Visit the British Museum

• Great Court: 09.00–18.00 (20.30 on Fridays) 
• Galleries: 10.00–17.30 (most open to 20.30 on Fridays)
• Ticket Desk: 09.00–16.45 (19.45 on Fridays)

Find out about late opening on Fridays.

Please note that we begin clearing galleries 10 minutes before they close.

Closed 1 January, Good Friday (10 April 2020) and 24–26 December

Bookshop

• Monday–Thursday: 10.00–17.30
• Friday: 10.00–20.00
• Saturday: 10.30–17.30
• Sunday: 10.00–17.30

Family shop

• Monday–Friday: 9.30–18.00
• Saturday: 09.30–17.30
• Sunday: 10.00–17.30

Collections shop and Grenville Room

• Monday–Thursday: 09.30–17.30
• Friday: 09.30–20.00
• Saturday: 09.30–17.30
• Sunday: 10.00–17.30

• Court Café: 09.00–17.30 (20.00 on Fridays)
• Great Court Restaurant: 10.00–17.30 (20.00 on Fridays)
• Pizzeria: 11.00–16.00
• Montague Café: 11.00–16.00 (seasonal variation may apply)
• Coffee Lounge: 11.00–16.00 (seasonal variation may apply) 

Find out more about the Museum's cafés and restaurants. 

Galleries in the Museum may be closed for maintenance, refurbishment or private events. Where possible, we'll list the time and date of the closures below. All upcoming and current closures will also be detailed on the affected gallery page.

• Japan (Rooms 92–94) The Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries: closed 25 November – 3 December 2019.
• China and South Asia (Room 33) The Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery, India: Amaravati (Room 33a) and Chinese jade (Room 33b): closed 2 December – 6 December 2019. 
• Enlightenment (Room 1): closed 20 January – 7 February 2020
• Collecting the world (Room 2): closed 20 January – 24 January 2020
• The Waddesdon Bequest (Room 2a): closed 20 January – 24 January 2020

Occasionally we may need to close galleries at short notice for safety reasons. We regret that in these cases we're not always able to alert the public in advance.

Special exhibitions are occasionally closed to the public to allow for exclusive school viewings. These usually take place once or twice a month, on weekday mornings. Please check the individual exhibition pages for dates.

Admonitions Scroll (Room 91a)
Opening from 14 Oct to 24 Nov 2019

Greece: Cycladic islands (Room 11)
Closed until further notice

Greece: Bassai sculptures (Room 16)
Closed until further notice

Greek vases (Room 20a)
Closed until further notice

Greek and Roman architecture (Room 77)
Closed until further notice

Classical inscriptions (Room 78)
Closed until further notice

• Free wifi is available for all visitors to the Museum.
• Please connect to 'British Museum WiFi' only.
• You'll be required to supply your full name and email address before using the service.
• Free wifi is funded by the Mayor of London and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport. Connectivity is supported by the Daisy Group.
• Charging phones and plugging in any other electronics isn't allowed.

• Opening hours: 9.45–17.30 (20.30 on Fridays)
• The main cloakroom can be found by turning left immediately after passing through the Main Entrance to the Museum. 
• Use of the cloakroom is charged per-item:
  • Coats – £2
  • Bags up to 4kg – £2.50
  • Bags 4kg to 8kg – £5
  • Umbrellas – £1
  • Fold-up pushchairs – free
• Last deposits are one hour before closing time.
• Please aim to collect items 30 minutes before closing time to avoid delays.
• You must retrieve items from the cloakroom before you leave the Museum site.
• Members' have use of a free cloakroom next to the Montague Place entrance. 
• In the event of a fire evacuation, the cloakroom will be closed immediately. Follow fire evacuation instructions at first and staff will help you retrieve items as soon as possible.
• Please note that when the cloakroom reaches its capacity, it won't accept items until it has space again.
• The Museum reserves the right to vary or alter these conditions without prior notice.

Our lost property service is located at the Information Desk in the Great Court. If you've lost an item while visiting the Museum, please enquire at the Information Desk or email lostproperty@britishmuseum.org.

For information about facilities for parents, babies and young children, please see the Family visits page.

For information about facilities for those with specific accessibility needs, please see the Accessibility at the Museum page.

• Hand-held flash photography and video recording is allowed in most galleries for private purposes only.
• Signs will indicate where photography is restricted.
• Tripods, monopods and selfie sticks may not be used inside the Museum building.
• In special circumstances, a permit to use these items can be issued – if you have any queries, contact the Museum:
  • Email filming@britishmuseum.org
  • Phone: 020 7323 8380
• For questions regarding commercial photography or filming, please see our Commercial page.