Museums

You'll find some of the most engaging, fun and educational museums in the UK here in South East England.  Whether you're looking to discover more about the stars or cars, dinosaurs or boats, country or town life, there is a museum here for you.  You'll find many free museums, making them a great addition to a budget-busting day out that doesn't break the bank.  So if you haven't been to a museum in years, you may be interested to hear that museums in England have been transported into the 21^st century.

Prepare yourself for a surprise as the South East has some of the most fun museums in England, with hundreds across the region.  In place of stuffy rooms and wardens shushing for quiet, you'll find inspirational and interactive spaces with engaging and accessible exhibits from retro cars to animatronics, the chance to journey to the stars and the worlds beyond, get hands-on with history and walk in the footsteps of famous characters in history.  Whether you're into heritage, art, science, maritime, or wildlife, you're bound to find something right up your street.

Museums in England

The featured museums are located in the counties of South East England and demonstrate the sheer variety of interest on offer. A more detailed list can be located through the map at the bottom of this page.

Car enthusiasts won’t want to miss the world-famous National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in Hampshire’s New Forest. See one of the largest car collections held by any of the museums in England, with 250 cars of every age including land speed record-breakers Golden Arrow and Bluebird.  Whisk your way along to Milestones Museum, Basingstoke, where you can see an array of vintage vehicles including Hampshire's three big manufacturers.

Hampshire Cultural Trust are guardians of  2.5 million objects that relate to Hampshire’s rich and internationally important cultural heritage. Managing 23 attractions across Hampshire, including the brand new 878 AD which opened in the autumn of 2022 in Winchester, and the recently refurbished Gosport Museum and Art Gallery where you'll find museums and art galleries that explore Vikings, Victorians, Natural Sciences, Archaeology and much more.

The South East is also home to world-famous Bodleian Libraries, Oxford.  Not a museum in the traditional form, but the libraries are the oldest in Europe, and are the 2nd largest in the UK, only second to the British Library. Together, they hold over 13 million printed items and today offer the chance to visit and explore them, marvel at their exquisite architecture and dive into their fascinating history with a guided tour.

The D-Day Story and the LCT7074 landing craft, Portsmouth, is the only museum in the UK dedicated to the Allied Invasion in June 1944.  Whilst Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is home to not only the world famous Mary Rose but also HMS Victory, Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship. Discover Portsmouth's rich maritime history onboard some of the most famous war ships in British Naval history and find out what life was like for sailors in years gone by.

Museums in London

• The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace
• Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
• Royal Museums Greenwich, Greenwich

Museums in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

• Winchester Science Centre, Winchester
• Dinosaur Isle, Sandown
• Butser Ancient Farm, Waterlooville
• The Brickworks Museum, Southampton
• 1642 Living History Village, Gosport
• Natural History Museum, Portsmouth

Museums in Buckinghamshire

• Chiltern Open Air Museum, Chalfont St. Giles
• Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes
• Roald Dahl Museum and Story Centre, Great Missenden

Museums in Oxfordshire

• Cogges Manor Farm, Witney

Museums in Surrey

• Brooklands, Weybridge
• Rural Life Centre, Surrey

Museums in Kent

• The Powell-Cotton Museum, Quex House and Gardens, Birchington, Kent 
• Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham
• Kent Life Heritage Farm Park, Maidstone
• The Historic Dockyard Chatham, Chatham

Museums in Berkshire

• Museum of English Rural Life, Reading
• Royal Windsor Museum, Windsor
• Maidenhead Heritage Centre, Maidenhead

Museums in Sussex

• Weald & Downland Living Musuem, Chichester, West Sussex
• Amberley Museum, Arundel, West Sussex

Museums Near Me

Use the 'Map View' button below to find museums near you in South East England including dozens of local museums showcasing their town's proud history. Check individual listings to see which museums are open today.