Museums & Arts · Our pick in London
Royal Academy of Arts
The Summer Exhibition
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Tony Hisgett from Birmingham, UK · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts was founded in 1768 and is run by artists. Its home, Burlington House on Piccadilly, hosts some of London’s biggest exhibitions, and each summer it stages the Summer Exhibition, an open show of new work that has been held every year since 1769. The collection galleries and the courtyard are worth seeing even between shows.
Why it's on our list
- Major exhibitions
- Summer Exhibition
- Burlington House courtyard
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Royal Academy of Arts before you go.
Hotels nearby
The closest hotels in our guide to Royal Academy of Arts, as the crow flies.
- Brown’s Hotel0.1 mi2 min walk
- The Ritz London0.2 mi3 min walk
- The May Fair Hotel0.2 mi4 min walk
- The Stafford London0.2 mi5 min walk
- Ham Yard Hotel0.2 mi5 min walk
What’s nearby
Distances from Royal Academy of Arts 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
- Piccadilly CircusPiccadillyBakerloo0.2 mi5 min walk
- Green ParkPiccadillyVictoriaJubilee0.2 mi5 min walk
- Oxford CircusCentralBakerlooVictoria0.4 mi9 min walk
Nearest taxi ranks
- Taxi rank, Piccadilly0.1 mi2 min walk
- Westbury Hotel 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
- Leicester Square0.4 miWalk 8 minCycle 3 minCar or taxi 6 min
- Trafalgar Square0.5 miWalk 10 minCycle 3 minCar or taxi 7 min
- Buckingham Palace0.6 miWalk 12 minCycle 4 minCar or taxi 7 min
- Covent Garden0.8 miWalk 15 minCycle 5 minCar or taxi 9 min
- Westminster Abbey0.9 miWalk 17 minCycle 6 minCar or taxi 9 min
- The British Museum0.9 miWalk 18 minCycle 6 minCar or taxi 10 min
- London Eye1.0 miWalk 19 minCycle 6 minCar or taxi 10 min
- Harrods1.2 miWalk 25 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 12 min
- The Shard2.3 miCycle 15 minCar or taxi 20 min
- Tower of London2.7 miCycle 18 minCar or taxi 23 min
Main rail terminals
- Charing Cross0.6 miWalk 12 minCycle 4 minCar or taxi 7 min
- Victoria0.9 miWalk 18 minCycle 6 minCar or taxi 10 min
- Waterloo1.2 miWalk 24 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 12 min
- Euston1.3 miWalk 27 minCycle 9 minCar or taxi 13 min
- Paddington1.6 miWalk 32 minCycle 10 minCar or taxi 15 min
- King’s Cross St Pancras1.6 miWalk 33 minCycle 10 minCar or taxi 15 min
- St Pancras International (Eurostar)1.7 miWalk 33 minCycle 11 minCar or taxi 15 min
- London Bridge2.4 miCycle 15 minCar or taxi 21 min
- Liverpool Street2.5 miCycle 16 minCar or taxi 22 min