Weather this Friday in London, 26 September

One of the world's great public museums, the British Museum traces human curiosity across continents and millennia. Founded in 1753, its eight-million-object collection ranges from Ice Age tools to contemporary prints and coins. It changed how we read the past: the Rosetta Stone (196 BC) unlocked hieroglyphs, while Assyrian reliefs revived lost empires. Signature moments continue in London: the Parthenon sculptures reframe classical art, and Norman Foster's Great Court (2000) turns scholarship into civic spectacle. Entry is free; book a timed ticket, start in Room 4 with the Rosetta Stone, then follow your interests floor by floor. Some objects have complex histories; galleries now add provenance notes and international loans to present multiple voices with care.

More fortress than museum, the Tower of London compresses a thousand years of power, fear and ceremony. William the Conqueror's White Tower (1078) anchored the capital, serving as palace, armoury and state prison. Today the Crown Jewels draw crowds, from the Imperial State Crown to the 530-carat Cullinan I. Yeoman Warders and resident ravens animate the site's rituals, while exhibitions unpick plots, sieges and royal scandal. Arrive early and see the Jewels first, join a Beefeater tour, and allow two to three hours. Only a few executions happened inside the walls; most were on Tower Hill, reminding visitors that justice once had an audience.

Madame Tussauds London is theatre you can touch: lifelike wax figures staged under studio lights, built for selfies and playful make-believe. The tradition dates to Marie Tussaud's 18th-century portraits and her macabre Revolution death masks. Today a team of specialists needs around six months and hundreds of measurements to sculpt one star. Expect themed zones, from the Royal Family to sports, film and music, plus the Spirit of London cab ride and a Marvel 4D cinema. It's spectacle rather than scholarship, but great fun with friends or kids. Pre-book a timed slot, arrive early, and allow about two hours if you want photos without the crush.

Tate Modern turns a riverside power station into a cathedral of contemporary ideas. Since 2000 its Turbine Hall-152 metres long and 35 metres high-has hosted artworks at city scale, from a man-made sun to a carpet of porcelain seeds. Inside, you move between twentieth-century giants-Picasso, Rothko, Bourgeois-and global voices reshaping what art can be. The 2016 Blavatnik Building adds dramatic galleries and a 360° viewing platform over St Paul's and the Thames. Entry to the collection is free; major exhibitions are ticketed. Start in the Turbine Hall, then climb gradually to Level 10 for sunset views. Expect lively crowds, strong coffee, and a shop that tempts even sceptics.

The Museum of Life Sciences is a compact, quietly fascinating study collection at King's College London. It brings together nineteenth- and twentieth-century teaching specimens: human and animal skeletons, jars of fluid-preserved creatures, careful taxidermy, fossils, and early pharmaceutical tools. You see how doctors and biologists learned before scans and high-speed video-through bones, bell jars, and handwritten labels. Displays emphasise comparative anatomy and the craft of preservation, from wax-sealed jars to glass eyes and stitched seams. It's not open daily and usually requires an appointment, so plan ahead. Ideal for students, makers, and the scientifically curious who prefer detail over spectacle, with plenty to sketch or photograph thoughtfully.

London's Science Museum turns curiosity into a hands-on journey, from steam power to spaceflight. Stand by thumping beam engines, study Babbage's Victorian "computer", and peer at the Apollo 10 capsule that rehearsed the Moon landing. Britain's largest Medicine galleries map five centuries of care, prosthetics, and public health in thousands of objects. It's free to enter; major exhibitions and IMAX are ticketed. Expect families, interactives, and plenty to tinker with. Start at the Energy Hall on the ground floor, then climb through computing and space before looping back to medicine. Allow two to three hours; pre-book a free timed ticket at busy times, and bring a short list of must-sees so you don't drift.

The V&A is the world's great museum of art and design-a treasure-house of how people make things. Wander from the shimmering Jewellery Gallery to India's satirical automaton Tipu's Tiger, then step into the Cast Courts where Trajan's Column rises in plastered grandeur. Raphael's vast Cartoons unfold like theatre sets; British galleries reveal craft from the Great Bed of Ware to fashion's sharp silhouettes. It's free to enter, with paid blockbusters and a glorious café opening onto a fountain court. Choose two themes-say, sculpture and textiles-and ignore the rest until next time. Use the balcony views in the Cast Courts, and visit on a Friday late opening if you like quieter galleries and a slower, more reflective pace.

The National Gallery is Europe in a single walk: 700 years of painting, free to step into. Van Eyck's jewel-like Arnolfini dazzles with microscopic detail; Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks breathes cool mystery; Turner's Fighting Temeraire bids farewell to sail; Van Gogh's Sunflowers glows with thick, blazing paint. Rooms flow by period and school, so stories of style and belief unfold naturally. Start upstairs and work backwards in time, or follow a free highlights trail at the desk. Arrive early for calm viewing, and step close, then back, to feel composition and colour at work. Cloakroom and cafés make long visits easy; allow two hours for a first sweep, longer if you like to linger and compare.

St Paul's is London's baroque heartbeat: Wren's great dome rising over a city rebuilt after fire and war. Inside, sunlight grazes mosaics and soaring arches; below, the crypt holds Nelson and Wellington. Climb if you can: the Whispering Gallery's curved acoustics, the Stone Gallery's open terrace, and the narrow Golden Gallery crown the climb with sweeping views. Worship continues daily, but most visits are self-guided with an excellent audio tour included. Accessibility is strong on the floor and crypt, though upper galleries are stair-only. Arrive early, dress for the climb, and pause before stepping into the highest balcony. When you descend, sit a minute in the Quire to read the Victorian mosaics in quiet sequence.

The Natural History Museum is a cathedral to nature, housed in Alfred Waterhouse's terracotta dream. In Hintze Hall, a 25-metre blue whale called Hope sweeps overhead, replacing the beloved Diplodocus cast to spotlight ocean conservation. Nearby, dinosaurs roar for children and fossil lovers alike, while minerals and meteorites shimmer with Earth's geology. The Darwin Centre's eight-storey Cocoon reveals how scientists actually work, storing millions of specimens for future research. It's free to enter; book a timed ticket in peak months. Map your visit by colour-zoned wings-Blue for life, Red for Earth, Green for birds and ecology-and start early if dinosaurs are a must. Bring water, take balcony views of Hope, and allow two to three unhurried hours.

Kensington Palace blends living residence with layered royal history. Walk the Stuart and Georgian State Apartments where ceremony shaped power, then step into Victoria's rooms to meet a princess raised under strict rules who became an empress. Outside, the Sunken Garden frames Diana's 2021 statue with calm symmetry; the Orangery offers crisp early-eighteenth-century elegance. It's smaller and quieter than Buckingham Palace, with good step-free routes and audio included. Exhibitions rotate, so check what's on before booking. Allow two hours, longer if you plan tea or a garden stroll. Pair your visit with a loop through Kensington Gardens to the Round Pond and the Italian Gardens for a gentle, royal-themed afternoon.

The Imperial War Museum tells modern conflict through people, choices and consequences-not hardware alone. Begin in the cavernous atrium under a Spitfire, Harrier and a V-2, then descend into the First World War's mud and letters. The new Second World War and Holocaust Galleries use testimony and everyday objects to rebuild lives fractured by policy and violence. It's free to enter, but the content is intense; give yourself unhurried time and quiet breaks. Families will find interactives, yet much lands best with teens and adults. Follow the floor sequence-WWI, then WWII and the Holocaust-to feel how ideas escalate. Two to three hours is a minimum; longer if you read closely and reflect.