Horniman Museum and Gardens

South London's Horniman is a museum of connections: nature, music, people and place threaded through galleries and hillside gardens. Inside, the award-winning Music Gallery lets you hear how instruments from every continent are made to sing; the World Gallery (2018) explores identity and belief with vivid, humane storytelling; natural history is headlined by the famously overstuffed walrus-equal parts curiosity and conservation prompt. Paid add-ons-the small aquarium and seasonal butterfly house-suit families, while 16 acres of Grade II-listed gardens open onto one of London's loveliest skylines. It's free entry for the museum, tickets for some experiences. Come unhurried: pair an hour inside with a slow garden loop, or budget two to three hours if you're doing everything.