Victoria & Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum, commonly known as the V&A, is the most influential museum of decorative arts in the world.

With over 145 galleries to explore, covering some 7 miles, the museum is a visual feast of fine and applied arts.

Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone of the Museum on 17th May 1899. Originally founded in 1852, to enthuse and educate British manufacturers and designers, the V&A is home to a stunning collection of some 4 million artefacts.

Explore the breathtaking permanent collections from the four corners of the globe including fashion and textiles, sculpture, ceramics and glass, metalwork, silver and jewellery, furniture, photography and paintings. The souvenir shop is excellent!

Visitors can delve into the fascinating Dress Collection that features samples from historical dress to twenty-first century haute couture or the celebrated Arts and Crafts interiors of the Morris and Gamble Rooms.

Often cited as housing the greatest collection of Italian Renaissance sculpture. The British Galleries, which opened to great acclaim in November 2001, explore British design from Chippendale to Morris, and Adam to Mackintosh. Highlights include the Great Bed of Ward as mentioned in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and James II's wedding suit.

The V&A has the largest collection of Indian art outside of India. The Raphael Cartoons are stunning. The most wondrous was the collection of plaster casts of some of the most famed sculptures in the world, including Michelangelo's David. There are artworks from seemingly every civilization on the globe spaning from every era.

It also houses the National Art Library. The V&A also manages the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, the Wellington Museum at Apsley House and the Theatre Museum in Covent Garden.