The best permanent exhibitions in London that go beyond the frame
The thing about most exhibitions is that they’re one-time events—if you missed it, that’s it, and it might be months, years, or never before they return. And that can be frustrating, especially if you genuinely couldn’t find the time while they were on.
But some of us forget that there are exhibitions we can visit anytime—carefully preserved, maintained, and always on display in the museums or galleries that own them. So now the question is: What are those exhibitions?
Well, they’re only the best permanent exhibitions in London that go beyond the frame. We’re talking about rooms filled with heart-provoking paintings, unique immersive experiences, and eye-opening historical highlights about culture or fashion.
Must-see art exhibitions
Italian and Northern Renaissance to 18th century Europe
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Website: https://courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/explore-the-blavatnik-fine-rooms/
Address: Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand
Contact details: +44 20 3947 7777
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday – 10 AM – 6 PM
In the Blavatnik Fine Rooms of the Courtauld Gallery, you’ll find paintings, ornate ceramics, and rare Islamic metalwork spanning the Italian and Northern Renaissance to 18th-century Europe. Spread across six galleries, they occupy the entire second floor.
Prepare to see Sandro Botticelli’s The Trinity with Saints and Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Landscape with the Flight into Egypt. Peter Paul Rubens is here, too, with a room dedicated to his works, such as Descent from the Cross and Landscape by Moonlight.
Don’t miss Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Adam and Eve or the Pair of Marriage Chests: The Nerli Chest by Italian artists Biagio di Antonio, Jacopo del Sellaio, and Zanobi di Domenico. You’ll walk into each masterpiece under stunning ceilings and beside beautiful fireplaces.
Degas, Manet, Van Gogh
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Website: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/floorplans/level-2/room-43
Address: The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square
Contact details: +44 20 7747 2885
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday – 10 AM – 6 PM
- Friday – 10 AM – 9 PM
Part of your free general admission ticket to The National Gallery is access to the Degas, Manet, Van Gogh collection in Room 43. Full of color, movement, and personality, you’re up for a rich, sensory journey through late 19th-century Europe.
Degas’ graceful Ballet Dancers and Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando paintings are wonderful performances to watch. And on a more personal note, Manet’s Woman with a Cat might even remind you of your own.
If you’re visiting in the summer, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, A Wheatfield with Cypresses, and Long Grass with Butterflies feel especially alive. Add in his Two Crabs, Landscape with Ploughman, and Farms near Auvers.
Although the exhibit is dedicated to those three painters, you’ll also encounter Gauguin’s A Vase of Flowers and discover how quiet symbolism blends well with bold colors. For a moment of escape, Russell’s dreamlike Les Terrasses de Monte Cassino gives just that.
JMW (Joseph Mallord William) Turner
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Website: https://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain/display/jmw-turner
Address: Tate Britain, Millbank
Contact details: +44 20 7887 8888
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday – 10 AM – 6 PM
The biggest collection of JMW Turner’s watercolor paintings is on free display at Tate Britain, and they’re there to stay—no booking needed! Dubbed the ‘Father of Modern Art,’ his unique brushwork and moody skies still turn heads today.
Starting with JMW Turner: Rise to Fame in Room 31, his Self-Portrait, Fisherman at Sea, and London from Greenwich Park share glimpses of where it all began. Every piece is proof that his barber father’s investment in those painting lessons really paid off.
Next are the unfinished works found in Turner’s studio after his death, now part of Experiments on Canvas in Room 34. You’ll notice that colors just melt together with no clear outlines in Norham Castle, Sunrise, A River Seen From a Hill, and Sunrise with Sea Monsters.
Last is Toil and Terror at Sea in Room 35—watch out for the Rough Sea, Whalers, and A Wreck, with Fishing Boats all revealing Turner’s fascination with the sea’s darker side. There are other rooms, actually, including one on his travels in Europe, sketchbooks, and more.
Immersive and interactive experiences
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience
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Website: https://vangoghexpo.com/london/
Address: 106 Commercial St
Contact details: +44 1344 951 371
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday – 10 AM – 7 PM
Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience is a digital art wonderland where art and technology come together in mesmerizing, 360-degree projections of his masterpieces. Set in a historic 19th-century stable building, all ages are welcome to step into Van Gogh’s world.
Upon booking your ticket, be sure to allocate at least 90 minutes of your day to fully explore the exhibit. Try the VR experience that lets you in on the inspiration behind eight of his works, including Vincent’s Bedroom at Arles and Starry Night Over The Rhone.
After you’re done with the projections and VR, there’s also an Art & View section—a museum-style presentation narrating Van Gogh’s story and work. Then, cap off your visit at the studio, where you can create your own art and see it projected on the walls.
Paradox Museum London
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Website: https://paradoxmuseumlondon.com/
Address: 90 Brompton Rd
Contact details: Contact form
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday – 9:30 AM – 6 PM
- Friday and Saturday – 9:30 AM – 7:30 PM
- Sunday – 9:30 AM – 7 PM
With ticket prices starting at £21.50 for children and £29 for adults, you’re in for 90 minutes of fun at Paradox Museum London. Parents and their toddlers can bond over more than 50 mind-bending yet family-friendly interactive exhibits here.
Let’s start with the zero-gravity illusion pod—straight out of a sci-fi movie—where you can float like an astronaut in space. For another anti-gravity adventure, head to the Reversed Room, which is styled like an underground station, and snap an unforgettable upside-down photo.
Meanwhile, if walking through a spinning tunnel sounds a bit much, you might want to skip the Paradox Tunnel in the museum’s second corridor. Instead, sit pretty on the Paradox Sofa while your body appears to be chopped into pieces for the perfect optical illusion.
Sailortown: 1840-150 & Docklands at War: 1939-1945
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Website: https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/docklands/free-galleries/sailortown/ s
Address: London Museum Docklands, No 1, West India Quay, Hertsmere Rd
Contact details: +44 20 7001 9844
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday – 10 AM – 5 PM
Sailortown: 1840-150 and Docklands at War: 1939-1945 are among the free, unticketed exhibitions at the London Museum Docklands. Open daily, you can experience the sights, sounds, and smells of Victorian London, or relive how the docks survived during the Blitz.
Wander through the cobbled streets of Sailortown, past the shops and pubs that emptied sailors’ pockets. Adults can enter the rowdy Three Mariners pub, while the kids might prefer the Animal Emporium, once home to exotic sea creatures sailors brought from around the world.
Not far off, families can take a moment in the shelter where dockworkers took refuge amidst relentless bombings. Inside, you’ll get a feel of what it was like—yellow lights, the distant rattle of bombs, and the heavy silence of people waiting it out together underground.
Historical and cultural highlights
Enlightenment Gallery
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Website: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries/enlightenment
Address: The British Museum, Great Russell St
Contact details: +44 20 7323 8000
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday – 10 AM – 5 PM
- Friday – 10 AM – 8:30 PM
As the oldest space in the British Museum and once King George III’s library, the Enlightenment Gallery, along with its contents, is not going anywhere. Give yourself an hour or two to really dig into an era of new knowledge, scientific discovery, and European colonialism.
Keep an eye out for The Sloane Astrolabe used by navigators to chart their course using the stars. And to see the face of who made it, the Bust of Sir Hans Sloane sits nearby as a tribute to the man whose libraries laid the foundation for the museum.
At the same time, get into archaeology with the Grays Inn Hand Axe from the Stone Age or the classical Piranesi Vase. The Cista Mystica is worth seeing too, a bronze container for cosmetic items that gives insight into ancient rituals and religion.
Treasures of the British Library
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Website: https://events.bl.uk/exhibitions/treasures-of-the-british-library
Address: The British Library, 96 Euston Rd
Contact details: +44 330 333 1144
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday – 9:30 AM – 8 PM
- Friday – 9:30 AM – 6 PM
- Saturday – 9:30 AM – 5 PM
- Sunday – 11 AM – 5 PM
Treasures of the British Library make treasure hunting effortless, with some of the world’s most exciting, beautiful, and significant books, maps, and manuscripts all in plain sight. Take a closer look at Shakespeare’s First Folio, Jane Austen’s writing desk, and Charlotte Brontë’s Tales.
There’s also a dedicated space for historical documents, like the Lindisfarne Gospels and Magna Carta. Music aficionados might even hum the tunes of Bach’s Wo soll ich fliehen hin musical score or the handwritten lyrics of Paul McCartney’s Yesterday.
It’d be hard to walk past an early photograph of the moon captured around the 1850s. My personal favorites are Virginia Woolf’s notebooks and the original version of Sylvia Plath’s Insomniac, alongside her submission letter of the poem to the Cheltenham Literary Festival.
Don’t worry, though, if some of these items aren’t on display—occasional maintenance is normal at the library. Since it’s free and doesn’t require booking, it’s a good idea to check the website for updates before your visit.
The Ark Gallery
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Website: https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/the-museum/the-ark-gallery/
Address: Garden Museum, 5 Lambeth Palace Rd
Contact details: +44 20 7401 8865
Operating hours: Monday to Sunday – 10 AM – 5 PM
Have you ever wondered who founded Britain’s first museum? It was John Tradescant, the gardener who did so at his Lambeth house—and the Garden’s Museum Ark Gallery invites you to explore his life and collection.
Tradescant liked to collect natural and man-made ‘curiosities,’ whether a weapon or a work of art. So expect exotic artifacts like carved ivory, ancient coins, and religious relics, as well as taxidermied creatures from around the world, including birds, mammals, and reptiles.
To go along with that is The Barometz, a fern root arrangement resembling the mythical ‘vegetable lamb.’ You’ll also have the chance to see the gifts Tradescant received from ship captains, botanists, and patrons during his travels to Europe, Algeria, and Russia.
Fashion through the ages
Theatre & Performance collection
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Website: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/costume
Address: Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd
Contact details: +44 20 7942 2000
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday – 10 AM – 5:45 PM
- Friday – 10 AM – 10 PM
Do you love the theater or need inspiration for a costume party? Either way, the V&A’s Theatre & Performance collection brings you over 3,500 stage costumes and accessories dating from the mid-18th century to the present day—free and no booking needed!
Every outfit, costume, and headdress on display speaks volumes about the creativity and skills of the designers behind them. Take, for example, Julie Taymor’s theater costumes for The Lion King and the Lady in the Dark film costume by Edith Head.
And that’s not all—Idina Menzel’s Elphaba hat from the original Wicked production in New York is there, too. Just as exciting are the black satin floral patterned shoes that Prince wore for his stage performances.
1960s fashion
Media credit: vamuseum
Website: https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/1960s-fashion
Address: Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd
Contact details: +44 20 7942 2000
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday – 10 AM – 5:45 PM
- Friday – 10 AM – 10 PM
The 1960s ushered in the modern age and fashion was no exception. V&A’s 1960s fashion exhibit will show you through its displays of iconic skirt suits, mini dresses, and ‘peacock’ styles for men.
You might find yourself wanting to wear Barbara Hulanicki’s and Mary Quant’s mini-dresses every time you head out. And for something fun, the Pyjama dress by Emilio Pucci could be your new go-to for pajama parties.
If that weren’t impressive enough, how about the Man’s Suit designed by Michael Fish and Richard Smith and Mandy Wilkins’ men’s lizard skin shoes? Not to mention the Skirt Suit by Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin, which could easily work as a corporate look.
- Use audio guides or tours: Many museums offer audio guides or even free tours. Using these resources can give you deeper insights into the exhibitions, helping you understand the context and significance of the pieces you’re viewing.
- Take your time: Don’t rush! These permanent exhibitions are all about appreciating the details—spend a few minutes in front of each artwork, read the labels, and immerse yourself in the stories behind the objects.
- Have a map or floor plan: Larger museums like the British Museum or the V&A can be overwhelming. Grab a map at the entrance or download a floor plan from their website to help you find your way around these exhibits.
- Visit during off-peak hours: If you want a more relaxed experience, try visiting on weekdays or early in the morning when the crowds are thinner. You’ll have more time (and space) to go around without overthinking that people are waiting behind you.
- Plan ahead: Many of these exhibitions are free, but some require booking a ticket in advance or may close early on certain days. Check each museum’s website in advance to make sure you have everything you need to enter and are visiting at the right time.