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Best museums in London, ranked honestly

Ranked by Reality: whether each one delivers for people who went. The chips show if it lives up to its hype.

National Gallery — photo by Dandylicious

Worth itReality 90 +81National Gallery★ 4.8West End & Bloomsbury · MuseumFree Trafalgar Square gallery of Western European painting, from van Eyck to Van Gogh

IWM London — photo by Siu Lun Yuen

Worth itReality 81 +202IWM London★ 4.7City, Tower & South Bank · MuseumFree Southwark museum of modern conflict: WWI and WWII galleries, Holocaust Galleries, Spitfire

Soane's Museum — photo by Angus Hamilton

Worth itReality 81 +463Soane's Museum★ 4.7West End & Bloomsbury · MuseumFree, crammed Regency architect's house-museum kept as he left it in 1837

V&A — photo by Mr Wrong

Worth itReality 81 −14V&A★ 4.8Kensington & Chelsea · MuseumFree South Kensington museum of art and design: Cast Courts, jewellery, sculpture, world cultures

Natural History Museum — photo by S T O R M

Worth itReality 76 +25Natural History Museum★ 4.6Kensington & Chelsea · MuseumFree South Kensington museum of dinosaurs, gems and Hope the blue whale in a Victorian hall

British Museum — photo by Asad Ziar

Worth itReality 76 −146British Museum★ 4.5West End & Bloomsbury · MuseumFree Bloomsbury museum of world antiquities: Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, Parthenon sculptures

Science Museum — photo by Hyun Kyu Kang

Worth it if…Reality 65 −87Science Museum★ 4.6Kensington & Chelsea · MuseumFree South Kensington museum of science, space, flight and medicine, plus paid Wonderlab

Tate Modern — photo by María Jesús Gonzalez Nevado

Worth it if…Reality 61 −148Tate Modern★ 4.5City, Tower & South Bank · MuseumFree modern and contemporary art museum in a converted Bankside power station on the Thames

Churchill War Rooms — photo by Adrian Smith

Worth it if…Reality 58 +99Churchill War Rooms★ 4.6Westminster & St James's · MuseumPreserved underground WWII bunker under Whitehall plus a museum of Churchill's life

Sherlock Holmes Museum — photo by Kateřina Nosová

Skip itReality 49 +110Sherlock Holmes Museum★ 4.3West End & Bloomsbury · MuseumSmall Victorian townhouse at 221b Baker Street dressed as Holmes and Watson's lodgings

The numbers

#	Place	Verdict	Hype	Reality	Gap	Google
1	National Gallery	Worth it	82	90	+8 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.8 (63,967)
2	IWM London	Worth it	61	81	+20 · Underrated	★ 4.7 (31,093)
3	Soane's Museum	Worth it	35	81	+46 · Underrated	★ 4.7 (5,683)
4	V&A	Worth it	82	81	−1 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.8 (68,930)
5	Natural History Museum	Worth it	74	76	+2 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.6 (40,094)
6	British Museum	Worth it	90	76	−14 · Overhyped	★ 4.5 (3,481)
7	Science Museum	Worth it if…	73	65	−8 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.6 (77,315)
8	Tate Modern	Worth it if…	75	61	−14 · Overhyped	★ 4.5 (84,188)
9	Churchill War Rooms	Worth it if…	49	58	+9 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.6 (16,028)
10	Sherlock Holmes Museum	Skip it	48	49	+1 · Lives up to the hype	★ 4.3 (22,376)