British Museum

Welcome to the British Museum, founded in 1753 — the first national public museum in the world, and still free to enter today. As you step into the Great Court, look up: the soaring glass and steel roof, designed by Norman Foster, was completed in the year 2000 and turned what had been a hidden inner courtyard into the largest covered public square in Europe. At its centre stands the old Round Reading Room, where Karl Marx, Mahatma Gandhi and Virginia Woolf all once worked. The collection contains over eight million objects, spanning two million years of human history. The Egyptian galleries house the Rosetta Stone, the key that unlocked hieroglyphs. The Greek galleries display the Parthenon Marbles, sculptures originally carved for the Acropolis in Athens. The Mesopotamian rooms contain the lion hunt reliefs of Ashurbanipal, breathtaking in their detail. A fascinating fact: only about one percent of the collection is on display at any time. A practical tip: choose two or three galleries rather than trying to see everything — you will enjoy it far more. Take your time, sit on the benches when you need to, and remember that every object here is a story carried across time and oceans to meet you. Free guided tours leave from the Great Court — pick one up if you can.