The British Museum

The British Museum in Bloomsbury, London, holds one of the world's most significant collections of human history and culture, spanning two million years across its galleries. Founded in 1753 and housed in a grand neoclassical building designed by Sir Robert Smirke, it was the first public national museum in the world. Its Great Court, redesigned by Norman Foster and opened in 2000, remains one of the largest covered public squares in Europe, its glass-and-steel roof transforming the central space around the Reading Room where Karl Marx once worked.

The permanent collection includes the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, the Lewis Chessmen, and treasures from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Americas. Visitors can explore the galleries independently or deepen their experience through a small group guided tour, a full guided tour, or the official audio guide app, each offering a different way to navigate the museum's extraordinary breadth. The British Museum draws millions of visitors each year and remains central to London's cultural life.