London – Culturista Life

10 Best Free Museums in London

February 26, 2017March 1, 2017Posted in London, Top ChoicesTagged art, exhibition, free, London, museums, no charge, uk1 Comment

1. British Museum

The British Museum is one of the largest and most famous museums in Europe. You will find artworks on human history, art and culture originating from all over the world. Some of the departments are of Ancient Egypt, Middle East, Greece and Rome

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 17:30, Fridays open until 20:30

Location: Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG

2. Natural History Museum

A true gem of London, where you may find yourself spending hours in there, without even realising it. With more than 80 million items on zoology, palaeontology, botany, entomology and mineralogy the Natural History Museum has become a MUST. What makes educational, entertaining and interesting is the fact that there is a lot of interaction for the visitors.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 17:50

Location: Cromwell Road London SW7 5BD

3. National Gallery

With a collection of more than 2,300 paintings, the National Gallery stands in the middle of Trafalgar Square. Some of the paintings displayed are by Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, El Greco, Claude Monet and Michelangelo, making it one of the most visited art museums in the world.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 18:00

Location: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN

4. Science Museum

With a collection of more than 300,000 items, the Science museum is an extremely interesting and fun museum. The galleries are of the modern world, flights (including the very first jet engine), robots, space and others, with most of them being interactive.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 18:00 (Robots open until 22:00 every Friday)

Location: Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2DD

5. Museum of London

It’s all about London. By visiting this museum, you can fully explore the history of London from prehistoric times until now. Learn everything about the Great fire and the years before and after. Explore the times of Medieval and Roman London, as well as the revolutions in technology, fashion and culture and the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 18:00

Location: 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN

victorian-walk-web — by museumoflondon.org.uk

6. V&A Museum

With 4.5 million objects, the Victoria & Albert Museum is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design. The collections display costumes, textiles, photographs, paintings, jewellery, ceramics, furniture, etc from Europe, Asia, North America and North Africa.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 17:45 (Friday until 22:00)

Location: Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL

7. National Maritime Museum

For those who love navigation, ships and sea history, the National Maritime Museum is a great choice for an afternoon in London. The museum includes paintings, ship models and flags. When there, be sure to visit the Caird Library, the world’s largest maritime library, with over 8000 rare books, 20.000 periodicals, 100.000 books etc.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 17:00

Location: Park Row, Greenwich, London SE10 9NF

a6e7fb61024e77ece41bf65251d8cb7f — by visitlondon.com

8. Tate Modern

The country’s national modern art museum is ideal for those that want to explore the British culture from an artistic point of view.

Opening Hours: Daily 10:00 – 18:00

Location: Millbank, London, SW1P 4RG

_85684609_tate-modern-artist — by bbc.co.uk

9. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

Being a part of UCL, the Petrie Museum has 80.000 artefacts of Egyptian Archaeology. The collection is fascinating with many unique items, such as the oldest dress, the only veterinary papyrus and the largest architectural drawing.

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 13:00 – 17:00

Location: Malet Pl, Camden Town, London WC1E 6BT

petrie-museum-of-egyptian-archaeology2 — by londonkatalog.com

10. The Grant Museum of Zoology

Also a part of UCL, the Grant Museum, contains 67.000 rare zoological specimens. Some of the artefacts you can see are Thylacines, the Quagga Skeleton, bisected heads and more.

Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday 13:00 – 17:00

Location: 21 University St, Fitzrovia, London WC1E 6DE

grand-zoo-museum7 — by invisiblesports.com

Natural History Museum in London is a MUST

January 17, 2017January 23, 2017Posted in LondonTagged London, museum, natural history, sight3 Comments

The National History museum in London is located in the Exhibition Road in South Kensington. It contains an incredible variety of specimens (about 80 million) including animals, minerals, insects and a palaeontology collection, which includes one of the most famous dinosaur exhibitions.

The museum is divided into four zones. The green zone contains mineral, fossil, reptile and bird specimens. Besides that, you can visit Waterhouse Gallery with photographs that best represent nature’s beauty and life’s diversity, as well as the Vault, a gallery of breathtaking emeralds, diamonds, amethysts and other gems.

In the orange zone, you will find the Darwin Center, which presents butterflies, beetles, high plants, tarantulas and herbs and the Wildlife Garden, which is open from late March to early November and is basically a garden with over 2600 species.

The blue zone is about life diversity, including mammals, fish, reptiles, dinosaurs and the Human Biology section. This zone is definitely one you will find yourself spend a lot of time there. The Human Biology section lets everyone know about DNA, cells, memory testing and the nervous system through very fun and educational games around the section. The Dinosaur part is truly interesting. You can see a ‘live’ T-Rex dinosaur and hear it roar and move.

The red zone is all about Earth, from human evolution to volcanoes and earthquakes. You can see everything from the beginning of Earth’s creation, such as extinct species, sea creatures and evidence found on flying reptiles and dinosaur-birds. Make sure to get in the earthquake simulator and experience the Kobe earthquake in Japan.

kennis-neanderthal-and-modern-human-model-two-column — Human Evolution

Overall, the National History museum is an excellent choice if you have the time to visit. It is extremely interesting and beautiful with fun educational games in all zones. It will always be crowded, but it is free to enter unless you want to make a donation of 2 pounds.

To Oyster or Not to Oyster? Transportation in London

January 11, 2017January 11, 2017Posted in London, TransportationTagged card, London, oyster, pay, Transportation, travelLeave a comment

Getting a ticket for the London transportation can be quite tricky for the first-time visitors. Personally, the only way I have used transportation was through an Oyster card.

If you planning to visit London for a day or two, probably getting an Oyster is not the option for you. Instead, you can pay through American Express, Master Card and Visa for contactless payment cards.

You can also get Day or Group Day travelcards or a Visitor Oyster one. When using the bus the adult fare is always £1.50. But for all the other means of transportation, there is no fixed price. The price depends on what zones you will travel from and to and at which time. Peak times in London are Monday to Friday from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00.

Most London visitors buy an Oyster card no matter how many days their visit is, because they want to keep the card as a souvenir. Why keep a card as a souvenir? Only because is represents the rhythm and life in London. There is no Londoner that does not use the Oyster card. In case you buy one and do not need it afterwards, you can always return it and take your money back. But how does it work?

You can buy your Oyster from most metro stops. The price is £5.00 and you need to add £5.00 more, which will not be taken away from your balance. It is better if you put around £15.00 in total, since you will spend all of them. Trust me on this.

After purchasing the Oyster, you have nothing to worry about. You can go anywhere you want without worrying about tickets. Just remember to place it on the readers on the station gates before you exit. If you do not see one around. look again.

Each time you use your Oyster on the way in or out, you can always see how much you were charged and how much money you have left. Recharge your card by placing it on the charging cubic machines and once you select the amount of money you want to add, you place the card again, so that the transaction can be complete.

Cubic HQ where they run the Oyster card and turnstile services for TFL ... — Cubic HQ where they run the Oyster card and turnstile services for TFL …

The most important thing you need to know about the Oyster, is the daily price capping. After using the card for about 2 days, on the third day the card will cap at some point. Based on your average use of the card, when you reach the average of the 2 previous days, you do not get charged anymore.