This important Victorian building is one of the UK’s finest museums to visit in 2026

It’s official: the best museums to visit in 2026 have been crowned by Time Out. Yep, our editors and local experts have sought out the best cultural institutions and educational centres across these Great British Isles to find out which ones you should add to the bucket list this year.

Nabbing the top spot was Margate’s Crab Museum, a petite and relatively new cultural hub which is choc-a-block with decapod paraphernalia. Think glass cases of giant crab claws; miniature village reconstructions dotted with crabby coppers in bobby hats; and displays of crabs in cowboy getup. Sure, it’s not the most traditional of showrooms, but it's certainly committed to the theme. The silver medal for 2026 went to the Thinktank Science Museum in Brum, heralded for its ability to keep the kids occupied with interactive exhibits and a 4K planetarium.

As for the last spot on the podium? The third prize went to Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke-on-Trent. 

You might recognise it as the backdrop to the sculpting sessions and clay-throwing challenges of Channel 4’s Great Pottery Throw Down, but the space is more than just a filming location. The museum itself is the UK’s last surviving complete Victorian coal-fired pottery factory, and a physical tribute to Stoke’s history as the ceramics capital of the world. 

Its walkable displays guide visitors through the roles within a Victorian coal-fired pottery factory, from throwing to firing and decorating. There’s even a bottle oven which you can enter to see the height of the chimney. 

Gladstone was nominated for the list by Time Out’s news and features editor Ed Cunningham. He said: ‘Not only do you get a sense of the scale of Stoke’s pottery history, but you come face-to-face with the experiences of the people who were part of it: the unbearable heat, agonising pain and child labour, but also the immense skill and local pride.’

🏛️ Check out Time Out’s full guide to Britain’s best museums in 2026 here.

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