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London Transport Museum

  • Museums
  • Covent Garden
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
  1. © Heike Bohnstengel / Time Out
    © Heike Bohnstengel / Time Out
  2. Main hall © Michelle Grant / Time Out
    Main hall © Michelle Grant / Time Out
  3. The Trooping of the Colour by Margaret Calkin James, 1932© London Transport Museum
    The Trooping of the Colour by Margaret Calkin James, 1932© London Transport Museum
  4. © Michelle Grant
    © Michelle Grant

    London Transport Museum

  5. Michelle Grant
    Michelle Grant
  6. © Michelle Grant / Time Out
    © Michelle Grant / Time Out
  7. Michelle Grant
    Michelle Grant
  8. © London Transport Museum
    © London Transport Museum

Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars

The history of our world-famous transport system is traced in an interactive museum that is fun for vehicle (and London) enthusiasts of all ages

From the entertaining entrance, where audiovisual recordings of transport systems in New York, Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai and New Delhi, as well as London, are shown on screens, you are whisked by lift to the second floor – and back to 1800. The capital's first licensed public transport was the sedan chair, an example of which is on show, but the gorgeous horse-drawn omnibus, from 1805, its painted, flower-bordered designs announcing still-familiar routes, is a bigger draw. Progress leads you ever onwards, to the building of our first passenger railway – from London Bridge to Greenwich in 1833.

The first floor of the London Transport Museum holds perhaps the most exciting displays, including the first underground engine (steam-powered) and a wooden Metropolitan Railway coach (converted to electricity in 1901); one of several exhibits you can board. Frank Pick, the man responsible for rolling out the London Underground brand and giving each line its own character and ensuring the emblematic bar and circle logo became an intrinsic part of London's visual identity, to the extent it now signifies 'tube station' without the need for words, is the focus of the design display. London Transport's posters – by the likes of Abram Games, Graham Sutherland and Ivon Hitchens – are on show throughout museum. Many are design icons, though none is greater than Harry Beck's original tube map.

A family play zone for children aged 0-7, All Aboard, features a fleet of mini vehicles to climb into and play on. Kids can repair a little tube train, sail the 'Thames Nipper', play in the lost property office and try musical instruments on busking spots. The Baby DLR features an interactive wall and building blocks to keep infants entertained. Visitors of all ages get the chance to sit in the driver's cab of a red bus and guide a Northern Line simulator through tunnels and up to platforms, so big kids will have plenty of fun, too.

See more of London's best museums

Details

Address:
Covent Garden Piazza
London
WC2E 7BB
Transport:
Tube: Covent Garden
Price:
£21, £20 concs, under-18s free; tickets valid for one year
Opening hours:
Daily 11am-6pm (last admission 5pm)
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What’s on

Legacies: London Transport's Caribbean Workforce

  • Transport

Explore the impact Caribbean people have made on transportation in London at London Transport Museum. 'Legacies: London Transport's Caribbean Workforce' features stories from Caribbean people who worked for what is now Transport for London, many of whom came to London in the postwar years in search of a better life. The exhibit highlights the triumps and challenges they experienced, and the major influence that London’s Caribbean communities have had on the city’s culture, particularly highlighting events like Notting Hill Carnival and recent Tube station art campaigns. Check the London Transport Museum website for further details of the exhibition and related events.