyptian; Greek; Roman and Oriental. Almost 2,000 items fill cabinets and are ranged on every surface, "Organised by the Museum's education team, pre-booked facilitated visits include a welcome and introduction to the house, and a discussion/Q&A session", self-guided visits, exhibitions, garden, shop - "The ground floor with the key room, Freud’s study, is fully accessible by wheelchair. The first floor (with the Anna Freud Room, Video Room and Exhibition Room) is not currently accessible as there is no lift...Visitors with impaired vision can use the audio guide and request additional information from our visitor assistants"
www.freud.org.uk
Guildhall Art Gallery - "Home of the City of London Corporation, Guildhall Great Hall has been the centre of City government since the Middle Ages...The City's only surviving secular medieval building dates from 1411. With 27m high ceilings and a cathedral-like ambience, the historic building is situated on top of London's largest medieval crypts", Art Gallery with the art collection of the City of London Corporation "see works dating from 1670 to the present, including 17th-century portraits, Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces and a range of paintings documenting London's dramatic history", Tours given by a qualified Guide, Curator talks, tours of the amphitheatre with resident archaeologist - "The Gallery is fully accessible. There are wheel chair accessible lavatories off the main Exhibition Gallery and within the cloakroom area. A hearing enhancement system is available at the Welcome Desk."
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
