Natural History & British Mueums- help needed

CIS

I will be visiting London soon (for the 1st time) and I'm planning on fitting in the Natural History & British Museums - what I need to know is roughly how long it takes to look around the museums ?.

mr_lordi

CIS wrote: »

I will be visiting London soon (for the 1st time) and I'm planning on fitting in the Natural History & British Museums - what I need to know is roughly how long it takes to look around the museums ?.

Hi, we took our ten year old daughter last year with the intentions of doing NHM in the morning and the science museum in the afternoon. Well, we spent the whole day in the NHM and never got round it all. I was amazed at how much we all took in. I think its down to the individual interest as to how long you can be there as friends of ours did it in an hour and a half.

suki1964

CIS wrote: »

I will be visiting London soon (for the 1st time) and I'm planning on fitting in the Natural History & British Museums - what I need to know is roughly how long it takes to look around the museums ?.

A lifetime

Seriously , I wouldn't even try to see them both in full. Look on the web sites, pick the displays you are most interested in and give half day in each just see a few exhibits

We took grandson to the natural history museum last year just for the dinosaur display, and was there two hours ( he was five)

p00hsticks

CIS wrote: »

I will be visiting London soon (for the 1st time) and I'm planning on fitting in the Natural History & British Museums - what I need to know is roughly how long it takes to look around the museums ?.

I'd say that you could easily spend a full day in each - and if you did spend less than a full day in the Natural history museum you have both the Science Muesum and V&A adjacent to make up the day.

Jacq42

We usually visit London a few times a year and always pop into the museums to catch up with what is going on, on our first visit we combined the Natural History with the Science Museum on one day with a wander down to Harrods food hall for lunch (or Maccie D's is on the way if preferable) and The British Museum on the next day with a wander down Oxford Street at lunch, you don't say how you are travelling around but the tube is about 10 minutes away at South Kensington and a pedestrian subway runs from there right to the Science Museum entrance.

Dark_Star

Really depends what exhibits you want to see & the age of those going (allow for boredom factor even if things are of interest!).

Natural History can take all day & allow for queues....& the cafe...& the shop....

bylromarha

We spent a few hours in science museum, then bused it over to british museum for 2 hours. We got kicked out of there! However we visit fairly regularly, so the kids saw their favourite bits...egyptian and greek highlights on the ground floor.

Don't do an injustice to either on your first visit by not actually seeing them. Whizzing round would never actually happen once your inside. Both are pretty amazing!

CIS

Thanks.

Just me and the wife going for a weekend so we've plenty of time available. (although why do the majority of museums in London only open at 10 ?).

I was thinking of getting the tube down from Kings Cross (staying near there) about 8:30 or so and jumping off at Hyde Park for a stroll round and then walk down to the Natural History for opening time.

After that maybe 3 or 4 hours before getting the tube back up to the British Museum and then walking back to the hotel from there (maybe nipping in to the Wellcome Trust museum for a quick look as they're open to six).

On the Sunday morning I was thinking of having a wander around Trafalgar Square and down the Mall but after that I've time to kill before the train at 15:50. What's around that's easy to visit on a Sunday ? (and what time do the shops & cafes etc open ?)

p00hsticks

CIS wrote: »

On the Sunday morning I was thinking of having a wander around Trafalgar Square and down the Mall but after that I've time to kill before the train at 15:50. What's around that's easy to visit on a Sunday ? (and what time do the shops & cafes etc open ?)

As you seem to be into museums and it sounds like you'll be travelling back to Kings Cross, I'd say the British Library

http://www.bl.uk/

sone great exhibits including everything from a copy of the Magna Carta to beatles lyrics
it opens at 11am on a Sunday, is close to Euston/Kings cross and if you've only got a small amount of luggage there are lockers where you can leave it for I think a £1 refundable deposit

barbarawright

Surely if you're at Trafalgar Square, the obvious place to visit is the National Gallery (opens at 10am) and the National Portrait Gallery. The British Library is very good too as p00hsticks says. You could also leave the Wellcome for Sunday. Or ignore Trafalgar Square and get the Northern Line down to Bankside for the many interesting sites round there (Tate Modern, Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral). Walk back across the Millenium Bridge and through a bit of the City to Bank station and hop on the Northern line back to Kings Cross

Jacq42

Most big stores don't open untill 11 or 12 on a Sunday in central London.