Museums & Arts · Our pick in London
Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
Art and design across 5,000 years
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
The V&A, founded in the 1850s, holds one of the world’s great collections of art and design, spanning sculpture, fashion, furniture, ceramics, glass, jewellery and photography. Highlights include the Cast Courts, the jewellery gallery and the fashion galleries, and the original refreshment rooms, decorated by William Morris and others, are still used as the museum café. Major exhibitions are ticketed.
Why it's on our list
- Fashion and jewellery
- Cast Courts
- Historic café rooms
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) before you go.
Hotels nearby
The closest hotels in our guide to Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), as the crow flies.
- The Ampersand Hotel0.3 mi5 min walk
- Bulgari Hotel London0.5 mi10 min walk
- The Cadogan, A Belmond Hotel0.6 mi11 min walk
- The Baglioni Hotel London0.6 mi13 min walk
- Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park0.6 mi13 min walk
What’s nearby
Distances from Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) 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 RoadCircleDistrictPiccadilly0.5 mi11 min walk
- KnightsbridgePiccadilly0.6 mi12 min walk
Nearest taxi ranks
- Taxi rank0.1 mi1 min walk
- Taxi rank, Harrington Road0.2 mi5 min walk
Black cabs can also be hailed in the street: a lit yellow TAXI sign means the cab is available.
Key sights
- Harrods0.4 miWalk 9 minCycle 3 minCar or taxi 6 min
- Buckingham Palace1.3 miWalk 26 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 13 min
- Westminster Abbey1.9 miWalk 39 minCycle 12 minCar or taxi 17 min
- Leicester Square2.0 miWalk 41 minCycle 13 minCar or taxi 18 min
- Trafalgar Square2.0 miWalk 41 minCycle 13 minCar or taxi 18 min
- London Eye2.3 miCycle 15 minCar or taxi 20 min
- Covent Garden2.4 miCycle 15 minCar or taxi 21 min
- The British Museum2.5 miCycle 16 minCar or taxi 21 min
- The Shard3.7 miCycle 24 minCar or taxi 31 min
- Tower of London4.2 miCycle 27 minCar or taxi 34 min
Main rail terminals
- Victoria1.2 miWalk 25 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 12 min
- Paddington1.3 miWalk 26 minCycle 8 minCar or taxi 13 min
- Charing Cross2.1 miWalk 42 minCycle 14 minCar or taxi 19 min
- Waterloo2.5 miCycle 16 minCar or taxi 22 min
- Euston2.7 miCycle 18 minCar or taxi 23 min
- St Pancras International (Eurostar)3.1 miCycle 20 minCar or taxi 26 min
- King’s Cross St Pancras3.1 miCycle 20 minCar or taxi 26 min
- London Bridge3.8 miCycle 24 minCar or taxi 31 min
- Liverpool Street4.1 miCycle 26 minCar or taxi 34 min