British Museum

The British Museum in Bloomsbury, central London, houses one of the world's most comprehensive collections of human history and culture, spanning two million years across more than 90 galleries. Visitors enter through the Great Court, a two-acre courtyard enclosed by Norman Foster's glass-and-steel roof, the largest covered public square in Europe, with the domed Reading Room at its centre. From there, galleries radiate outward covering ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greece, Rome and beyond. Highlights include the Rosetta Stone, the Egyptian mummy galleries, the Parthenon (Elgin) Marbles in the Duveen Gallery, and the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo ship burial treasure. A typical visit lasts two to five hours; first-time visitors should budget at least half a day to cover the Egyptian, Greek and Roman galleries alongside the Great Court. Mornings right at the 10:00 opening are the quietest time, while the museum is busiest around midday and on weekends and school holidays, when the Egyptian galleries and Great Court fill quickly. The building itself, designed by Robert Smirke with its Greek Revival colonnaded facade on Great Russell Street, is worth pausing to admire before entering. Free general admission covers the permanent collection, while ticketed special exhibitions run periodically in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery. Photography for personal, non-commercial use is generally permitted throughout the permanent galleries, making the Great Court roofline and the Egyptian sculpture gallery popular photo spots.