Best Arts and Culture Places in Bean

"With nearly 6 million visitors a year, the British Museum, is the UK's most popular tourist attraction, and provides visitors to London with free public access to important objects from human history and culture. Founded in 1753, The British Museum was the first national public museum in the world. The immense building is dominated by the round, domed Reading Room and airy Great Court, which opened in 2000."

"One of the world’s oldest museums, The British Museum, houses a vast collection of antiquities that spans millennia. In fact, the collection is so big, only a smidge of it is actually on public display at any time. If you’ve only got an hour to kill, must sees include the Parthenon Sculptures, the Rosetta Stone, lion hunt reliefs and the stunning Oxus treasure."

"Its permanent collection numbers more than 8 million pieces, spanning human history and culture from its ancient beginnings right up to modern times. The British Museum © Flickr WWarby"

"The Victoria & Albert Museum, often referred to as the V&A Museum, is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, with over 2 million objects in its collection that spans 5,000 years of human history!. You’ll find everything from Greek pillars to Chinese vases to Alexander McQueen gowns here. The museum is also known for hosting popular temporary exhibitions (fee*) throughout the year."

"Day 1: Arrive in London, Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour, the London EyeDay 2: Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Whitehall, Covent GardenDay 3: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Borough Market, Tate Modern, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sky GardenDay 4: National Gallery, Greenwich, Prime Meridian, Up at the O2Day 5: British Museum, Portobello Road Market, Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrod’s"

"One of my favourit museum in London, the Victoria & Albert Museum is filled with an extensive collection of items relating to decorative arts and design. From beautiful sculpture galleries to elaborate costumes, Islamic art pieces, and temporary exhibits, every corner is filled with delights. It’s all very stimulating and you’ll leave with countless photos."

"Housed in an industrial power station at the foot of the River Thames, the Tate Modern is one of the world’s largest and most prestigious contemporary and modern art museums. Exhibiting British and international works dating from 1900 to today, the Tate Modern displays contemporary masters like Rothko, Matisse, Picasso, and Dali, alongside modern mavericks like Yayoi Kusama, Tracey Emin, and Marina Abramovic. The cavernous and imposing Turbine Hall plays host to temporary exhibitions of considerable scale."

"Located in what was once Bankside Power Station on the south bank of the Thames, Tate Modern is one of the city's most loved attractions. You can enjoy the permanent collection, which includes works by Pollock, Warhol, Matisse and Picasso, for free. The upstairs cafe has wonderful Thames views, and the building itself is amazing."

"The most-visited modern art gallery in the world, partly because it holds the national collection of British art from 1900 to the present day, as well as international modern and contemporary art, but mainly because the 6th floor members’ cafe has one of London’s best views. Which is like art in itself, man."

"It includes all the major attractions (e.g., Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the National Gallery), but also includes several lesser known sites and encourages you to explore several of London’s diverse neighborhoods including Westminster, Greenwich, Kensington, and Camden. We suggest using this itinerary as a starting point for planning your 6 days in London, not as a definitive itinerary, and you can edit it to put together your own personal itinerary that reflects your own needs and interests."

"1824: The première of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9; the Egyptians capture Crete; ‘New Holland’ becomes ‘Australia’; some government guys in Britain bought 38 paintings. Now: Beethoven’s no longer in the charts, Australia still has an identity crisis, and The National Gallery has over 2,300 works tracing the complete development of Western European painting from virtually every European school of art."

"The Museum of London is located in the City, close to the Barbican Centre and a short walk away from St. Paul’s Cathedral. This museum is one of many free museums in London and documents the history of London, from prehistoric to modern times, offering the largest urban history collection in the world with more than six million objects. Visiting the Museum of London with kids makes for a fascinating morning or afternoon out learning about the history of London."

"The free to enter Museum of London takes you through the history of the capital from Celtic times through to present day. The family events programme ensures children will never get bored, with interactive areas teaching little ones keys facts on topics as diverse as prehistoric animals, Victorian window shopping, and children’s toys from years gone by and what it was like to live during Saxon times."

"Experience science and technology advancements in the famous Science Museum. Being the most visited science and technology museum in Europe, it houses some of the world’s famous objects like Stephens rocket and Apollo 10 command capsule. You cannot miss the splendid space travel and experience what it’s like to fly with the Red Arrows."

"Set up in 2008, Of Cabbages and Kings is laid out retro and funky, like a 1950s American kitchen. It’s a gift shop that sells fine art and arts and crafts products. Named after a line in a Lewis Carroll poem (hence the weird name), the interior is as wonderful and quirky as the name suggests."

"The Old Town Hall acted as a municipal and civic building for Richmond from 1893 to 1965. It is now used to house Richmond’s culture and history through the Information and Reference Library, Museum of Richmond and the Riverside Gallery. The library hosts many reference books, encyclopedias and maps of interest whilst the museum covers the history of Richmond."

"Decorated head to toe in street art, Brick Lane is like a gallery in itself (and well-worth taking the time to view). The Brick Lane Gallery spotlights the distinctive character of the street’s painted bricks by focusing on contemporary and street art. Though they’ve worked with legendary street artists like Banksy, Faile, and Bortusk Leer, their focus remains on emerging and mid-career artists and – as a result – is quickly becoming known as one of the coolest art galleries London has to offer."

"Exhibiting modern art by both up-and-coming and established artists from the USA, Europe and Asia, Victoria Miro is a gallery that is all about the wow factor. “Their recent Idris Kahn exhibition, Beyond the Black in 2013, gave me the same wow effect as when I went to see Mark Rothko at Tate Modern” says Matthew, recalling to us how the atmosphere of the gallery that day was both powerful and enthralling. Having worked closely with Idris Kahn in the past, Matthew told us he felt very proud to see what he had achieved."

"Victoria Miro is recognised for celebrating new artists from America, Europe and Asia as well as sustaining amazing homegrown London talent. The large space is set across two floors, and the gallery is particularly unique as it has its own garden. The studio represents established installation artist Doug Aitken as well as more modern artists including Conrad Shawcross and Alice Neel."

"This gallery is in an 8,000-square-foot former furniture factory situated between Hoxton and Islington in north east London. Victoria Miro can be relied upon to exhibit the very best and most extraordinary in contemporary art. For example, currently it is showing work by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama whose iconic pumpkin sculptures are a sight to behold."

"This historic warship, operated today by Imperial War Museums, will definitely be of interest to military buffs, or anyone with even a slight interest in boats. Launched just before the outbreak of World War 2, this Royal Navy Light Cruiser saw action in both World War 2 and the Korean War, before being decommissioned in 1963."

"This historic warship, operated today by Imperial War Museums, will definitely be of interest to military buffs, or anyone with an interest in boats. Launched just before the outbreak of World War 2, this Royal Navy Light Cruiser saw action in both World War 2 and the Korean War, before being decommissioned in 1963."

"Despite its name, the cultural venue formerly known as the Imperial War Museum (one of five IWM branches around the country) does not…"

"This neo-Gothic house built in the late 1890s for William Waldorf Astor, of hotel fame and once the richest man in America, showcases art from UK museum collections outside the capital. Visit as much to see the opulent house (it's astonishing) as the collections on display, but note it's only open for a few months each year for the Winter Exhibition Programme (see the website). Check out the bronze putti (cherubs) chatting on old telephones on the steps!"

"Nothing screams "London" more emphatically than the 318-foot tower housing the giant clock and its resounding bell known as Big Ben. It's as iconic a landmark as Tower Bridge, and the tolling of Big Ben is known throughout the world as the time signal of the BBC. Below it, stretching along the Thames, are the Houses of Parliament, seat of Britain's government for many centuries and once the site of the royal Westminster Palace occupied by William the Conqueror."

"Big Ben is featured in images and artwork of London throughout the world and therefore it’s easy to recognise, with most visitors to London knowing what it is the second they see the skyline. Opened in 1859, Big Ben is one of the older structures on the London skyline and it brings with it impressive architecture. However, many people assume that Big Ben refers to the clock tower but this isn’t the case, it actually refers to just the bell inside."

"If you’re visiting London for the first time, chances are visions of Big Ben come to mind. A visit to London is not complete without a trip to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament."

"Murger Han is a X’ian Chinese restaurant with branches in Euston, Mayfair and the City that seriously delivers the goods, and is super cheap too. The speciality here is Biang Biang noodles. They are made fresh in house every day and hand pulled by the chef into one giant 12 foot sheet and then cut into wide, thick strands before cooking."

"This is the third Murger Han and as in its other incarnations, they'll have a menu of Xi’an dishes made to family recipes with the Biang Biang noodles and the murgers themselves (slow-cooked meat in flatbread) being the biggest draw."