London Transport Museum
This is London told through wheels, rails and diagrams. In Covent Garden's iron-and-glass halls, you climb through buses, tube carriages and driver cabs while timelines link Victorian steam tunnels to the Elizabeth line's wide, step-free stations. Harry Beck's 1933 map explains why the network lives in the mind as circuits, not streets; a gleaming Routemaster upstairs shows design as public service, light and quick to board. Posters chart a century of civic graphics, from bold modernism to today's commissions. It's intelligent, tactile and unabashedly fun, with interactive puzzles and play spaces that keep families moving. Begin with the early Underground, then compare map to geography. Weekends fill with children-go early. Plan 90-120 minutes, more if you linger with the posters.
Opening Hours
What's not to miss inside?
Routemaster bus
Icon of London’s streets (1950s-2000s)Introduced in 1956 and built until 1968, the red Routemaster ran in regular service until 2005-light, partly aluminium, and designed for quick hop-on, hop-off travel.
📍 Main Hall, Ground Floor
Victorian Underground
World’s first underground (1863)Steam trains began running beneath London on 10 January 1863, when the Metropolitan Railway opened its first section between Paddington and Farringdon, changing city travel forever.
📍 Early London Railways, First Floor
Beck’s Tube map
Pioneering diagram (1933)In 1933, engineering draughtsman Harry Beck redrew the network as a circuit-style diagram, sacrificing geography for clarity and creating a template copied worldwide.
📍 Design & Identity, First Floor
Elizabeth line design
London’s newest railway (opened 2022)Opened on 24 May 2022, the Elizabeth line spans about 73 miles, with wide platforms, step-free stations, and distinctive purple roundels designed for high-capacity travel.
📍 Contemporary Transport, First Floor
Poster collection
World-class transport graphicsThe museum cares for more than 5,000 original posters and over 700 poster artworks, charting a century of design from Edward McKnight Kauffer to present-day commissions.
📍 Posters & Graphics, First Floor
Inspire your Friends
- The world’s first Underground railway opened on 10 January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon.
- Harry Beck’s diagrammatic Tube map first appeared in 1933 and soon became the network’s standard.
- The Routemaster bus entered service in 1956 and ran in daily service until 2005.
- The Elizabeth line opened on 24 May 2022, ultimately spanning about 73 miles across London and beyond.
- The museum holds 5,000+ posters and 700+ original poster artworks in its design collection.
