Although my preferred way of seeing a city is by walking around interesting neighborhoods, inclement weather occasionally drives me indoors – an absolutely great problem to have in a fabulous museum-city like London. But where do you go when you’ve seen the British Museum, the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate, etc.? Oh sure, you can visit any of these museums multiple times and never run out of new galleries to explore. But still – at a certain point, you can’t help feeling like, “I’ve seen it all. So now what?”
This is the dilemma in which my mom, Shirley, and I find ourselves on our last day in London. Not only do we require a new museum to visit, we need a fairly small one to accommodate Shirley’s limited mobility. That’s how we end up in the compact, surprisingly-fascinating Museum of London.
Located in the City of London on London Wall, close to the Barbican Centre, the museum boasts the largest urban history collection in the world, with more than six million objects. Here you can find anything from archaeological items like ancient flint handaxes and Roman marble statues, to Elizabethan and Jacobean jewelry, to the Whitechapel fatberg (a huge clump of rubbish that once blocked up the sewers below the city). In short, if there’s anything you want to know about the history of the English capital, this is the place to find it.
Our favorite part of the museum, however, isn’t the displays or the artifacts. It’s the entire floor dedicated to recreating old London. Here you can wander through an uncanny rendition of London’s yesteryear, poking your head into smithies and barber shops, post offices and candle makers, fire stations and barrel makers. In short, it’s an indoor version of what I love most about travel – wandering “neighborhoods” and making discoveries. Without the rain.
Sadly, the Museum of London is currently out of commission — at least in its old location. But great news: a much-bigger museum will be opening in 2026 in the Smithfield General Market. Here’s hoping it’ll include that “time machine” back to old London. Rain or shine, I gotta get my steps in!
(“So now what?” is closely related to “I’m bored!” It’s the expression of a restless mind that keeps requiring more and more stimulation. Alas, it’s devilishly hard for us to be “human beings” when we’re so programmed to be “human doings”! Why not try an experiment? The next time you find yourself itching for newness and novelty, take a beat and ask yourself, “Do I really have to keep running from place to place? Will that new site or attraction really scratch that itch?” Why not slow down a bit –even for a few minutes — and just let yourself “be”? Enjoy that rich cup of coffee in front of you. Let a conversation with a stranger last an entire afternoon. Sleep an extra hour—or two! The world of stimulation out there isn’t going anywhere. You won’t “miss out” if you allow yourself a little more time to experience what’s happening right here, right now, right in front of you.)