Few neighbourhoods in London represent the city as well as Bloomsbury. Packed with leafy squares, universities and culture, the area captures London’s diversity and balance between past and present — all while offering plenty of things to do.
Worship at – or simply step into – St. George’s Church Bloomsbury
Among London’s many beautiful churches is St. George’s Church Bloomsbury, which was designed in the early 1700s by leading architect Nicholas Hawksmoor.
In addition to offering traditional church services, visitors can also attend arts performances inside the elegant church.
Tap into your inner child at Pollock’s Toy Museum
Pollock’s Toy Museum is a cozy museum located in two historic houses that showcases toys from around the world.
The museum particularly features toys from the Victorian Era, though visitors can expect to see a wide variety of playthings from days gone by.
In addition to its collection, the museum also features a shop on the first floor stocked with toys for visitors to take home themselves.
See places that inspired the Titanic at the Kimpton Fitzroy London
It’s hard to miss the grand Kimpton Fitzroy London (formerly the Hotel Russell) located right on Russell Square – and those who venture inside will get to enjoy a bit of Titanic history.
Architect Charles Fitzroy Doll designed the hotel, which was completed in 1898, and then went on to draw inspiration from his designs as he worked on the Titanic.
In addition to the recently renovated hotel’s modern amenities, visitors can still see the hotel’s main dining room, on which the Titanic’s dining room was based, and a bronze dragon on the hotel’s main staircase whose twin went down on the Titanic.
Take a shot at the Camera Museum
Located in a basement below a neighbourhood café, the Camera Museum showcases how photographic technology has developed with a full collection of cameras dating from the 1800s through the present day.
After checking out the small museum’s collection, photographers can also get some gear for themselves at a camera shop onsite, as well as enjoy a gift shop.
Remember the Holocaust at the Wiener Library
One of history’s most tragic chapters is being preserved at the Wiener Library, one of the world’s largest archives dedicated to the Holocaust and Nazi era.
Members of the public can visit the library’s reading room, take in temporary exhibitions or attend a free tour of the library, which take place every Tuesday at 1:00pm.
Learn more about the first children’s charity at the Foundling Museum
The Foundling Museum gives visitors a look at the former Foundling Hospital, which was the first children’s charity and public art collection.
Housed in a beautiful 18th century building, the museum blends both old and new, offering a historic look at the hospital and British society alongside more modern offerings like contemporary art commissions.
Go shopping at the Brutalist Brunswick Centre
While older buildings may dominate Bloomsbury’s streets, the neighborhood puts Modernism on full display at the Brunswick Centre, a Grade II-listed Brutalist building home to a number of shops and restaurants.
Head here to shop, grab a bite or catch a film at the centre’s newly opened Curzon Cinema.
Tap into your artistic side at the UCL Art Museum
Bloomsbury is home to many of London’s top universities, and few have as big a presence as the University College London.
Stroll through the campus’ scenic main square to take in the school’s bustling atmosphere before heading into the university’s main building.
In addition to its bustling campus, the University College London is also home to an art collection featuring more than 10,000 works of art from the 1400s through the present day.
Art lovers wanting something different from London’s better-known museums can check out a variety of artwork in all styles, including prints, drawings, sculptures, paintings, and media works.
Go back to ancient Egypt at the Petrie Museum
Bloomsbury is home to one of the greatest collections of Egyptian artifacts in the world – and it’s not just at the better-known British Museum.
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, which is part of UCL, gives a look at ancient life along the Nile River through some 80,000 artifacts from Egyptian and Sudanese archeology.
Make a trip to the university museum to catch such interesting pieces as Egyptian costumes and the earliest example of metal in Egypt.
Explore the animal kingdom at the Grant Museum of Zoology
The Grant Museum of Zoology, part of the University College London, is the city’s last remaining university natural history museum and one of the country’s oldest natural history collections.
The museum features 68,000 zoological specimens from across the animal kingdom, including the quagga, which is the world’s most rare skeleton
Escape the city at St. George’s Gardens
St. George’s Gardens is a three-acre public garden offering a lovely escape from London’s hustle and bustle.
Formerly a burial ground that was converted into a park in 1884, the garden retains aspects of its past with a variety of stony tombs and statues while providing a calm oasis and space to relax for modern-day Londoners.
Enjoy a West End musical at the Dominion Theatre
Take in London’s unparalleled theatre scene with a trip to the Dominion Theatre, a spacious West End theatre dating back to the 1920s.
The theatre typically presents musicals, including Beauty and the Beast, the long-running Queen musical We Will Rock You, and Bat Out of Hell, a rock musical featuring the songs of Meat Loaf.
Discover the stars of tomorrow at RADA
Some of the UK’s most famous actors on stage and screen have been trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, including Kenneth Branagh, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Vivien Leigh, and Alan Rickman.
Catch tomorrow’s celebrities before they become famous by attending performances by current RADA students, which are held throughout the school term.
Discover African and Asian art at SOAS
The School of Oriental and African Studies gives Londoners and tourists alike the chance to look beyond the U.K. at their Brunei Gallery, which showcases both contemporary and historical exhibitions centred on Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
In addition to its permanent collections, the free gallery also lets visitors escape the city at its quiet Japanese roof garden.
Check out London’s dance scene at The Place
London’s amazing culture includes a thriving dance scene, and one of the best places to check it out is at The Place.
The dance centre offers performances nearly every night by a variety of contemporary dance artists, and those hoping to try out some dancing themselves can even drop in and take an open ballet or contemporary dance class.
“Read into” a literary legend at the Charles Dickens Museum
Explore the former London home of author Charles Dickens at the museum now bearing his name.
Visitors can discover the residence where Dickens wrote Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickelby — among other works — as well as see thousands of artifacts from the author’s life and career.
The museum also offers regular events celebrating Dickens, along with special exhibitions delving even deeper into the iconic writer.
“Draw” up inspiration at the Cartoon Museum
Cartoon lovers shouldn’t miss out on the Cartoon Museum, which will relocate from a previous location on Little Russell Street to Wells Street in spring 2019.
The museum is dedicated to British cartoons and comic art from the 18th century to today, including political cartoons, comics and caricatures.
Past exhibitions have spanned everything from Alice in Wonderland to World War II, and the museum’s new space is expected to include a permanent collection, exhibition space and a full programme of events.
Discover science and art at the Wellcome Collection
This free museum has 19th-century collector Henry Wellcome’s medical antiquities and he sure liked to collect! The artefacts include a Peruvian mummified body, Darwin’s walking stick and Napoleon’s toothbrush.
Open drawers and you’ll find even more bizarre objects. The temporary exhibitions are enjoyable but I’m just as happy seeing the permanent collection as it’s quite bonkers.
I’ve always found the location, opposite Euston station, makes this a good place to meet friends in the café and the shop is great for buying gifts.
Discover historic treasures at the British Museum
Stairway of the British Museum in London
In a city filled with world-class museums, few are as popular as the British Museum, which features historic treasures from around the globe.
The museum was first founded in 1753 as the first public museum in the world, and is now housed in an imposing building with a glass-ceiling concourse that’s worth a trip in itself.
Take advantage of the museum’s free admission to see such world-renowned artifacts as Egyptian mummies, marble sculptures from the Parthenon in ancient Greece, and the Rosetta Stone.