Museums & Arts · Our pick in London
Natural History Museum
Hope, the blue whale
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Txllxt TxllxT · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum moved into Alfred Waterhouse’s terracotta building on Cromwell Road in 1881. In the soaring Hintze Hall hangs Hope, the skeleton of a blue whale, and the galleries cover dinosaurs, minerals, human evolution and the living world. It is busy at weekends and in school holidays; book a time slot on the website. South Kensington station is a short walk away through the subway.
Why it's on our list
- Hintze Hall and Hope
- Dinosaurs
- Waterhouse building
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Natural History Museum before you go.
Hotels nearby
The closest hotels in our guide to Natural History Museum, as the crow flies.
- The Ampersand Hotel0.2 mi4 min walk
- The Baglioni Hotel London0.5 mi10 min walk
- Bulgari Hotel London0.6 mi13 min walk
- The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel0.7 mi15 min walk
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park0.8 mi16 min walk
What’s nearby
Distances from Natural History Museum are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 15 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Nearest stations
- South KensingtonPiccadillyDistrictCircle0.2 mi4 min walk
- Gloucester RoadCircleDistrictPiccadilly0.4 mi7 min walk
- KnightsbridgePiccadilly0.7 mi15 min walk
Nearest taxi ranks
- Taxi rank, Harrington Road0.2 mi3 min walk
- Taxi rank0.2 mi4 min walk
Black cabs can also be hailed in the street: a lit yellow TAXI sign means the cab is available.
Key sights
- Harrods0.6 miWalk 12 minCycle 4 minCar or taxi 7 min
- Buckingham Palace1.5 miWalk 30 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 14 min
- Westminster Abbey2.1 miWalk 42 minCycle 14 minCar or taxi 19 min
- Leicester Square2.2 miWalk 44 minCycle 14 minCar or taxi 19 min
- Trafalgar Square2.2 miWalk 45 minCycle 14 minCar or taxi 19 min
- London Eye2.5 miCycle 16 minCar or taxi 21 min
- Covent Garden2.5 miCycle 16 minCar or taxi 22 min
- The British Museum2.6 miCycle 17 minCar or taxi 23 min
- The Shard3.9 miCycle 25 minCar or taxi 32 min
- Tower of London4.4 miCycle 28 minCar or taxi 36 min
Main rail terminals
- Paddington1.3 miWalk 26 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 13 min
- Victoria1.4 miWalk 28 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 14 min
- Charing Cross2.3 miCycle 15 minCar or taxi 20 min
- Waterloo2.7 miCycle 17 minCar or taxi 23 min
- Euston2.8 miCycle 18 minCar or taxi 24 min
- St Pancras International (Eurostar)3.2 miCycle 21 minCar or taxi 27 min
- King’s Cross St Pancras3.3 miCycle 21 minCar or taxi 27 min
- London Bridge4.0 miCycle 25 minCar or taxi 32 min
- Liverpool Street4.3 miCycle 28 minCar or taxi 35 min