Plan your visit

• We're limiting numbers of people in the Museum to ensure there's room for you to safely enjoy your visit. You're advised to book a free ticket in advance to receive key information and updates before your visit and priority entry during busy periods.
• To book simply pick the date and time you'd like to visit.
• If the date or time you wish to visit has no availability, please note that walk-up visits are available each day for those who arrive at the Montague Place entrance of the Museum, without advance bookings. If visitor numbers are very high, non-ticket holders may have a longer wait to gain entry.
• To book tickets for exhibitions, visit our exhibition pages. Your exhibition ticket also gives you access to the permanent collection.
• If you need any access assistance, please see our Accessibility page.

Important information about your ticket booking

• Tickets to the permanent collection are free.
• You can book tickets up to a maximum of nine people in your group.
• Your ticket(s) will be emailed to you.
• Tickets will be released on a regular basis, so if there's no availability showing then please check again soon.
• General admission ticket holders are asked to arrive within 30 minutes of their entry time. If you arrive earlier or later than this, we will do our best to accommodate you, but there may be delays to your entry.
• Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest updates.

• Members do not need to book for the permanent collection or our exhibitions:
  • Silk Roads (26 September 2024 – 23 February 2025)
  • Hew Locke: what have we here? (17 October 2024 – 9 February 2025)
  • Picasso: printmaker (7 November 2024 – 30 March 2025)
• You'll need to show your Membership card to gain entry.
• If you can't find your card, please contact [email protected] or visit the Membership Desk in the Great Court. 
• Visit our Membership page for enquiries or to find out about becoming a Member.

Self-led groups of 10 or more people will need to book a group ticket. Please see the Group visits page for more details. 

School groups should contact the Box Office on +44 (0)20 7323 8181 to book their visit to the Museum. More information can be found on our School visits page. 

Explore world cultures from the Mediterranean to the Middle East and from the Americas to Africa.

• View a map of the Museum.
• Explore more of the Museum with our object trails or try a selection of our Museum Missions. 
• Take a self-guided tour of the Museum using our Audio app (available in various languages including British Sign Language). Download via the App Store or Google Play Store. Please bring your headphones with you or purchase earbuds from the Guide Desk or British Museum Shop.

See the list of available galleries for you to enjoy (please note this list is subject to change):

Lower floor

• Room 25: Africa (The Sainsbury Galleries) 

Ground floor

• Great Court
• Room 1: Enlightenment
• Room 2: Collecting the world
• Room 2a: The Waddesdon Bequest (funded by The Rothschild Foundation)
• Room 4: Egyptian sculpture
• Room 6: Assyrian sculpture and Balawat Gates
• Rooms 7–8: Assyria: Nimrud*
• Room 9: Assyria: Nineveh*
• Room 10: Assyria: Lion hunts, Siege of Lachish and Khorsabad*
• Room 12: Greece: Minoans and Mycenaeans (The Arthur I Fleischman Gallery)
• Room 13: Greece 1050–520 BC
• Room 14: Greek vases
• Room 15: Greece: Athens and Lycia
• Room 16: Greece: Bassai sculptures
• Room 17: Nereid Monument
• Room 18: Greece: Parthenon
• Room 19: Greece: Athens
• Room 20: Greeks and Lycians, 400–325 BC
• Room 21: Mausoleum of Halikarnassos
• Room 22: The world of Alexander
• Room 23: Greek and Roman sculpture
• Room 24: Living and Dying (The Wellcome Trust Gallery)
• Room 26: North America
• Room 27: Mexico

Upper floors

• Room 33: China and South Asia (Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery)
• Room 33a: India: Amaravati (The Asahi Shimbun Gallery)
• Room 33b: Chinese jade (The Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery)
• Rooms 38–39: Clocks and watches (The Sir Harry and Lady Djanogly Gallery)
• Room 40: Medieval Europe, 1050–1500 (The Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Gallery)
• Room 41: Sutton Hoo and Europe, AD 300–1100 (The Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Gallery)
• Rooms 42–43: The Islamic world (The Albukhary Foundation Gallery)
• Room 46: Europe 1400–1800
• Room 47: Europe 1800–1900
• Room 48: Europe 1900 to the present
• Room 49: Roman Britain (The Weston Gallery)
• Room 50: Britain and Europe 800 BC–AD43
• Room 51: Europe and Middle East, 10,000–800 BC (The Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Gallery)
• Room 52: Ancient Iran (The Rahim Irvani Gallery)
• Rooms 57–59: Ancient Levant
• Room 61: Egyptian life and death: the tomb-chapel of Nebamun (The Michael Cohen Gallery)
• Rooms 62–63: Egyptian death and afterlife: mummies (The Roxie Walker Galleries)
• Room 64: Early Egypt
• Room 65: Sudan, Egypt and Nubia
• Room 66: Ethiopia and Coptic Egypt
• Room 67: Korea (The Korea Foundation Gallery)
• Room 68: Money
• Room 69: Greek and Roman life
• Room 70: Roman Empire (The Wolfson Gallery)
• Room 71: Etruscan world
• Room 72: Ancient Cyprus (The A.G. Leventis Gallery)
• Room 73: Greeks in Italy
• Rooms 90–90a: Prints and drawings displays
• Rooms 92–94: Japan (The Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries)
• Room 95: Chinese Ceramics – Sir Percival David Collection (The Sir Joseph Hotung Centre for Ceramic Studies)

*Limited opening: Rooms 7, 9, 10, 19, 20, 57 and 58 are open 11:00–15:00 daily.

For more information on access to the galleries visit our Accessibility at the Museum page. 

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 planned closures will also be detailed on the affected gallery pages. 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.

Due to events taking place at the Museum, the following galleries will be closed all day:

Ground floor

• Room 1: Enlightenment on Tuesday 8 October and Friday 11 October
• Reading Room on Saturday 12 October
• Room 33: China and South Asia (Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery) on Wednesday 13 November
• Room 33a: India: Amaravati (The Asahi Shimbun Gallery) on Wednesday 13 November
• Room 33b: Chinese jade (The Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery) on Wednesday 13 November

Due to regular maintenance, the following galleries will be temporarily closed: 

Lower floor

• Room 25: Africa (The Sainsbury Galleries) from 10–21 March 2025

Ground floor

• Room 4: Egyptian sculpture from 13–24 January 2025
• Room 6a: Assyrian sculpture and Balawat Gates from 13–24 January 2025
• Room 9: Assyria: Nineveh* from 13–24 January 2025
• Room 2: Collecting the world from from 27 January – 7 February 2025
• Room 2a: The Waddesdon Bequest (funded by The Rothschild Foundation) from 27 January – 7 February 2025
• Room 1: Enlightenment from 27 January – 14 February 2025
• Room 6b: Assyrian sculpture and Balawat Gates from 10–21 February 2025
• Rooms 7–8: Assyria: Nimrud* from 10–21 February 2025
• Room 24: Living and Dying (The Wellcome Trust Gallery) partially closed from 27 February – 7 March 2025
• Room 26: North America from 27 February – 7 March 2025
• Room 27: Mexico from 27 February – 7 March 2025
• Room 24: Living and Dying (The Wellcome Trust Gallery) partially closed from 10–21 March 2025

Upper floors

• Room 53: Ancient South Arabia from 30 September – 11 October 2024
• Room 54: Anatolia and Urartu, 7000–300 BC from 30 September – 11 October 2024
• Room 55: Mesopotamia, 1500–539 BC from 30 September – 11 October 2024
• Room 56: Mesopotamia, 6000–1500 BC partially closed from 30 September – 11 October 2024
• Rooms 92–94: Japan (The Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries) from 7–9 October 2024
• Room 41: Sutton Hoo and Europe, AD 300–1100 (The Sir Paul and Lady Ruddock Gallery) partially closed from 14–25 October 2024
• Rooms 42–43: The Islamic world (The Albukhary Foundation Gallery) from 14–25 October 2024
• Room 46: Europe 1400–1800 from 14–25 October 2024
• Room 47: Europe 1800–1900 from 14–25 October 2024
• Room 48: Europe 1900 to the present from 14–25 October 2024
• Room 68: Money from 4–15 November 2024
• Room 69: Greek and Roman life from 4–15 November 2024
• Room 70: Roman Empire (The Wolfson Gallery) from 4–15 November 2024
• Room 71: Etruscan world from 4–15 November 2024
• Room 72: Ancient Cyprus (The A.G. Leventis Gallery) from 4–15 November 2024
• Room 73: Greeks in Italy from 4–15 November 2024
• Room 33: China and South Asia (Sir Joseph Hotung Gallery) from 2–13 December 2024
• Room 33a: India: Amaravati (The Asahi Shimbun Gallery) from 2–13 December 2024
• Room 33b: Chinese jade (The Selwyn and Ellie Alleyne Gallery) from 2–13 December 2024
• Room 67: Korea (The Korea Foundation Gallery) from 27–31 January 2025
• Room 95: Chinese Ceramics – Sir Percival David Collection (The Sir Joseph Hotung Centre for Ceramic Studies) from 27–31 January 2025
• Rooms 38–39: Clocks and watches (The Sir Harry and Lady Djanogly Gallery) from 24–28 March 2025
• Rooms 92–94: Japan (The Mitsubishi Corporation Japanese Galleries) from 31 March – 11 April 2025

Our opening hours are daily, 10.00–17.00 (Fridays: 20.30)
Last entry: 16.45 (Fridays: 20.15)

• Box Office: 10.00–16.50, Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays)
• Cloakroom: 10.00–17.00 (20.30 on Fridays). Last deposit is one hour before closing.
• Families Desk: 10.00–12.30 and 13.15–16.30, weekends and London Borough of Camden school holidays only.
• Ford Centre for Young Visitors: 10.00–16.30, weekends and London Borough of Camden school holidays only
• Galleries: 10.00–17.00 (20.30 on Fridays). Please note: we begin clearing galleries 10 minutes before they close.
• Great Court: 10.00–17.30 (Fridays 20.30)
• Guide Desk: 10.00–16.30
• Information Desk: 10.00–17.00
• Ticket Desk: 10.00–16.30

Find out about upcoming late opening on Fridays. There will be no late night opening on Good Friday (18 April 2025).

The Museum is closed 24–26 December. 

Special exhibitions are open daily 10.00–17.00 (last entry at 16.45) and on Fridays until 20.30 (last entry at 20.15).

Please arrive at the time stated on your ticket – we cannot guarantee admission before or after your allotted time slot.

We begin clearing galleries 10 minutes before they close.

• Bookshop: daily, 10.00–17.00
• Family shop: daily, 10.00–17.00 
• Collections shop and Grenville Room: daily, 10.00–17.00
• Online shop: open 24 hours a day

• Court Cafés: daily, 10.00–17.00
• Great Court Restaurant: daily, 11.30–17.00 (last sitting 16.00).
• Pizzeria: daily, 12.00–15.00
• Coffee Lounge: 10.30–16.30
• Outside dining: 10.00–17.00

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

Booking requests for the department study rooms at the British Museum main site can now be accepted. Opening hours vary.

Our library and archive are open by appointment: Tuesday – Thursday, 10.00–13.00 and 14.00–16.00.

• Opening hours: 11.00–17.00 (20.30 on Fridays).
  • Last deposits are one hour before closing time.
  • Please collect items 30 minutes before closing time.
• The cloakroom can be found by turning left immediately after passing through the Main entrance to the Museum. 
• Please note that items of luggage weighing more than 8kg and larger than 40x40x50cm (including all wheeled suitcases) are not permitted. 
  • Please see the restricted items section for full details.
  • Storage for luggage is available at major rail stations, including Euston, King's Cross and Charing Cross.
• Use of the cloakroom is charged per-item:
  • Coats – £2
  • Bags up to 4kg – £2.50
  • Bags 4–8kg – £5
  • Umbrellas – £1
  • Fold-up pushchairs – free
• Members can use the cloakroom free of charge. The same restrictions apply.
• You must retrieve items from the cloakroom before you leave the Museum site.
• In the event of a fire evacuation, the cloakroom will be closed immediately and you must follow our fire evacuation instructions. Our staff will help to retrieve your items from the cloakroom as soon as possible after the Museum reopens.
• Please note that the cloakroom has limited capacity, and when this capacity is reached, it cannot accept items until space becomes available again.
• The Museum reserves the right to vary or alter these conditions without prior notice.

If you've lost an item while visiting the Museum, please email [email protected]

• 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 is not allowed.

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

If you need help during your visit, please speak to a uniformed member of staff.

For information about facilities and resources for disabled visitors please see the Accessibility at the Museum page.

If you need assistance during your visit, please speak to a uniformed member of staff.

• 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 at [email protected] or on +44 (0)20 7323 8016.
• For questions regarding commercial photography or filming, please see our Commercial page.