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Wellcome Collection
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Wellcome Collection

See all things to do
See all things to do
Wellcome Collection
4.5
#187 of 2,704 things to do in London
Speciality MuseumsScience MuseumsArt Museums
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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About
Our doors have re-opened and we can’t wait to see you. You will need to book a ticket to enter the venue, and follow our safety measures. To book your ticket and to find out more, visit our website. You can also explore our online events, collections and Stories on our website. Through exhibitions, collections, live programming, digital, broadcast and publishing, we create opportunities for people to think deeply about the connections between science, medicine, life and art. Our galleries are closed on Mondays, however the library and cafe are open from 10.00-18.00. We are part of the Wellcome Trust, which was established under Sir Henry Wellcome's will in 1936. Wellcome is a global charitable foundation, which aims to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Bloomsbury
Snuggly nestled within Central London is academic and leafy Bloomsbury, an area that boasts walking distance access to many of London's most popular attractions. It is also home to some of Britain's most celebrated museums, including the must-see British Museum. Despite an understandable popularity with students, tourists and day trippers, vast sections of Bloomsbury retain a quiet, residential feel year round and throughout the week.
How to get there
  • Euston Square • 2 min walk
  • London Euston • 3 min walk
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See what travellers are saying
  • HELEN G
    Chelmsford, United Kingdom22 contributions
    In Plain Sight exhibition
    Return visit to this great museum. Today to visit the In plain sight exhibition. Interesting portral of the Eye. From thoughts of a third eye to how light works with the eye to what we percieve with the eye. Interesting display.
    Visited January 2023
    Written 15 January 2023
  • Abovetheclouds
    2,233 contributions
    Good for a free museum but somewhat lacks substance post C-19.
    There are quite a few negative reviews but it is a free museum. The space is nice especially the Reading Room. Spread over a few floors. The free events are quite good. Check online and register in advance. Having said this, post C-19 and exhibitions are not as good as before. Somewhat dull and lacking in substance. Staff are always nice, friendly and pleasant. The Café on the entrance is nice and has a good atmosphere but the rest of the Galleries have lost that buzz and interest after the pandemic. Thursday they open later. In all honesty, check their website and see if anything interests you. They have changing exhibitions. Suggest going if you have a keen interest in medicine, science or the environment as most exhibitions focus on these topics. Or, if your like me, and just like to learn!
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 23 March 2023
  • mark c
    London, United Kingdom121 contributions
    Great Museum, free and open with a range of exhibitions
    Great free museum in Central London, challenging thinking, the exhibitions vary and some may interest, others may not. I think they challenge ideas and preconceptions and perhaps provide details and background to everyday topics you may take for granted. I love the place since I saw an amazing exhibition called Smoke and Mirrors about the history of illusion and magic, the exhibition made me think completely differently about the subject and provided historic facts and exhibits which fascinated together with the history and progression, a real gem
    Visited September 2022
    Written 6 July 2023
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4.5
1,020 reviews
Excellent
603
Very good
305
Average
71
Poor
18
Terrible
24
Jess P
St Helens, UK118 contributions
Interesting but artsy
Nov 2023 • Friends
I was desperate to visit the Wellcome Collection during my trip to London as I kept hearing about the Cult of Beauty exhibition. It was super interesting! I loved the blend of art, science and sociology on offer. The human gallery was also an interesting read.

Not sure about the nearby exhibition which showed a series of videos with artsy poetry, it seemed a bit less serious and more like an art gallery. Wish I’d had time to attend one of the talks in the reading rooms/collections.

The gift shop is a must visit, found so many books I was after! And the overall space is nice too. Could have used a few more exhibits though.
Written 14 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CKD
Codsall, UK119 contributions
Very Enjoyable
Oct 2023 • Family
A great free to enter museum in Central London with many interesting exhibits. Would highly recommend a visit when you arrive in London.
Written 3 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FellsRover
44 contributions
Dangerous misinformation
Oct 2023 • Couples
This was sold to me as a museum with permanent exhibitions on the history of medicine, and part of my reason for visiting London was specifically to see this. I was very disappointed to find it was more of an art gallery with a medical theme.
The entrance was very confusing, with a long queue for one exhibition but no one at the admissions desk, it was not obvious where to go. The very first display of the first exhibition I saw, Genetic Automata, left me very concerned.
The video screen in the blue case had subtitles informing visitors that soldiers in the Gulf War were secretly subjected to genetic experiments! There was no written context for this display, but there were signs everywhere encouraging visitors to speak to staff about the difficult subjects on display, which after seeing this I was very keen to do!
The first person I saw in uniform was slouched in a chair, texting whilst on duty. Not a good look. The second struggled to understand my concerns, but said that the displays were meant to raise awareness and explore issues over genetics.
I might (generously) interpret this as meaning that the display was therefore trying to challenge misinformation, but with absolutely no written context, a casual visitor will no doubt read this misinformation as fact!
I was here for all of five minutes and left in disgust and horror at the dangerous and completely unfounded conspiracy theories that this place is complicit in perpetuating.
Written 28 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
T K
1 contribution
What happened to the science? Replaced by a woke art exhibition.
Sep 2023 • Friends
Visited the 'Being Human' gallery. Nearly full of woke trash, more like a contemporay art exhibition than a serous comment on medicine or science. Particularly appalled by the video of an artist explaining how he created semen (or 'cum' as he kept referring to it), and pooh for a model of the male form which he had made. I struggled to see any science in this gallery. The cafe was good. Maybe they should close the galleries and concentrate on selling food and drinks. My friend and I cut short our visit to find a better educational experience nearby. Don't waste your time here. Just pop in to use the cafe and toilets and visit the museums at UCL instead.
Written 18 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura L
Chelmsford, UK131 contributions
Felt so welcome at the Wellcome, I can’t wait to return!
Sep 2023 • Solo
Delighted to have finally discovered this fabulous place - why had I never heard about it before?! A few minutes’ walk from Euston Square tube station, it’s a light and airy museum and exhibition space. Went there to see the unusual and interesting ‘Milk’ exhibition which closes soon but it seems they have various exhibitions during the year, connected to science and humanity, and a permanent one about the human body. Great place to take inquisitive children and teenagers, and free, too! Also found they have a Picasso mural that he drew on a friend’s wall in 1950 - it’s on the second floor next to the stunning library which contains more than books. Absolutely loved it and wished I had more time to spare - could have been there all day! There’s also a great cafe and a gift shop. Plenty of staff around and each one I encountered, from the moment I entered, was friendly and helpful - and happy! A place to raise your spirits and I came out on a high!
Written 7 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew Whitton
Lancaster, UK5 contributions
Don’t bother
Aug 2023 • Couples
Not very interesting. A few exhibits in a large space. Not challenging or even thought provoking. Modern agenda.
Cafe and shop are worth a stop
Written 23 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robert H
2 contributions
Not worth the time
Aug 2023 • Couples
This used to be a great historic collection and is now just a woke waste of time.

When the gallery on milk mentions the penny licks and the spread of disease they caused was put down, by the government of the time, to 'dirty immigrants' that's fine, it's historical, they needed to blame something and that's what they did in their ignorance; when the closing sentence is that Britain still thinks of immigrants that way (we are one of the most cosmopolitan countries that I know of) it comes down to apologist nonsense.

The Being Human exhibit was even worse, just don't bother.

Sanitising the collection was the worst thing that could have been done, history SHOULD disturb and offend people, you need this to learn from it; if it all looks rosy then the mistakes will repeat.

The only good thing was the coffee in the cafe, so if your passing and want a drink then go in, if you are looking for history then you'll only find it in postcard form.
Written 14 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ChrissieWilliams81
Wyong Creek, Australia485 contributions
Not as good as it used to be
Jan 2023 • Couples
This is a unique place to visit.

The cafe and shop are amazing!

The temporary exhibitions are also fantastic and you learn a lot.

What has changed is that there used to be cabinets full of curiosities. Things like shrunken heads, anatomy dolls, even an ancient toothbrush.

Unfortunately these are no longer on display. There were photographs of some of these things that became 3D with VR, but it wasn’t the same.
Written 6 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mark c
London, UK121 contributions
Great Museum, free and open with a range of exhibitions
Sep 2022
Great free museum in Central London, challenging thinking, the exhibitions vary and some may interest, others may not. I think they challenge ideas and preconceptions and perhaps provide details and background to everyday topics you may take for granted. I love the place since I saw an amazing exhibition called Smoke and Mirrors about the history of illusion and magic, the exhibition made me think completely differently about the subject and provided historic facts and exhibits which fascinated together with the history and progression, a real gem
Written 6 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Trixiepink
Amsterdam, The Netherlands27 contributions
Dont go. PC nonsence at its most oppressive.
Apr 2023
Where do I start....I visited the Milk exhibition and Being Human. Such a dispointment and waste of time. What was clear is the PC bias in all the exhibition material, Telling you how you should think and feel. Some very obvious; some subliminal. It felt very oppressive and we didnt enjoy it at all. The interpretations that were shoved down your throat literally became nauseating. I would not recommend it at all. In fact it spolit my afternoon. I was glad to leave. I have been to many museums and art exhibitions and this is the only one that made me feel uncomfotable.
Written 28 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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WELLCOME COLLECTION: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Wellcome Collection