Rainy day = Museum day?

If there are two things you can count with in London, they are: rainy weather and museums.

We all know this year there was no Spring, and I don’t even want to go into Summer (I am really afraid to cast some sort of jinx on it by wishing for a good sunny day). But oh well, if there is a city prepared for the rain; it’s London.

Starting with culture. Rainy days are people favourite days to visit a museum. And there are so many. AND FREE!

The British Museum is a must: it’s also one of the oldest in the world and a great place if you want to have a one-on-one with some mummies. It also has this great looking restaurant called the Great Court which is a glass covered roof top for you to enjoy the view (You may actually catch a glimpse of the sun setting!)

The National History Museum is awesome and pleases everyone. The collection goes from the weirdest creatures – always a personal favourite – to really fluffy adorable animals. Also, if the sun does shine, the gardens are a delight as it protects inner-city wildlife.

As for science goes, the Science Museum just has to be seen. Especially if you are like me – naturally curious and too lazy to actually dedicate myself in discovering how things like internet really work (ignorance is a bliss, and this way I never fail to be amazed). There are free lectures you can attend and besides the permanent exhibitions, some of the others are sometimes free.

The National Gallery is probably one of the most famoust museums in the city. First of all is right in the heart of London and is right on Trafalgar Square. The amount of people that have the building in their picture background must be off the hook! There are more than 2000 works showing there. Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’ is there, along with art works from Van Gogh and Raphael.

The National Portrait Gallery is a hidden delight. Not many tourists venture in there because they simply don’t know it exists. If you think portraits might sound a boring idea, you couldn’t be more wrong. And the restaurant has a brilliant champagne afternoon tea with a beautiful view to the square (the gallery is just behind The National Gallery and the Big Ben.

Tate and Tate Modern – the Tate Modern is the most famous venue, being just off the Millenium Bridge and a nice stroll through Southbank. Both Tates have free exhibitions and paid ones – the short term ones are usually paid. Right now the Tate Modern is featuring Lichtenstein: A Retrospective. People with the Tate anual pass can go in for free to all the paid exhibitions.

The Museum of London is also one the the most visited museums by tourists. It shows the history of London with actual original artifacts. It reconstructs scenes and interiors and it’s just a journey through time.

Last but not the least comes my favourite: the Victoria & Albert Museum. The V&A ouses one of the world’s greatest collections of decorative arts. I tens to always get in through a different entrance and I always get lost. I have never found my way around there. basically because I just follow whatever catches my eye – and there are SO many. I tend to just wonder around visiting roman statues and persian rugs and I never -ever – follow the same path. Please go there and loose a little bit of yourself. And good news: the butterfly exhibition is covered!

So yeah, no excuse to sit at home watching movies about greek gods when you can almost toutch their statues.

Claudia