Museums in London usually close at 5 or 6 in the afternoon, and this sometimes complicates our itineraries when planning a trip to London, so I think it’s useful to know that each museum usually has one day of the week when they close later. This extended schedule is known as Museum Lates, and it gives us the chance to visit some of London’s museums with more peace of mind. Below we leave you an indicative guide of which museums open later depending on the day of the week, but I always recommend checking the hours on the official website of each museum to confirm that they will open that day the week you are interested in: What will you find in this article?
Museums in London open later on MONDAYS
- British Library – Open until 8pm.
Museums in London open later on TUESDAYS
- British Library – open until 8 p.m.
- Sir John Soane Museum : open until 9 pm during the summer months (I recommend checking the official website)
Museums in London open later on WEDNESDAYS
- British Library – open until 8 p.m.
- Camden Arts Centre : open until 9 p.m.
- Somerset House – Galleries and exhibits are open until 8 p.m., and the courtyards are open to the public until 11 p.m. in the summer.
Museums in London open later on THURSDAY
- British Library – open until 8 p.m.
- Barbican Art Gallery – Open until 10pm.
- National Portrait Gallery : open until 9 p.m.
- Somerset House – Galleries and exhibits are open until 8 p.m., and the courtyards are open to the public until 11 p.m. in the summer.
Museums in London open later on FRIDAYS
- British Museum – open until 8.30pm
- Barbican Art Gallery – Open until 10pm.
- National Portrait Gallery : open until 9 p.m.
- Victoria and Albert Museum – Open until 10 p.m., plus the last Friday of every month (except December) there’s a special Friday Late with entertainment and workshops.
- Somerset House – Galleries and exhibits are open until 8 p.m., and the courtyards are open to the public until 11 p.m. in the summer.
- Tate Modern – Open until 10pm.
Museums in London open later on SATURDAYS
- Tate Modern – Open until 10pm.
Museum Lates at the Science Museum in London
In addition to these days, the Science Museum (Science Museum) is one of the museums that offer many museum late , but in this case only adults are allowed. It is free to enter, you do not need to book in advance and every night there is a different theme – all related to science, and can deal with very varied topics ranging from sex to climate change. In addition, there is a typical pub quiz (a kind of trivia that is usually played in English pubs), comedy shows and silent disco… Are you up for it?