Medical museums in London

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Time Out prescribes a look at some of the capital's best medical collections

If mainstream museums leave you feeling jaded, London’s medical museums offer rich pickings for anyone prepared to make a bit of an effort. As well as dazzling spaces such as the Wellcome Collection and the Science Museum, there are numerous more esoteric venues to explore. Sometimes open by appointment only and staffed by volunteers, occasionally dusty, often based in somewhat obscure institutions, these quirky collections nevertheless have a complex story to tell, of developments in the medical sciences and remarkable men and women who have made a mark in their field.

British Optical Association Museum

Model showing eye disease Model showing eye disease

You need an appointment to view this small gallery dedicated to historical ophthalmic instruments. Tours, taking in the collections of paintings, furniture and decorative art, can also be arranged.

Read more about the British Optical Association Museum



Browse London's medical museums

Wellcome Collection Science Museum Hunterian Museum Grant Museum of Zoology Old Operating Theatre Museum Freud Museum Florence Nightingale Museum Museum of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society British Optical Association Museum Alexander Fleming Laboratory Museum Anaesthesia Heritage Centre BDA Dental Museum Museum of the Order of St John St Bartholomew's Hospital Museum Royal London Hospital Museum Royal College of Physicians Museum

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