Natural History Museum
A 25-metre blue whale skeleton hangs at the heart of a terracotta cathedral of nature.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk London offline.
Alfred Waterhouse's Romanesque building (opened 18 April 1881) is a specimen in its own right. In Hintze Hall, the whale "Hope" took over in 2017 from "Dippy," the Diplodocus cast displayed at the museum for 112 years.
What to look for
- Carved creatures split by wing across the terracotta facade — living species west, extinct east — Richard Owen's arrangement, reflecting his views on evolution.
- "Hope," the 4.5-tonne blue whale skeleton, hanging from the ceiling with pride of place in Hintze Hall.
- "Sophie," the most complete Stegosaurus skeleton ever found, and a giant sequoia cross-section shown since 1893.
Free admission; main entrance on Cromwell Road, South Kensington, with a tunnel from the tube station.
Natural History Museum is one of 40 sights worth the detour in London, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the London pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in London
- British MuseumThe room where a dead language got its voice back — and you walk in for free.
- Buckingham PalaceThe balcony where a whole country turns up to watch a family wave — with 775 rooms behind it.
- Westminster AbbeyNearly every English monarch since 1066 has been crowned on the same worn patch of floor.
- Big BenThe clang in a thousand establishing shots comes from a cracked bell that's rung slightly off-key since 1859.
- Tower of LondonWilliam the Conqueror's keep turned royal prison, where two queens lost their heads and the Crown Jewels still sit under guard.
- Tower BridgeA Victorian drawbridge dressed as a Gothic castle, its roadway still splitting open for passing ships.