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Certified history buff or casual weekend potterer, Time Out’s guide to the greatest museums in the UK right now has you covered. The 20 museums on the list have all been expertly selected by our team of editors and writers, with most of them spanning locations outside London. There really is something for every niche interest on the list, whether you’re in the mood for exploring retro tech in Ramsgate or learning about medieval medicine in Leeds.
We’re spotlighting each museum on the list to explore what makes it worth a visit. Coming in at number 15 is St Fagans National Museum of History, just a few miles out of Cardiff city centre. Spanning 100 acres, this open-air museum contains more than 40 re-erected historic buildings from across the centuries.
Interested in exploring an Iron Age roundhouse? St Fagans has it. Fancy wandering round a post-World War II prefab home? Yep, you can do that here too. Basically, whatever period of Welsh life you want to learn about, you’re likely to find it here. As our writer put it, ‘St Fagans somehow feels like it goes on forever.’
You can even drink as if you were a workman in an historic alehouse thanks to the museum’s newest addition, The Vulcan. The OG Vulcan in Cardiff was forced to shut in 2012, but it was rebuilt at St Fagans in 2024, maintaining its historic brown and green exterior tiles.
Other historic buildings include a 1960s post office, a Victorian grocery store, a Tudor merchant’s house and a medieval court. Phew. Amongst all these treasures, our writer says it can be easy to miss the Grade I-listed 16th century St Fagans Castle and its Italian gardens hidden on the west of the site, so leave some time to explore both of them.
The impressive showcase of Welsh history continues inside three indoor gallery spaces. The collections explore Welsh history through different perspectives, from a neanderthal boy to a World War I soldier. You’ll also find plenty more niche artefacts to explore, such as a 1921 Italian coffee machine brought to Wales.
The museum offers a whole roster of events, from sketching workshops to ghost tours, bat walks and a food festival. Like many museums on our guide, it’s totally free.
St Fagans National Museum of History, Cardiff CF5 6XB
🏛️ The best museums in the UK to visit in 2026.
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