Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
British Museum
Photos & Highlights
- Let our experts curate your visit through this world class collection and maximize your time in the museum
- Come away with a deeper understanding of the museum and its iconic and often controversial artefacts. Reveal the stories behind the objects.
Select a date
Tour Description
Navigating a museum with over 8 million objects can be daunting, especially with limited time on your hands. Let your expert tour guide make your visit to the British Museum a manageable experience that will stimulate your curiosity and leave you wanting more.
During this British Museum walking tour, you’ll experience cultures across continents and millennia. Using objects such as the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Ramesses the Great, and the Parthenon Sculptures, we’ll tell the stories of great civilizations and everyday life, and understand the development of human culture as we know it today. Depending on your interests, your historical or archaeological expert will be able to tell you the history of the world from this London address - and they might be able to tell you some of the history of the UK too!
Learn about the intricacies of ancient Egyptian rituals, the philosophical advancements of the Greeks, and the engineering marvels of the Romans. Come face to face with the preserved remains of a 2000-year-old ancient Briton and take a deep dive into a world of mysterious sacred sites.
Transform your understanding of history and gain a profound appreciation for the achievements and struggles of past civilizations.
Choose this tour if…
- The British Museum is on your bucket list and you want to make the most of it with limited time.
- You want to connect with world-famous artifacts and understand their relevance.
- You have visited before but want to delve deeper into the significance of the collection and focus on lesser-known artifacts.
Experts
A visit tailored around your interests guided by our knowledge
"Sean successfully navigated us around and through other tour groups and discussed a good cross-section of the artifacts of the ancient world. We had been to some of the origins of the artifacts as had Sean, so we were able to have a deeper discussion of the context of items being in the museum vs. in their location of origin. Such discussions are common with Context docents.” Lawrence B.
A master class that connects the museum to the world
"Andrew's tour was a master class...we can't wait to return home and visit The Met with our newly found insights. His knowledge and enthusiasm was unmatched and much appreciated." Thomas H.
Did you know that despite being a "British" Museum, only 1% of its entire collection is from Britain? The vast majority of artifacts come from all around the world, reflecting the global reach and influence of the British Empire throughout history.
Our expert historian or archaeologist will take you on a journey through the museum's vast collection of artifacts, archaeological finds, and incredible stories. You’ll decipher ancient inscriptions and reveal the secrets of enigmatic chess players. What makes the Parthenon Sculptures so famous and how did the Benin Bronzes get to the British Museum?
Your tour will include must-see artifacts as well as lesser-known gems of the collection. You’ll gain a deep understanding of the collection, how it came together, and its role through history and today.
Headsets
- Depending on your group size, we may be required by the venue to order headsets, in which case you’ll see a “Headset Fee” added to your order. If you would like to guarantee headsets for your tour regardless of your group size, please email us and we’ll do our best to get them reserved for you.
General Information
- There will be a break in the tour to stop and use bathroom facilities as well as opportunities to stop and rest along the way if needed. Please communicate any mobility needs or concerns with our team at the time of booking.
Additional Trip-Planning Resources
A few things that pair well with this tour:
- Get the most out of your trip to the museum with a pre-trip talk: Must-See Treasures of the British Museum
- Be sure to wear comfortable shoes. While you’re inside, you’ll still be covering a lot of ground! The British Museum is one of the largest museums in the world, after all.
- Grab your sketchpad and channel your inner artist. Drawing is allowed in the galleries.
Looking for insider recommendations? Get expert tips on seeing the true London in our London City Guide.
For more information about Context tours, please visit our FAQs.
Is there an entrance fee for the museum?
Entry to the museum is complimentary, however, their team does appreciate your donation.
Our group consists of 8 individuals, but your website has a limit of 7 participants. Can an exception be made?
Regrettably, due to venue capacity constraints, we maintain a limit of 7 participants per group. For larger parties, we advise dividing into smaller subgroups for a better experience.
Book with confidence — see Context's flexible cancellation policy here.
We understand that some of our valued guests may have mobility concerns, and we want to ensure you have a comfortable and enjoyable experience throughout your tour. If there are any accessibility concerns that your tour guide will need to be aware of, please let our team know at the time of booking.
Is this tour wheelchair-friendly?
The Great Russell Street entrance has 12 steps with a handrail. There are self-operable lifts on both sides of the steps. There is level access at the Montague Place entrance. The majority of galleries and all special exhibitions are fully accessible.
Additional information about accessibility at the British Museum is available here.
Where You'll Start
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603 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
The tour was well paced- we saw the major exhibits and key details in exactly the time we had.
April
Reviewed on:
Jun 29, 2016
Dr. Caroline Barron was a phenomenal docent. She was friendly, engaging, warm and personable. She set up the tour beautifully, telling us a bit about herself and her background and giving us some introductory history on the British Museum. She also gave us her philosophy of how she'd like to guide us (as a teller of some of the incredibly interesting stories the museum has to offer), while at the same time soliciting input from the three of us on what we'd like to see as well. In the museum she moved us through several of the collections, highlighting important pieces and giving us the stories surrounding them. She is clearly an exceptionally intelligent scholar who possesses a very impressive depth and range of knowledge. At the same time she never spoke over us or condescended, but rather treated us as interested and equal colleagues.
I felt such a surge of energy around what we were seeing and discussing and came away from the tour wanting a lot more time in the museum (and a lot more time with her!). In fact, my husband (who wasn't on this trip with me) and I have decided we're very likely to return to London next summer with our teenaged twins, and if we do I can assure you that if it is still offered we will book the exact tour of the museum with Dr. Barron. Thank you for helping to connect her to members of the public. She truly made our visit to the museum an exceptional one (and gave me one of the standout memories of our entire trip).
P.S. Dr. Barron and I discussed a recent news article about an archaeological find in Ireland. She was interested in knowing more about it. Could you please forward this link to her? Thank you so much! http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/a-mans-discovery-of-bones-under-his-pub-could-forever-change-what-we-know-about-the-irish-2
Martha
Reviewed on:
Jun 10, 2016
Lawrence has a good deal of energy and knowledge - I only wish the tour was 6 hours long and not 3
Robert
Reviewed on:
May 17, 2016
