You'll be back - time after time after time. (British Museum)

Member Name: Ariel_uk

Product:	British Museum
Date:	28/10/01 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scale and range of the collection, Free entry

Disadvantages: Scale of collection - too much to take in in one trip.

This really is the granddaddy of the London Museums. Founded in 1753 it has collected widely - giving a home to everything from jewels from imperial India, Ancient Sumaria and Egypt, carvings from all over - Ancient Greece, to South America and Japan, and everyday items from almost all the Ancient civilisations. Since it's original founding it became so large that part's of it's collections have separated to become world renowned museums in their own right - The Natural history Museum, The Museum of Mankind and so on.

As well as an important attraction too many tourists visiting the capital, it is also a regular stop for locals. Partly because of the free entry, partly because of the sheer scale of the collections, this museum is one that I can return to often, either to see something new, or to return to old favourites. My personal favourites are the Parthenon Marbles, the Egyptian rooms, and the Greek and Roman sculpture half hidden on the lower floors. You really cannot attempt more than the highlights in a single visit, and are unlikely to get the full pleasure of a visit if you attempt too much. If you are visiting while on holiday it may be better to give it two half days rather than to try and see everything in one trip.

In fact the main problem with this fantastic museum is that it has far more in it's collections than it an ever hope to exhibit. This means that even for a regular visitor the special exhibitions are a treasure trove of unseen objects, and as well as a major tourist attraction, this is a centre of academic excellence. It provides essential resources for researchers in a wide range of fields, as well as maintaining it’s own Department of Scientific Research dedicated to discovering more about the civilisations and artefacts represented in the collection.

Until 1997 The British Museum also housed the British Library, with its grand centrepiece, the Round reading Room, which is now the centre o
f the new courtyard millennium development. Designed by Foster and Partners this sees the reading room clad in whiter-than-white stone and the courtyard opened to the public, and roofed in glass. Coming through the main entrance on Museum Street, with it's imposing neo-classical architecture, into the dark, and often crowded, entrance hall, and then stepping out once again into this light open space is wonderful -worth a visit even when the museum galleries are shut! In an effort to make it a more accessible public space the courtyard is open later in the evenings than the museum galleries. The super white stone, and greenish glass gives the whole courtyard an almost unreal feel - a little unnerving at first, but very peaceful, and I would certainly recommend stopping off their for coffee should you be in the area.

Details of their special exhibitions, opening hours, lectures, guided tours and so on can be found on their website: http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/, which also links to it's 'online collections', with virtual tours of the collection for those who can't make it to London. They offer special 'kids packs' to several of the gallleries, so this could be a good family day out, as well as something for the grown ups.

Living in London it's all to easy to never get round to actualy visiting some the 'attratctions', but the BM is the one place I keep coming back to again and again.

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