Accessibility at the Museum

• For everyone's safety, all bags, rucksacks, packages and personal items may be searched before entry.
• Wheeled cases, sports equipment and large items of luggage are not allowed on British Museum premises.
• Storage for luggage is available at major rail stations, including Euston, King's Cross and Charing Cross.
• At busy times, queues are likely to form at both the Great Russell Street and Montague Place entrances.
• An easy access route is available for disabled visitors and visitors with buggies.
• If you require assistance or the entrance into the Museum poses an access barrier, please let our uniformed staff know and they'll be happy to assist you.

• The main entrance on Great Russell Street has 12 steps with a handrail.
• There are self-operable lifts on both sides of these steps.
• There is level access at the Montague Place entrance (postcode WC1E 7JW), until Sunday 12 January. Due to essential maintenance works the North lift (by the Montague Place entrance) will be out of service from 13 January 2020 for 10 weeks.

• There are a limited number of on-site parking spaces available for visitors to the Museum who have a Blue Badge.
• These spaces must be booked in advance.
• To request a space:
  • Email: tickets@britishmuseum.org 
  • Phone: +44 (0)20 7323 8181
• Please allow at least two working days' notice for bookings.
• When booking, you'll be asked to provide:
  • Your name
  • Contact details
  • Vehicle registration number, make and model
  • The date and time of your visit
• On arrival at the Museum, the driver of the vehicle will be asked to show their driving license as proof of identity. Please have your Blue Badge clearly on display during your visit.
• Due to space restrictions, a 20-seater minibus is the maximum vehicle size bookable.
• For safety and security, vehicles will be searched before entry.
• If asked, you must allow our security officers to search your bags or those of the passengers travelling in the vehicle before you enter the Museum.
• You're not permitted to leave guide, assistant or companion animals unattended in your vehicle at any time.
• There are Blue Badge parking bays near the Museum on Montague Place, Montague Street and Coptic Street.
• Vehicle access for Blue Badge holders is through the main entrance on Great Russell Street.

• View our sensory map.
• The Museum can sometimes be crowded and noisy.
• The quietest times to visit the Museum are between 10.00 and 11.00 when the galleries first open and again in the afternoon after 16.00.
• The middle of the day is usually the busiest time in the Museum galleries, cafés and shops.
• The Museum is open until 20.30 on Fridays and this is often a quieter time.
• Please note that some Friday late openings have additional activities that can be busy and noisy – check our Exhibitions and events page when planning your visit.
• Our busiest times are at weekends, during UK school holidays, UK bank holidays, Christmas and the New Year.
• Days that tend to be less busy are Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
• The quietest time of the year tends to be November and early December.

Spaces that tend to be quieter:

• Room 1: Level 0
• Room 2: Level 0
• Room 2a: Level 0
• Room 15: Level 0
• Room 16: Mezzanine
• Rooms 19–20 and 20a: Level 0 and mezzanine
• Room 21: Level 0
• Room 42: Level 3
• Rooms 43 and 43a: Level 3
• Rooms 46–47 and 48: Level 3
• Rooms 90–91 and 91a: Level 4
• Rooms 92–93 and 94: Level 5

Spaces that tend to be crowded and noisier:

• Great Russell Street entrance
• Montague Place entrance: Level minus 1
• North entrance foyer: Level minus 1
• Weston Great Hall: Level 0
• The Postcard Gallery: Level 0
• The Great Court: Level 0
• Room 4: Level 0
• Rooms 6–6a and 6b: Level 0
• Room 17: Level 0
• Room 18: Level 0
• Room 23: Level 0
• Room 24: Level 0
• Room 30 (special exhibition space): Level 0
• Room 33: Level 1
• Room 35 (Special exhibition space): Level 1
• Rooms 53–54–55–56–57–58 and 59: Level 3
• Rooms 61–62–63–64–65 and 66: Level 3

Lighting

Light levels vary across the Museum. Some of the Rooms are dimly lit to preserve the exhibits. Other rooms have natural or bright lights. We sometimes have moving lights as part of our exhibitions.

Spaces with natural light:

• The Great Court: Level 0
• Room 1: Level 0
• Room 2: Level 0
• Room 4:  Level 0
• Rooms 7–8 and 9: Level 0
• Room 33: Level 1
• Rooms 67 and 95: Level 2

Spaces with low or subdued light:

• Room 2a: Level 0
• Room 3a: Level 0
• Room 25: Level minus 2
• Rooms 26 and 27: Level 0
• Room 30 (special exhibition space): Level 0
• Room 35 (special exhibition space): Level 1
• Rooms 61–63: Level 3
• Rooms 90–91 and 91a: Level 4
• Rooms 92–94: Level 5

Temperature variations
The temperature varies as you move through the Museum and some galleries and spaces are quite cold. You may want to bring an extra layer of clothing to put on in these areas.

• Throughout the Museum, there are signs to help you. The writing and symbols are mostly in white on a dark grey background.
• If you need assistance during your visit, staff members will be able to help you.
• The Visitor Services team wear blue or black shirts and a red lanyard/name badge.
• You can also ask for assistance at the Information Desk in the Great Court.

Alarms
It's unlikely that an alarm will sound during your visit. If one does, please don't worry – just follow any instructions you are given by members of staff and make your way to the nearest exit.

There are two different alarm sounds.

• View the locations of the lifts on the Museum map pdf, or pick up a free paper map of the Museum in the Great Court. 
• Most lifts in the Museum are wheelchair accessible, have audio announcements and include braille signage.
• Galleries with no lift or level access:
  • Room 16: Greece – Bassai sculptures Mezzanine
  • Room 69: Greek and Roman life Mezzanine
  • Room 20a: Greek vases
• Wheelchair access to the Pizzeria is through a back-of-house route. Please ask a uniformed member of staff for assistance.  
• For more information on lift dimensions and access features please contact:
  • Email: access@britishmuseum.org
  • Phone: +44 (0)20 7323 8971

• View the locations of accessible toilets, baby changing and baby feeding areas on the Museum map pdf, or pick up a free paper map of the Museum in the Great Court. 
• Accessible toilets are available in the following locations:
  • The Clore Centre for Education: Level 2 (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
  • Ford Centre for Young Visitors: Level minus 1 (available to families only, during weekends and local school holidays)
  • Great Court: Level 0
  • East stairs: Level 0
  • Room 30 (special exhibition space): Level 0 (Members and ticket holders only, available only during special exhibitions)
  • Great Court: Level 1
  • The North stairs: Level 3
• All of our accessible toilets have:
  • Pull-cord alarms that link back to our Control Room
  • A flashing light that indicates when an evacuation is underway
• We don't have a Changing Places toilet on-site. The nearest Changing Places toilet is at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

• Subject to availability, manual wheelchairs are available to borrow free of charge for your visit. These can be found at both the Great Russell Street and Montague Place entrance.
• If you'd like to reserve a wheelchair, please:
  • Email: tickets@britishmuseum.org
  • Phone: +44 (0)20 7323 8181
• Please allow at least two working days' notice for reservations.
• Unfortunately, the Museum is unable to provide staff assistance around the Museum for wheelchair users.
• Please return borrowed wheelchairs to either the Great Russell Street or Montague Place entrance at the end of your visit.
• Wheelchairs may not be taken outside of the Museum site.

Mobility scooters

• Mobility scooters are welcome and permitted inside the Museum.
• If you have a Class 3 vehicle you will be asked to set the speed limiter to 4mph (6.44 km/hour).
• Please remember to reduce your speed accordingly in congested areas or to adjust to others who may not be able to move out of your way quickly.

• There are some seats in selected galleries, special exhibitions, public spaces, cafés and the Great Court Restaurant.
• Most of our seating is benches or stools.
• There is some seating with backs in selected galleries and in the outside space at the front of the Museum.
• You're welcome to use walking sticks or folding stools with seat attachments, provided they have rubber stoppers.

Borrow a folding stool

• Subject to availability, portable folding stools are available to borrow during your visit.
• Stools can be found on seating racks at the following locations:
  • Great Court: Level 0
  • Bottom of the West Stairs: Level 0
  • Room 17 – Nereid Monument: Level 0
  • Room 24 – Living and Dying: Level 0
  • Room 30 – (British Museum Members and ticket holders only): Level 0
  • Room 53 – Ancient South Arabia: Level 3
  • Room 68 – Money: Level 3
• The Museum doesn't provide a reservation service for folding stools.
• We ask that visitors return folding stools to any available seating rack prior to leaving the Museum.
• Folding stools may not be taken outside of the Museum site.

Induction loops operate in The Clore Centre for Education lecture theatres, Information and Ticket Desks. We have two portable induction loops at the audio guide desk.

A sound enhancement system with portable induction loops is available for most lunchtime gallery talks and highlights tours (subject to availability).

• Guide, assistant and companion animals – including assistant dogs in training – are welcome at the Museum, as long as they're working and are wearing their tabards/harness.
• Owners should bring the dog's Assistance Dogs (UK) identification book (or the appropriate international equivalent) with them.
• Dog bowls and water are available on request at the Information Desk in the Great Court: Level 0.
• Guide, assistant and companion animals must be kept with you at all times.
• The nearest toilet/toileting area for Guide, assistant and companion animals is located in Russell Square, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 5BG.

To download in-depth access guides for different galleries and spaces across the Museum please visit AccessAble.

• The British Sign Language (BSL) guide is available free of charge for Deaf or hard-of-hearing visitors.
• Four dynamic presenters interpret the objects in the collection, introduce tours and provide context based on curators' commentaries – all on a high-resolution screen.
• Available from the audio guide desk in the Great Court.

• The audio descriptive guide is available free of charge for blind or partially sighted visitors and others who find audio description helpful.
• It contains detailed descriptions of objects along with curators' commentaries.
• It's available on a touchpad device.
• Available from the audio guide desk in the Great Court.

Touch objects from the collection and learn about them from one of our volunteers at our Hands on desks. Sessions are free and take place daily from 11.00–16.00, subject to availability, in the galleries listed below:

Room 1 - Enlightenment 

Room 2 - Collecting the world

Room 24 - Living and Dying

Room 49 - Roman Britain

Room 68 - Money gallery

Room 42–43 - The Islamic world

Room 33 - China and South Asia 

• A free self-guided or volunteer-led touch tour is available for the Egyptian sculpture gallery (Room 4).
• The tour consists of nine highlight objects in the Egyptian sculpture gallery that can be explored by touch.
• Supporting information for the Touch tour is available in the following formats:
  • Large print
  • Tactile drawings with braille information
  • Audio on your own smartphone or tablet
  • As a Guided Touch tour for blind and partially sighted visitors to the Museum (advanced booking only)
• Visitors wishing to go on a self-guided Touch tour should go to the Information Desk in the Great Court to collect Touch tour identification, large print and braille books.
• The audio-descriptive guide can be downloaded below, along with the contents for the large print guide and the tactile drawings and braille book.
• Please note: audio information is only available on your own smartphone, tablet or MP3 Player.
• To book a Guided Touch tour, email access@britishmuseum.org at least four weeks in advance of your visit with the following information:
  • Your contact details
  • The number of blind and partially-sighted people in your party and the number of access companions (if applicable).
  • Your preferred date and time. Please note that we currently offer Guided touch tours for individuals and small groups (up to three people) on Mondays at 15.30, Wednesdays at 10.00, Fridays at 18.00 and Saturdays at 10.00.
  • If you want to request a booking for a larger group we may be able to accommodate alternative timeslots.

Download large print guide

Download braille book with raised drawings

Using a mobile or tablet device? Play audio on SoundCloud

• Large print and tactile guides for selected galleries and some temporary exhibitions are available.
• Email: access@britishmuseum.org for more information.
• Large print guides are available for all paid-for exhibitions and are downloadable from the relevant exhibition webpage, under the access tab.
• Magnifying glasses are available to borrow from the Information Desk – a £5 deposit is required.

• Sensory support backpacks – designed as a fun way to help families explore the Museum – are available from the Families Desk in the Great Court.
• They include an activity booklet to guide you around the Museum, giving you information about the collection and fun sensory-based activities you can complete along the route.
• See the Family backpacks page for more information. 

The Museum has a range of inclusive learning opportunities available for SEN (Special Educational Needs) schools including taught handling-sessions and digital workshops.