Victoria And Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. Named after Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, it was founded in 1852. Its collection spans 3000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, in virtually every medium, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa.

The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world. The museum possesses the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, the holdings of Italian Renaissance items are the largest outside Italy.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has its origins in The Great Exhibition of 1851. With many developments along the way the current building was opened in 1909 and since then the museum has maintained its role as one of the world's greatest decorative arts collections.

One of the most dramatic parts of the museum is the Cast Courts in the sculpture wing, comprising two large, rooms two storeys high housing hundreds of plaster casts of sculptures, friezes and tombs. The collection includes a full-size replica of Michelangelo's David.

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Contact details for the Victoria and Albert Museum tel: +44 (0)20 7942 2000, 9.00-17.00, Monday to Friday, E-mail: [email protected].

The museum offers free guided tours daily starting at the Meeting Point in the Grand Entrance at the following times: 10.30, 11.30, 12.30, 13.30, 14.30 and 15.30. Tours last approximately one hour.

Admission to the Victoria and Albert Museum is free; however, some exhibitions and events carry a separate charge.

Museum Opening Hours

10.00 to 17.45 daily

10.00 to 22.00 Fridays (selected galleries remain open after 18.00), closing commences 10 minutes before time stated. Closed 24, 25 and 26 December.

The tunnel entrance to the V&A is open from 10.00 - 17.40 Saturday to Thursday and 10.00 - 20.00 on Fridays but may be closed on occasion on the advice of London Underground.

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