Natural History Museum of London

With some 80 million objects across five collections dedicated to the natural world, the Natural History Museum is a must-see attraction in Kensington.

The Natural History Museum in London is a world-renowned institution that offers a fascinating exploration of the natural world. Inaugurated in 1881, it was the brainchild of Sir Richard Owen, a pioneering biologist and palaeontologist, who famously coined the term “dinosaur”. The idea was to create a dedicated museum for the natural world, and the collections now contain over 80 million specimens spanning various fields, including botany, entomology, mineralogy, zoology and, of course, palaeontology. The museum building itself is remarkable, designed by celebrated architect Alfred Waterhouse, and made of distinctive terracotta which features intricate carvings of animals, plants, and fossils integrated into the architecture itself. Eagle-eyed observers will notice that living species are depicted on the east wing, while extinct species appear on the west wing. 

The museum is famous for its iconic exhibits, including the massive skeleton of a blue whale in the Hintze Hall, the hugely popular dinosaur gallery featuring a variety of prehistoric creatures, and the Aurora Collection, an impressive array of rocks, minerals and gemstones. Visitors can also find a hyper-realistic earthquake simulator, one of the largest gold nuggets ever found and a 4.6 billion-year-old meteorite.

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The Natural History Museum of London: Private Half-Day Tour

Discover London’s amazing Natural History Museum, with some of the most famous dinosaur fossils in the world on display. As one of the largest and grandest museums in the world, with a vast display of specimens from all over the world, and 4.6 billion years' worth of history, let your expert private guide navigate you through this overwhelming museum allowing you to relax, and fully absorb its mesmerising displays and stories.

On your private half-day tour your will:

  • Experience the vast and magnificent edifice that is London’s Natural History Museum;
  • Be wowed by the mighty skeleton of the Blue Whale, named Hope, hanging from the ceiling in the grand hall;
  • See the amazing skeleton of Dippy the Diplodocus - who is back for a short time only! Gifted to the museum in 1907 and the star attraction; 
  •  Visit the dinosaurs: see the first T-Rex skeleton ever discovered, then the herbivores, including the first known skeleton of an Iguanodon and the skull of a Triceratops;
  • Admire an archaeopteryx fossil (which is the most valuable fossil in the museum’s collection);
  • See some of the largest and most complete fossils in the world of the monsters of the deep including Jurassic crocodiles, a pregnant ichthyosaur with six unborn young in her womb, plesiosaurs, and fossils that inspired stories of sea dragons. 
  • Look at the 14,700-year-old cup made from a human skull (which was found in Somerset);
  • See the Wold Cottage meteorite (which is 4.6 billion years old – making it the oldest item in the museum);
  • Admire the specimens collected by the famous Charles Darwin;  
  • Learn all about his extraordinary life and work, including a first edition copy of his most celebrated work The Origin of the Species, in the Darwin Centre;
  • Learn all about volcanoes and earthquakes – the formidable natural forces that shape our planet; 
  • Experience the Earthquake simulator; 
  • See the Pompeii casts of a man and dog, who were caught in the ash and lava from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD;
  • Visit the Aurora Collection with glittering displays of gemstones, minerals, and rocks in Earth’s Treasury; 
  • Admire royal diamonds, and Stonehenge rock – and watch out for the Kryptonite;
  • Find the largest gold nugget in the world, which weighs 27.4 kg, and is worth around $1.5 million);
  • Enjoy a well-earned break in the museum café and browse the gift shop before exiting the museum or continue to explore at your own leisure! 


Discover the wonders of our precious planet in London’s amazing Natural History Museum - considered the largest and most important centre for research into natural history and sciences in the world! An architectural masterpiece, it is filled with mind-boggling treasures, from fossils of gargantuan Jurassic beasts of land and sea to the rarest glittering gemstones, and everything in between.

Learn all about the palaeontologists of the 19th century as well as some of the latest research and discoveries, especially about Hope, the giant Blue Whale, whose skeleton hangs from the ceiling in the Hintze Hall and weighs 4.5 tonnes. Scientists have discovered the secrets of the last seven years of her life…

With your expert private guide leading you around this enormous museum, you'll really be able to make the most of your visit and be sure to see all the most important and unmissable features. See the incredible dinosaur display, visit the Mammals Gallery and gawp at the vast proportions of these Jurassic animals: see how you measure up against extinct mammoths, hippos, giraffes, horses and a giant elk!

Discover the mysterious underwater world of pre-historic sea creatures, in the gallery of fossil marine reptiles. You'll learn all about the pioneering work of female palaeontologist Mary Anning and her brother Joseph – and see the many fossils she donated in the early 1800s.

The museum is also highly experiential - with an amazing earthquake simulator and moving plaster casts on the display of a man and a dog who perished during the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius.

Learn 4.6 billion years of mind-blowing natural history with your expert guide at the world's best Natural History Museum. 
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