Museums of London Part I: Art & Science Museums

As you may have noticed from my lists, I've been visiting a few museums.  As I sit down to write about all of them, I realize that I've been to 10 different museums here in London.   That's a lot.  Too much for one post. Let's break this down, shall we? 

But first, a few words about the museums in general.

• Most museums are free.  Which is awesome. Of course there are collection boxes with certain suggested donations, but there is really no obligation or pressure to give.
• Museums have free restrooms!  This is wonderful.  And most of them are pretty clean and decent and --dare I say-- attractive?
• Of course there are gift shops in these museums as well.  They are so much fun to look around, even for someone that doesn't like window-shopping.  So many fun and interesting things to look at and think about buying...
• This one may surprise you: the food in the restaurants, cafes and cafeterias is really, really good.  It is all done by the same company, Benugo.  Benugo also has shops in many train stations,  as well as in the parks.  Very Important Note: Benugo makes the best scones in the city!  Not only have I personally researched this, but a native Londoner told us as well. (I was not paid or perked in any way to say these things. However, if someone would like to fund my research, I would not be opposed to that :)
• There is no time to go to avoid the crowds.  On weekends you have families and tourists.  During the week you have school groups and tourists.  Chose your poison and learn to deal with it. (Note: I have not learned to deal with it)
• If you happen to see a tour happening (in English), try to tail along nonchalantly.  Tour guides point out interesting things, and you'll learn a lot.  I listened to a bit of a tour for some elementary aged children at the National Gallery, and regretted not following them all over the place.

We'll start with talking about the art museums and science museums I visited, then tomorrow we'll talk about the history museums.  Sound like a plan?

As is always the case, words in red are links.  Each red heading here will take you to the museum's official website if you would like to learn more.

The National Gallery
 
The National Gallery is located on Trafalgar Square by Charing Cross Station.  It is free to visit, but you can't take pictures inside, so I only have pictures of the outside.  The Gallery contains many, many, MANY historical paintings. 

 

 

I first visited by myself one day when I thought to myself "Self...you should get out of this hotel room and go see something." I spent a couple of hours there wandering from room to room, reading the description by almost every painting I looked at, and I felt like I covered a lot of ground.  Until I realized how big the museum was.  Really, though I did cover a lot of ground, but there was still a lot I didn't see.

Kelly and I visited on her first day here, while I was trying to keep her moving and awake.  We aimed for an area I didn't visit the first time: The Really Old Stuff.  Paintings from the 1200's and 1300's.  Whenever I see Really Old Stuff, I look at it, and I'm like "Wow...that is Really Old.  I can't believe I'm looking at it." And generally, that's how I felt when looking at the Really Old paintings, which was cool... for the first couple of rooms.  Then it all started to feel the same, so we decided to move on, and I took Kelly to see the Impressionists. 

The Impressionist Rooms always feel like the most crowded, but it is also where I recognize the most art.  You know, Monet, Manet, Van Gough, Renior. 

No big deal.

The paintings are pretty, but there are just so.  many.  people.  I think by now you know my feelings regarding crowds...

I came back with Mom & Dad, and we visited even more areas I hadn't been to before, and honestly, I liked them best.  I think they were Dutch artists from the 1500's and 1600's, but I'm not really sure. 

Again, I came with Leah & Janice.  We focused on the Impressionist rooms, and the British artists.  Again...so many people.

It is free to see Van Gough's Sunflowers, but you have to wait in line for it, and I haven't done that yet.  I don't know if I will or won't.  My friend tells me it is quite impressive to see in real life, so maybe I'll try to get there this week.

I do not consider myself an art-lover, but I do like the National Gallery.  Even just the building itself is beautiful and impressive to look at.  If you're in London, you should stop and see it some day.


Science Museum
 
The Sunday before Kelly arrived, I was coming down with a cold.  However, Tim and I got ourselves out of bed and went to church which was ABSOLUTELY the right decision.  I love the church here!  So many sweet, friendly people.  Finally, a place I felt like I belonged.  But anyway...
 
I could have been fine chillin' in the hotel for the rest of the day to try to get over my cold, but we decided to go see the Science Museum.  My short review of it is this:
 
We should have stayed home.
 
The Science Museum is in the South Kensington neighborhood, and is another free museum.  When we got there, we went to one of the cafes and had tea and a scone with clotted cream and jam.  This was indubitably the best part of the visit for two reasons:
 
1) I didn't love the museum
2) The scones are seriously amazing.
 

The museum wasn't a total downer.  My second favorite part was a very hands-on, interactive area for kids where we got to play around a little bit.  It reminded me a lot of COSI. 
 
Don't take my review too seriously, though. Remember, I was sick.  Also, my feet hurt.  If you have kids, it would be a great place to take them.
 

The Victoria & Albert

The Victoria & Albert (V&A) is a "design" museum in the South Kensington area, right across from the Natural History Museum and Science Museum, and just down Brompton Road from Harrod's.  If the National Gallery has old paintings, the V&A has old every-other-kind-of-art.  And some new art. 
 
I first visited here with Leah & Janice-- it is one of Leah's favorite museums (she loves art), then went back with Tim.  There is a lot to see, but my favorite sections were the Really Old Stuff (sculptures and carvings from ancient cathedrals--that kind of thing), and the room full of replicas.



Replicas--see people standing on the floor for scale.

Leah explained that during the Age of Enlightenment, young British men were encouraged to go on a Grand Tour, which meant a trip to Italy and possibly other ancient and Mediterranean cultures to see architecture, art, and ruins.  The Grand Tour was a costly endeavor, and so the Brits started making casts of Really Old Stuff to save on some travel costs.

 
Even if you're not into art and design, the V&A building is beautiful to see.  This is yet another free museum.
 
Tate Modern
 
The Tate Modern is a modern art gallery right across Millenium Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral, and it is housed in a building on the banks of the Thames that used to be a power plant.  I visited for the with Leah and Janice (remember, Leah loves art). 

If you are into modern art, you will love it.  If you're not into modern art...well, it's full of modern art.
 

The more I look at this, the more calming it is.

Since it is a transformed power plant, the building itself is rather industrial and sparse, allowing the art to have it's own visual space.

That diagonal crack along the floor is actually a work of art and it spans most of the entryway.

My favorite part was actually the gift shop. There were SO MANY fun, random, and hilarious books.   I wanted to buy them all!  Instead I bought none.

Natural History Museum
 
I first visited the Natural History Museum with Leah and Janice, then Tim and I went back on a Sunday afternoon to look around a bit. This is yet another free museum in the South Kensington area.
 

Both times I went, it felt very crowded, and there were so many children.  There are a lot of cool things to see, though, if you're willing to fight the crowds.  There is a cross-section of a giant sequoia tree on display. They have marked along it's age rings various points in history, which is pretty cool. 

There are also huge collections of taxidermological (that's a word, right?  The Google is telling me it isn't) animals as well as models.  Tim and I wanted to see the dinosaur section, but didn't want to queue for the next 10 years, so we skipped it.  There is a diplodocus skeleton in the entryway, but we found out that it was a cast, not an actual skeleton.  Bummer.  I'm not sure how "real" the rest of the dinosaur display would be, but I would bet it was pretty cool.

 
The Natural History Museum is yet another place that's worth visiting even just to see the building.  The architecture is amazing, and if you look at the cieling in the grand entryway, you will notice that each "tile" has a picture (painting? print?) of a different species of plant.

 
I really did like this museum, it was just so crowded. I don't know how to avoid the crowd.

So that's it for the art and science museums I've been to.  As always, don't allow my opinions and tastes to affect your trip planning.
 
Question of the day: Would you prefer an art museum or a science museum?